It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
1. Night at the Opera (QoS)
2. Someone Usually Dies (SF)
3. Komodo Dragon (SF)
4. Dinner Jackets (CR)
5. Vesper (CR)
6. Severine (SF)
7. Brave New World (SF)
8. New Digs (SF)
9. Camille's Story (QoS)
10. CCTV (CR)
Thanks @TripAces. I love your nuanced ranking :-).
definitely, he got better with every installment, one could only imagine how his third take on the Craig series would have been
I mean Oberhauser...
Denbigh = Blofeld. Trust me ;-).
Hopefully not, it would be too similar to
And I think
Never seen that one, so I can't tell ;)
That's what I'd do, had I been in charge of EON.
That's your opinion @RC7. What if people....actually like this new background history?
I for instance thought it brought something new to the franchise. And I liked it. Meeting Bond's old housekeeper, Bond's old home. I liked it. It makes "Skyfall" stand out.
Moreover, all of Fleming's work has been used. Most of it. So what not mixing it up with some on-screen background history?
If you say "Bond should be like this" or "Bond should never have this", I actually find it a sign of conservatism, that never really helped the Bond franchise to move forward in new unchartered directions.
People can like it as much as they want, that's their prerogative. I don't care for it. I think there are other better stories to be told that don't rely on the obvious lynchpin of 'origins'. I'd rather see his current housekeeper, for example. Not only do I not care for it, I don't find it fresh. No one needed Bond's backstory fleshed out and the more it is, the more he becomes like every other character. My favourite aspect of Bond's history is that it is sparse. It exists in the imagination of the reader/viewer. I don't need it committing to screen.
Fresh or not fresh......I find it much fresher then the entire pre-Craig-era. Obviously you're comparing a lot of things with the big allmighty "Hollywood trend". But you keep forgetting one thing. Original or not original, it DOES give Bond's character way more depth. It's perhaps not the depth you want, but others maybe do like it.
I also disagree with you that the more backstory we get, the more Bond becomes like every other character. Moreover, my favourite aspect of the Bond franchise, is that not every film is exactly the same, and that most likely it'll be only a Sam Mendes touch.
I know you don't like to be reminded....about the past. But there was a time back in 1969/1970 when the critical press completely disliked the ending of "OHMSS". "Bond doesn't marry!" or "Bond needs to bed a Bond girl...the girl shouldn't be shot!". You can say now that this was how Fleming's novel ended. But people back then were only used to the more formularic Bond.
Look how we think about "OHMSS" as of today.
He becomes like every other character because the specifics are laid out for us. His murky, unspecified past is part of the mythos. If that continues to be played out in black and white, you destroy one of the key things that drives the legend.
You're OHMSS comparison doesn't stick either. His actions were in the present. There's a clear level of depth to the narrative and the character progression. He is reacting to and operating in the world around him. We don't have a childhood trauma play out that defines why he's a womaniser and subsequently why this woman, Tracy, has now turned him. It's unnecessary and it would destroy the mythos once again.
History and specifics don't equal depth. Clever writing, directing and acting create depth.
Definitely. It's like Arnold had a reason to actually do some good work.
True enough. The films demanded a quality score, unlike the previous rather generic era.
Having said that, apart from a few decent elements, and a huge improvement over his Brosnan work, Arnold's Craig era was still not good enough for me. Bond deserves better, and I hope Newman delivers it for SP.
If not, we must find a suitable new in-house composer, and soon. It's been 28 yrs since Barry last did a Bond score, and we've drifted aimlessly since while other series have improved by leaps and bounds (the MI RN score was excellent imho).
I think Newman will prove his chops with SPECTRE. I'm sure he will have more opportunities to produce his vision for classic style Bond moments than in a film like Skyfall that was questioning the establishment of its own institution.
Completely agree and I truly hope we haven't heard the last of Arnold in Bond. If we judged Barry on everything before On Her Majesty's Secret Service, he would be lacking quite a lot of the mystique he captured in Bond soundtracks. Arnold was still working on coming into his own in Bond. When and if he gets the chance (hopefully to close out Craig's tenure in Bond 25, if not for a new actor), I think all of us will leave the jury open on Arnold's legacy until he has completely left the franchise behind.
I agree with your assessment. I have no desire or intention to purchase the SF soundtrack, and don't think I'll enjoy it at all as a standalone. Within the context of the film I find it perfect and also believe there are some outstanding (if undeveloped) motifs in the score. Severine as an example is so good and evocative of the lush sounds of old that I just love watching that scene where she and Bond check each other out after he dispatches Patrice at the Shanghai skyscraper just to hear it so briefly.
In terms of some of the undeveloped motifs, look no further than Shanghai Drive. I thought it was a great cue in the film that only lasts seemingly less than a minute and doesn't reappear again until the credits roll. This one might be limited to just Skyfall, however, because I can't really picture hearing that kind of a track in SPECTRE. Skyfall asks the question of what technology Bond really needs to complete a mission, and Shanghai Drive is definitely appropriate for that kind of a moment (right after meeting Q) and setting.