Sebastian Faulks ridicules 'distasteful' Bond film 'Skyfall'

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  • Posts: 6,396
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    Matt_Helm wrote:
    So Bond leaves the Hotel and miraculously Eve drives around the corner,already in pursuit of Patrice. How conveneant (especially in a hell of town like Istanbul ). See what I mean? Lets proceed ....

    What do you think of the PTS of FRWL while we are at it? How did SPECTRE convince the guy to wear that James Bond mask and go against Grant, how did they have a perfect mask of Bond's face? Sometimes movie have convenient (or conveneant as you say) moments like this, for the sake of plot fluidity or for dramatic effect.

    And FRWL is still hailed as the best Bond by many.

    Indeed, they are ultimately only films after all, and rather escapist ones at that. That needs to be borne in mind, I think. It's a point worth emphasising as they often don't conform to how things really are in the real world or in real life.

    Yes, he is having hard time determining what is fantasy and what is reality it would seem
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,284
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    Matt_Helm wrote:
    So Bond leaves the Hotel and miraculously Eve drives around the corner,already in pursuit of Patrice. How conveneant (especially in a hell of town like Istanbul ). See what I mean? Lets proceed ....

    What do you think of the PTS of FRWL while we are at it? How did SPECTRE convince the guy to wear that James Bond mask and go against Grant, how did they have a perfect mask of Bond's face? Sometimes movie have convenient (or conveneant as you say) moments like this, for the sake of plot fluidity or for dramatic effect.

    And FRWL is still hailed as the best Bond by many.

    Indeed, they are ultimately only films after all, and rather escapist ones at that. That needs to be borne in mind, I think. It's a point worth emphasising as they often don't conform to how things really are in the real world or in real life.

    Yes, he is having hard time determining what is fantasy and what is reality it would seem

    It would appear so...
  • Posts: 6,396
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    Matt_Helm wrote:
    So Bond leaves the Hotel and miraculously Eve drives around the corner,already in pursuit of Patrice. How conveneant (especially in a hell of town like Istanbul ). See what I mean? Lets proceed ....

    What do you think of the PTS of FRWL while we are at it? How did SPECTRE convince the guy to wear that James Bond mask and go against Grant, how did they have a perfect mask of Bond's face? Sometimes movie have convenient (or conveneant as you say) moments like this, for the sake of plot fluidity or for dramatic effect.

    And FRWL is still hailed as the best Bond by many.

    Indeed, they are ultimately only films after all, and rather escapist ones at that. That needs to be borne in mind, I think. It's a point worth emphasising as they often don't conform to how things really are in the real world or in real life.

    Yes, he is having hard time determining what is fantasy and what is reality it would seem

    It would appear so...

    Sssh, don't tell anyone, but Star Wars isn't real either
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,284
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    Matt_Helm wrote:
    So Bond leaves the Hotel and miraculously Eve drives around the corner,already in pursuit of Patrice. How conveneant (especially in a hell of town like Istanbul ). See what I mean? Lets proceed ....

    What do you think of the PTS of FRWL while we are at it? How did SPECTRE convince the guy to wear that James Bond mask and go against Grant, how did they have a perfect mask of Bond's face? Sometimes movie have convenient (or conveneant as you say) moments like this, for the sake of plot fluidity or for dramatic effect.

    And FRWL is still hailed as the best Bond by many.

    Indeed, they are ultimately only films after all, and rather escapist ones at that. That needs to be borne in mind, I think. It's a point worth emphasising as they often don't conform to how things really are in the real world or in real life.

    Yes, he is having hard time determining what is fantasy and what is reality it would seem

    It would appear so...

    Sssh, don't tell anyone, but Star Wars isn't real either

    I've never seen Star Wars. That's a statement of fact, not the name of a moderately successful BBC Radio 4 programme.
  • Posts: 15,135
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    Matt_Helm wrote:
    So Bond leaves the Hotel and miraculously Eve drives around the corner,already in pursuit of Patrice. How conveneant (especially in a hell of town like Istanbul ). See what I mean? Lets proceed ....

    What do you think of the PTS of FRWL while we are at it? How did SPECTRE convince the guy to wear that James Bond mask and go against Grant, how did they have a perfect mask of Bond's face? Sometimes movie have convenient (or conveneant as you say) moments like this, for the sake of plot fluidity or for dramatic effect.

    And FRWL is still hailed as the best Bond by many.

    Indeed, they are ultimately only films after all, and rather escapist ones at that. That needs to be borne in mind, I think. It's a point worth emphasising as they often don't conform to how things really are in the real world or in real life.

    Yes, he is having hard time determining what is fantasy and what is reality it would seem

    It would appear so...

    Sssh, don't tell anyone, but Star Wars isn't real either

    So the Force is NOT true? I mean it doesn't bind us and so on?
  • Posts: 6,396
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    Matt_Helm wrote:
    So Bond leaves the Hotel and miraculously Eve drives around the corner,already in pursuit of Patrice. How conveneant (especially in a hell of town like Istanbul ). See what I mean? Lets proceed ....

    What do you think of the PTS of FRWL while we are at it? How did SPECTRE convince the guy to wear that James Bond mask and go against Grant, how did they have a perfect mask of Bond's face? Sometimes movie have convenient (or conveneant as you say) moments like this, for the sake of plot fluidity or for dramatic effect.

    And FRWL is still hailed as the best Bond by many.

    Indeed, they are ultimately only films after all, and rather escapist ones at that. That needs to be borne in mind, I think. It's a point worth emphasising as they often don't conform to how things really are in the real world or in real life.

    Yes, he is having hard time determining what is fantasy and what is reality it would seem

    It would appear so...

    Sssh, don't tell anyone, but Star Wars isn't real either

    I've never seen Star Wars. That's a statement of fact, not the name of a moderately successful BBC Radio 4 programme.

    It's real I tells you. All of it real!!!! ;-)
  • Ok everyone. Let's all hold the courtesy line and not drive Mr.Helm crazy or out of the thread altogether. We'll never be able to present a coherent counter argument if he doesn't get it all out.

    Matt, while I'm away until tomorrow, think about and list all your problems with the Istanbul PTS scenes and how they either promote or detract from the overall storyline.

    I hate Star Wars btw.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,284
    Ok everyone. Let's all hold the courtesy line and not drive Mr.Helm crazy or out of the thread altogether. We'll never be able to present a coherent counter argument if he doesn't get it all out.

    Matt, while I'm away until tomorrow, think about and list all your problems with the Istanbul PTS scenes and how they either promote or detract from the overall storyline.

    I hate Star Wars btw.

    This seems all in very good taste.

    I hate Star Wars too, for the record. Boring crap.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,804
    Hating Star Wars?

    This must be a bad dream....
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,284
    chrisisall wrote:
    Hating Star Wars?

    This must be a bad dream....

    No dream, Mr Chisisall. Soon a reality.
  • Posts: 6,396
    Dragonpol wrote:
    chrisisall wrote:
    Hating Star Wars?

    This must be a bad dream....

    No dream, Mr Chisisall. Soon a reality.

    Brilliant =D>
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited August 2013 Posts: 18,284
    Dragonpol wrote:
    chrisisall wrote:
    Hating Star Wars?

    This must be a bad dream....

    No dream, Mr Chisisall. Soon a reality.

    Brilliant =D>

    Thank you. I aim to please.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    Christ what a shambles of a thread this has turned into. Especially for someone like me who likes slating Faulkes.

    Poor old Matt Helm. The guy actually has one valid point buried deep amongst his inanity - namely that logic in the plot of SF after Severine dies is, at best, rather spartan.

    Unfortunately Matt where you flail around writing War & Peace (incoherently and with myriad spelling and grammatical errors) Timmer eloquently managed to express some of what you are trying to say in one sentence:

    'SF isn't half as clever as it thinks it is.'

    After wading through seemingly infinite pages of trite pop psychology on sexual abuse and extremely unrewarding tit for tat bleating at each other I thank Timmer for making my effort worthwhile with this comment.

    It's a sentence that both the Helmites (is using the plural applicable here? He seems distinctly out on a limb) and anti Helmites should read a few times to let it sink in as it sums up most of the deficiencies in SF and could also be applied to quite a few people around here.
  • Posts: 4,622
    Ludovico wrote:
    [I have to disagree with you: it might have happened in the past, but her rape had influenced her so much that she had changed sexual orientation and was still a lesbian when the events of GF occured. In fact, she became heterosexual a few pages before the end of the novel. For Honey Ryder, she was still a wild child years after her encounter. Bond had sex with two women who both had very traumatic sexual experiences and were deeply wounded by them. Yes, they were not sex slaves, but their experiences were in no way less traumatic and it did shaped them. And in FRWL, Bond has a threesome with two Gipsy girls that have been offered to him for the night by the chief of the tribe. They were not sex slaves, but they were certainly sexy toys. He had no problem in the same film (and novel) to make a gigolo of himself for Queen & Country. He did not hesitate one moment. Why is the seduction of Severine so different? Or, to be more precise, how is it intrinsically different than these cases I mentioned? There is a difference in degree, in circumstances too, but not in essence.
    To answer your question her current sex-slave prisoner status is the distinction. I think it's a valid distinction. She is trying to escape her bondage. Bond is means to an end.
    The other girls mentioned weren't slaves. Slave is the distinction.
    But if you think the distinction is only one of degree, that's fair. Again my beef is not so much with Bond. He's only human. Severine set a sumptuous table and he indulged. Even if his better half, internal monologue (which we don't have access to) told him not to, we humans don't always listen to such things anyway. Such is human nature. We are flawed creatures, even the best of us.
    My beef is with the filmmakers. They take pains to outline Severine's terrible past and present horrific circumstances, and then have Bond go horndog on her, seemingly oblivious to what was laid out only a few scenes earlier. We have no idea if Bond gives a crap or what. If he's an insensitive oaf or what. We are simply left to surmise. Lazy filmmaking I say.

  • Posts: 6,396
    timmer wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    [I have to disagree with you: it might have happened in the past, but her rape had influenced her so much that she had changed sexual orientation and was still a lesbian when the events of GF occured. In fact, she became heterosexual a few pages before the end of the novel. For Honey Ryder, she was still a wild child years after her encounter. Bond had sex with two women who both had very traumatic sexual experiences and were deeply wounded by them. Yes, they were not sex slaves, but their experiences were in no way less traumatic and it did shaped them. And in FRWL, Bond has a threesome with two Gipsy girls that have been offered to him for the night by the chief of the tribe. They were not sex slaves, but they were certainly sexy toys. He had no problem in the same film (and novel) to make a gigolo of himself for Queen & Country. He did not hesitate one moment. Why is the seduction of Severine so different? Or, to be more precise, how is it intrinsically different than these cases I mentioned? There is a difference in degree, in circumstances too, but not in essence.
    To answer your question her current sex-slave prisoner status is the distinction. I think it's a valid distinction. She is trying to escape her bondage. Bond is means to an end.
    The other girls mentioned weren't slaves. Slave is the distinction.
    But if you think the distinction is only one of degree, that's fair. Again my beef is not so much with Bond. He's only human. Severine set a sumptuous table and he indulged. Even if his better half, internal monologue (which we don't have access to) told him not to, we humans don't always listen to such things anyway. Such is human nature. We are flawed creatures, even the best of us.
    My beef is with the filmmakers. They take pains to outline Severine's terrible past and present horrific circumstances, and then have Bond go horndog on her, seemingly oblivious to what was laid out only a few scenes earlier. We have no idea if Bond gives a crap or what. If he's an insensitive oaf or what. We are simply left to surmise. Lazy filmmaking I say.

    Whilst not perhaps a view I entirely agree with, the way you conduct yourself and the fact that your points are clear and concise means you have my utmost respect for what you say. Well done to you =D>

    If only Matt_Helm could even muster up a reasoning half as good as this.
  • Posts: 15,135
    @Timmer, Tatiana Romanova was borderline a sex slave for SPECTRE and/or Mother Russia. She was certainly a sexy object. Bond never thought twice about it. Granted, she did not live through a lifetime of abuse, but still. If it was lazy filmaking in SF, then it was in earlier movies.

    For the record, I think SF is flawed, I do not think it is a perfect movie or the perfect Bond movie. I find the timing in the London act way too convenient for Silva, for instance. Heck, I would agree that it is not as smart as it thinks it is (but then that is something I think of most of the Mendes's movies I saw). However, the complaints about the whole Severine character and her role in the plot I never understood them. That said, I will gladly recognize that your criticism is measured and actually backed up by a careful examination of the movie.
  • edited August 2013 Posts: 4,622
    [Bolded statement #1- I'm afraid I still don't see this point. Severine is no longer a sex slave the moment she decided to be Silva's woman. She made a choice and left that behind. It sounds to me like he's more of a "sugar daddy" than anything else, or at least it started out that way, because she is actively aiding him as we see in Shanghai. This is why I say she is no innocent victim, she used Silva to escape the sex trade and she used Bond to get free from Silva. Which is why I keep asking, what is the difference between Severine and Andrea Anders? Both are afraid of and controlled by these respective men. No one seems capable of sufficiently giving a reason for that, yet somehow these strong similarities in their characters and motivations get glossed over in the name of PC.
    You are right. She does not appear to be actual sex-slave anymore. Silva doesn't seem to be pimping her out. But since Silva bought her, she does other sordid tasks for him, such as being complicit to murder etc. He has her guarded by bodyguards, not to protect her, but as Bond so astutely sussed out, to keep her on a leash.
    She is still a slave, and as for sex it does appear that Silva has his way with her too, or did until he wearied of her.
    The disctinction that I would make vis-a-vis Andrea Anders and even Lupe or Domino is that it does seem that thse girls are "merely" gangster girlfriends. It does appear that they chose the life at some point and then became trapped. They made their beds.
    Compare with Severine though, whose been a slave all her life it seems. She didn't choose this bs. If the Triads hadn't got a hold of her, she might have been running a little cupcake shop somewhere and leading a wholesome little life, with nary a Scaramanga, Largo, Sanchez or Silva in sight.
    As far as Bond boinking her, again I can roll with that. He's human. He's on mission. She set the table. He partook. What I am not thrilled about is how the filmmakers handled the whole scenario.

  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,284
    Ludovico wrote:
    @Timmer, Tatiana Romanova was borderline a sex slave for SPECTRE and/or Mother Russia. She was certainly a sexy object. Bond never thought twice about it. Granted, she did not live through a lifetime of abuse, but still. If it was lazy filmaking in SF, then it was in earlier movies.

    For the record, I think SF is flawed, I do not think it is a perfect movie or the perfect Bond movie. I find the timing in the London act way too convenient for Silva, for instance. Heck, I would agree that it is not as smart as it thinks it is (but then that is something I think of most of the Mendes's movies I saw). However, the complaints about the whole Severine character and her role in the plot I never understood them. That said, I will gladly recognize that your criticism is measured and actually backed up by a careful examination of the movie.

    Was Tatiana really a sex slave, though, or the tantalising Soviet bait sent to capture the British agent Bond who then actually does fall in love with him for real ("I love you! I love you! It's true!). Sounds rather like Severine in SF again, which brings us around full circle. This actually dovetails very neatly with our discussion here, as Severine too falls in love with Bond and consents to sexual relations. Bond does not force the issue with her, it is indeed consensual, with both parties in agreement.

    If I have missed something in Tatiana Romanova of FRWL being a sex slave, please let me know your reasoned arguments as I can't see your point currently @Ludovico.
  • Posts: 15,135
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    @Timmer, Tatiana Romanova was borderline a sex slave for SPECTRE and/or Mother Russia. She was certainly a sexy object. Bond never thought twice about it. Granted, she did not live through a lifetime of abuse, but still. If it was lazy filmaking in SF, then it was in earlier movies.

    For the record, I think SF is flawed, I do not think it is a perfect movie or the perfect Bond movie. I find the timing in the London act way too convenient for Silva, for instance. Heck, I would agree that it is not as smart as it thinks it is (but then that is something I think of most of the Mendes's movies I saw). However, the complaints about the whole Severine character and her role in the plot I never understood them. That said, I will gladly recognize that your criticism is measured and actually backed up by a careful examination of the movie.

    Was Tatiana really a sex slave, though, or the tantalising Soviet bait sent to capture the British agent Bond who then actually does fall in love with him for real ("I love you! I love you! It's true!). Sounds rather like Severine in SF again, which brings us around full circle. This actually dovetails very neatly with our discussion here, as Severine too falls in love with Bond and consents to sexual relations. Bond does not force the issue with her, it is indeed consensual, with both parties in agreement.

    If I have missed something in Tatiana Romanova of FRWL being a sex slave, please let me know your reasoned arguments as I can't see your point currently @Ludovico.

    Maybe sex slave is not the right word, but she is used as a sex object, most definitely, a honey trap to use her body to lure Bond. Granted, she does this out of patriotism, but she used as an object.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited August 2013 Posts: 18,284
    Ludovico wrote:
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    @Timmer, Tatiana Romanova was borderline a sex slave for SPECTRE and/or Mother Russia. She was certainly a sexy object. Bond never thought twice about it. Granted, she did not live through a lifetime of abuse, but still. If it was lazy filmaking in SF, then it was in earlier movies.

    For the record, I think SF is flawed, I do not think it is a perfect movie or the perfect Bond movie. I find the timing in the London act way too convenient for Silva, for instance. Heck, I would agree that it is not as smart as it thinks it is (but then that is something I think of most of the Mendes's movies I saw). However, the complaints about the whole Severine character and her role in the plot I never understood them. That said, I will gladly recognize that your criticism is measured and actually backed up by a careful examination of the movie.

    Was Tatiana really a sex slave, though, or the tantalising Soviet bait sent to capture the British agent Bond who then actually does fall in love with him for real ("I love you! I love you! It's true!). Sounds rather like Severine in SF again, which brings us around full circle. This actually dovetails very neatly with our discussion here, as Severine too falls in love with Bond and consents to sexual relations. Bond does not force the issue with her, it is indeed consensual, with both parties in agreement.

    If I have missed something in Tatiana Romanova of FRWL being a sex slave, please let me know your reasoned arguments as I can't see your point currently @Ludovico.

    Maybe sex slave is not the right word, but she is used as a sex object, most definitely, a honey trap to use her body to lure Bond. Granted, she does this out of patriotism, but she used as an object.

    Yes, but aren't all honey-traps about just that? That is, if you will, their dictionary definition. Even closer to home with the IRA in the UK using this method to lure in and kill British soldiers in Northern Ireland, never mind the Russians. There is something that makes the Tatiana honey-trap rather different, though. This different factor is that Tatiana does in fact genuinely fall in love with Bond - she shoots Klebb, not Bond at the end after wavering for example, so she's made her bed with Bond, I'm not really sure at all how this is analogous with Severine who was a sex slave but one who consented to sexual relations with Bond as it was her right to do.
  • Posts: 15,135
    Yes there is a difference between the two Bond girls, but not much between the attitude of Bond towards them. He uses Tatiana's love at his advantage, after all. And nobody complained then.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Wait, what? People are saying Tatyana was a sex slave now???
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    edited August 2013 Posts: 9,117
    doubleoego wrote:
    Wait, what? People are saying Tatyana was a sex slave now???

    Seems like there's no end to this.

    Fiona was one too. Because of her fear of SPECTRE and Blofeld she was forced into shagging Bond and Duval.

    And how come no one has mentioned Tracy yet? A suicidal girl who Bond happily shags.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    With this sort of thinking and rationale, Carte Blanche should have been the quintessential Bond novel.
  • Posts: 908
    doubleoego wrote:
    Wait, what? People are saying Tatyana was a sex slave now???
    Fiona was one too. Because of her fear of SPECTRE and Blofeld she was forced into shagging Bond and Duval.
    .

    If there ever was a Statement that belongs in the "The most ridiculous Bond theory you heard/read" thread it must be this one.Wow!
  • edited August 2013 Posts: 15,135
    doubleoego wrote:
    Wait, what? People are saying Tatyana was a sex slave now???

    Not a sex slave, but a sex object for Mother Russia and SMERSH or SPECTRE in the film, certainly.
    doubleoego wrote:
    Wait, what? People are saying Tatyana was a sex slave now???

    Seems like there's no end to this.

    Fiona was one too. Because of her fear of SPECTRE and Blofeld she was forced into shagging Bond and Duval.

    And how come no one has mentioned Tracy yet? A suicidal girl who Bond happily shags.

    I qualified what I said about Tatiana earlier on. There is an element of sexual exploitation in her role as bait. Fiona was of course a femme fatale using her sexuality as bait. Unlike Tatiana, she was not coerced or manipulated to do so, in fact she enjoyed both aspects of her job, Eros and Thanatos.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,284
    Ludovico wrote:
    Yes there is a difference between the two Bond girls, but not much between the attitude of Bond towards them. He uses Tatiana's love at his advantage, after all. And nobody complained then.

    Yes, so why should they complain now? I concur.
  • Posts: 15,135
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    Yes there is a difference between the two Bond girls, but not much between the attitude of Bond towards them. He uses Tatiana's love at his advantage, after all. And nobody complained then.

    Yes, so why should they complain now? I concur.

    No idea why they would. I guess a long time has passed since that time. Some people want Bond less emotionally involved in the story, to just "do a mission", but it seems they want him to care more about his relationship with women.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    Solitaire - a virgin living in fear pf Kananga who Bond tricked into bed and by taking her powers away made her expendable to Kananga.

    Rosie - living in fear of the voodoo curse and Kananga and told to lure Bond by any means.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,284
    Solitaire - a virgin living in fear pf Kananga who Bond tricked into bed and by taking her powers away made her expendable to Kananga.

    Rosie - living in fear of the voodoo curse and Kananga and told to lure Bond by any means.

    Yes, indeed. See my separate thread on the caddishness of Roger Moore in LALD for more details.
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