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Comments
Not wooden.
But his line deliveries can feel a little flat and forced. Examples that come to mind are:
I'm really nitpicking though.
He's fabulous in those moments where he says nothing. No one has shown the internal life of Bond quite like Craig. He can do a hell of a lot more with a look than a line of dialogue.
Also, in relation to his 'shaky hands' - aren't they just shaking a bit too much.
I agree with you here, @Getafix. Good points. Thank you for the response.
Gosh I don't think those are 'flat and forced' at all. In fact, when it comes to acting, isn't being 'flat' and 'forced' actually a contradiction in terms?
There’s similarities for sure, and I actually like the ideas that TWINE has. However, it’s such a dull slog of a film purely on an execution level that I have it even ranked down #24.
When SF was on the horizon in 2012 I was actually pretty worried of what sounded like another attempt at TWINE. I DREADED IT. But to my surprise, the filmmakers pulled it off in such a big way that it’s been in my top 3 ever since (with FRWL and GF above it).
Yeah, they're tonally similar maybe, but Skyfall is just so much more watchable and well-paced, and TWINE is a real dull old slog, comparatively.
They do both feature Vauxhall Cross exploding; M and Bond in a big remote Scottish house; and Bond receive a shoulder injury though :)
I can only imagine the feeling of relief, as well as just straightforward happiness, that you must have felt coming out of the screening.
I hope those wary of SP part two going into NTTD have the same relief.
Kind of sums up SP though. Out of ideas and reduced to canibalising Brosnan movies.
The same is true in as far as it came just after Quantum of Solace, which for my money is actually probably the weakest Bond film of the lot. I find it quite funny that Craig has had two of the very best Bond films and one of the very worst (in my opinion, obviously).
Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.
This is a ranking I can get behind... because it is objectively correct =D>
2. QOS - unfairly maligned, this is a lean, intelligent, muscular action thriller with one of the best Bond girls (Olga)
3. SF and SP are tied -- neither of these films have decent scripts and they are almost suffocatingly pretentious, but they have great cinematography and some fine action scenes and performances
4. GE - assembly line Bond, passable but too corporate and soulless - way overrated by the fans
5. TND - bland, uninspired, indifferently directed, badly photographed - it's made worthwhile (somewhat) by Michelle Yeoh and the remote control car chase
6. TWINE - starts off well then heads into Dullsville, though Sophie Marceau's character is a welcome novelty for the series
7. DAD - I remember this being completely unwatchable after the first half hour, though admittedly I haven't bothered to sit through it since 2002
Fair point. I remember waiting in anticipation of Kermode's review, and was instantly put at ease by his opening line....
"...and, we're back."
Yes, this. As I said I still have great affection for GE as it was my first Bond film, but every time I revisit it, after I get past my nostalgia and get to the meat of the thing, I find it rather lacking. It doesn't really do anything new or interesting, instead sticking to a rather ordinary, cookie cutter recipe. And the movie doesn't seem to make up its mind about what the main villain's motives are, first it's revenge, then it's money. The villain of the previous film, Sanchez, is way more interesting and he remains consistent with what he's all about throughout LTK. The best Bond movies typically feature very memorable, cool main villains with grandiose plans that they'd stop at nothing to accomplish. And speaking of villains, one of the best things about GE is Xenia Onatopp, and though she's fun to watch, she's still mostly one note. Give me TB's Fiona Volpe any day. She often has as good or better dialogue than even Bond, she's even a smarter, better baddie than the main villain, Largo! Trevalyn and Onatopp can't compare to these two, who are far more deadly and memorable. Plus, the filmmakers of GE don't give Bond himself a lot of fleshed out character. He doesn't have the swagger or the charm seen in even weaker entries in the series from before and his dialogue just isn't very interesting.
I don't know. On it's own, I guess GE might entertain, but compared to the rest of the series, it's vanilla.
Yep. Agree with all of this.
And yeah, LTK is a solid entry in the series with one of the best baddies. None of the Brosnan- or even Craig-era villains have come close, in my opinion.
Thanks for writing this for me. Saves me the bother!
Exactly, GE was awesome. I actually never said SF is the best film of the series but it will remain in my top 10, funny GE is 6th & SF is also 7/ 8 in my ranking as well.
Oh, definitely. TND, TWINE and especially DAD are soulless. GE has some spirit about it, it's way better than the other three. But it's lesser than Dalton's two and Craig's four, so far. Yes, I like SP more than GE (not a ton more, they both have their problems), I guess that immediately invalidates my opinion.
Nowhere close.
I'd pretty much go with that too, though CR first then SF second.
Ha! That's quite good. It's certainly a return to form and feels like Bond in a way QoS doesn't quite. It hits that sweet spot of tone between serious and glamorous OTT that my other favourites like CR and TLD hit. Or rather I guess you could say it treats silly material with a serious tone- so very much the cinematic equivalent of Fleming, really!
That being said, QOS is by far my favourite of the post-1990 Bond films. It's a classy, tasteful and intelligent thriller, much overlooked by the average moviegoer unfortunately.
Both Martin Campbell contributions are fine additions to the franchise too, even though they tend to be a bit overrated here or there.
TWINE is a special one for me, as it was my very first Bond film. A missed opportunity in many ways but I will always appreciate it on some level.
The other four of the 'modern' era are not entirely my cup of tea. TND is too generic, DAD is entertaining in places but in the end it's utterly ludacrous, the Mendes double bill is beautifully shot, but they are also overly pretentious, uneventful affairs full of deliberately un-Bondian touches in an attempt to make them stand out as 'Bond done different' .
It's funny: I know what you mean but I kind of had that in reverse! I was hugely hyped for GE (I was in my teens so pretty much at peak Bond audience!) and absorbed every bit of material about it, went to see it about five times I think, and bought every magazine with Brosnan on the cover. But I do remember my feelings after watching it for the first time and, although I enjoyed it, I could only really describe it as being like a Bond film. It feels like a standard Bond film: a sort of Octopussy-period big Bond film; nothing more nothing less, and I found that feeling slightly underwhelming. It is quite vanilla, but after I came to terms with that I actually sort of enjoyed it more! :)
Oh I think Silva is easily up there, and Le Chiffre isn't exactly shabby. I wonder how well Sanchez would fare against a stronger Bond, in fact.
But he is not the only actor who puts in a lacking performance that for some reason gets vastly overrated praise in the Bond fan community and elsewhere. Scorupco seems far too aware that she is supposed to be a self proclaimed "uniquely strong and independent" Bond girl "of the new era". It feels like she almost expects an applause whenever she acts strong and resourceful, especially in that "boys with toys" moment. In the end she doesn´t come of as natural or believable. Onatopp is an interesting character and Janssen has some nice on screen charisma, but the performance in general is far to one note and by the end of the film she feels a bit cartoonish and, dear I say, pathetique. And well, Brosnan... I am sorry to say, but he is simply not good enough. He is at his best when he can put on a confident smirk and act cool during some playfull banter with his co stars, but his performance in any other apect lacks serious integrity and gravita.
Adding to that some of the scenes are not done very well in my opinion. I find the lengthy scene where Goldeneye is used on Severnaya uncomfortable to watch, but not in the way the movie makers want it to be uncomfortable, more because of how dragging it is, how badly the special effects have aged and the general grim quality. The infamous "stunt" from the PTS where Bond dives to catch a plane in mid air, ranks up there with the tsunami surfing scene and Jinx dive as one of the most ludicrous in the series for me. Completely ridiculous and OTT, utterly unbelievable and not Bondian at all. And the same theme goes for many of the other action scenes. Did we really need to see Bond go into Rambo mode with a machine gun and destroy a city like a madman in a tank? Opinions might differ, but I am in the definitive NO camp. And the final climax scene is quite weak to be honest. Boris ranks up there with Bibi and Sheriff Pepper as the most annoying character in Bond (in fact I think he takes top spot), yet for an awful moment that seems to last for an eternity he takes centre stage playing with that pen. It is supposed to be a tense moment, I can only cringe and desperately want the scene to end...
This post turned out longer and more critical than planned, but as I was writing I remembered more and more things that bother me with this film. If any entry in the series runs the risk of looking more like a "TV drama" than a Bond film, it is not LTK, it´s this one.
Yeah, 'boys with toys' never quite worked.
Oh I think that's brilliant: and it is possible. The greenscreen moment was ill-advised, but I love that shot of the stuntman jumping his bike off the mountain.
Yeah definitely! That's ace! :)