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And half brother, foster brother, it's still idiotic to me.
I agree. But it's not that big a deal for me. The film is more than that, much more.
Every time I read those two pages I have to remind myself that professional scriptwriters wrote them. It's truly awful...
Also, there's something a bit weird about M standing and watching Bond essentially murder a man and smiling after. As much as the 'license to not kill' ending to SP was BS, it at least felt somewhat right as an emotional beat...
Criminal.
On a side note, I do find it amusing (at least in my own little mind) that Craig's Bond has these weird 'spells' when he's around Blofeld that aren't seen otherwise with his character... Like, he randomly tries to run and tackle Blofeld when he shows Madeline the video of White killing himself (why he couldn't just tell her not to look I don't know... it's not like Bond was hiding how her father died or anything). That and of course 'that moment' from NTTD which is... well, a bit strange too.
The draft sample above is by Purvis & Wade, is that right?
A missed opportunity for the ultimate Bond vs Blofeld battle. Bonds nemesis was so underwhelming. It would have been less of a disappointment if Christophe had just portrayed a random villain. I haven’t watched any other film with him in it (don’t like the genre) but I had expectations as he got so much praise for his previous roles. It just didn’t work. Blofeld should have been the final villain for Craig’s cycle. I don’t know why they pushed for a fifth film with Craig, to me the ending to SP was perfect to end Craig’s cycle. So they ended up having to find another villain, Safin, that was much better but still, this was all very badly planned in my opinion. Blofeld’s card was just wasted. What a shame.
Spectre was disappointing, but as always I have to admit, I still love it.
However, I do rather like how they handled Spectre as an organization, with "people everywhere", shadowy influences in every negative newspaper headline, that wonderfully sinister meeting, and its (topical) focus on information and disinformation. I think Spectre was revived in an interesting way, while Blofeld himself was sacrificed for the brother angle which doesn't infuriate me but leaves me somewhat cold, wondering if it was really absolutely necessary to make him and Bond 'related' in a way.
And yes, NTTD suddenly washed Spectre away in one simple sweep, which retroactively leaves me less threatened by the organisation. Not what I would have done, to be frank. Think about it: for decades, Spectre and Blofeld were locked down in rights wars. Finally, the rights reverted back to EON. Finally, after decades, Spectre and Blofeld could return. Conveniently, Spectre could be presented as the sinister shadow organisation behind Quantum (and also behind Silva, unfortunately.) And what happened? We got one film with Spectre puppeteering the world, only to see the dark and powerful organisation be smoked out like a nest of wasps in the next. That's it?
To be honest, I wouldn't mind a return to form for Spectre and Blofeld in the next 'trilogy', or whatever they're hinting at, but not like this. Is it too much to ask for Blofeld to be just a creative, dangerous and ambitious man, who will eventually cross paths with Bond simply because they are on opposite sides of big global threats? I still firmly believe in putting Spectre to good use. We can start over, after all. If people can handle a new Joker every five minutes, they'll be able to handle a new Blofeld every now and then. ;-)
I'm the same on this, I watched Spectre recently, the first time I'd seen it since the week before NTTD, and it was like watching with fresh eyes.
I loved the PTS, the Rome meeting and the train fight was amazing.
It's still not one of my favourites but I enjoyed it more than I expected to
I have probably explained this before, but the way I see it, Bond and Madeleine are two lone souls--both orphaned, both alone. Whenever we see them together, the world is deserted. The clinic feels empty, L'Américain feels isolated from the rest of the world, their train wagon is completely abandoned by the time Hinx drops in, they are next seen in a desert, then in a very reclusive hideout, then in a mostly empty London, and lastly in an empty MI6 building. It's as if the story keeps isolating these two from the rest of the world. As an introvert who enjoys alone-time in places with no or at most a few other human beings, who can spend days or even weeks left to himself, who prefers to go places alone (*), I can easily relate to their emotional state and their bonding under these conditions. Unlike some, I actually think there's great chemistry between Bond and Madeleine because I recognise parts of myself in their story. But this "loner affair" isn't for everyone. I get that. I believe that's also why some seem to think there's no chemistry between these two at all. This romance spoke to me, but I understand why it doesn't speak to all.
The many empty scenes in the film -- big places, few people --set a mood that I really appreciate. Intentional or not, there's poetry in that. L'Américain is the cherry on the pie in that sense. Here we have two people who are drowsy, sweaty and drunk, locked up in a room, who stumble upon the entrance to a cold room which reveals itself like a breeze of fresh air. Newman's use of soft sounds and gentle piano strokes amplifies the hint of mystery and soft sexual tension. Watching that scene, I always wish I were Bond right there and then. Because of that scene, I mostly watch SP late at night, when the world has gone to bed and all is quiet, when my surroundings are completely dark, and when I'm just as isolated as Bond and Madeleine.
Evidently, I love the busier and more "crowded" Bond films, like FRWL, GF and TB. But I'm also happy to have SP. It's a good Bond in my humble opinion.
(*) I am now happily married. My wife and I are both introverts. "I" has turned into "we", but the rest has remained the same. We had a good time spending the first lockdown together, 24-7. We didn't need other people near us. I bet Bond and Madeleine would have been the same during the first waves of the pandemic. ;-)
They're a perfect match. I love how she shuts down Bond's interview as soon as he says "L'Americain," just as he shut down an interview as soon as "Skyfall" was mentioned in the previous film. It's a nice thing they did there.
Right? That's why I feel like they are made for each other.
Well, they literally are, from a screenwriting perspective! :))
But yeah, while I can sympathize with those who don't think the development of the romance was good enough (I thought it was more than fine for a film of this genre), I can't understand not appreciating Madeleine as being exactly the right character for James Bond.
Yes, that's why I enjoyed SP than NTTD.
I liked that there's a lingering between these two, I'm hoping for Madeleine to be some sort of Elektra King alike Character, and I think she nailed it in SP, but in NTTD, it's all thrown out of the window, with the filmmakers tried to forced her to become the new Tracy.
But still, not buying the relationship, I mean compared to Tracy or Vesper, the relationship between them felt short, just no personality and not fleshed out, we're not given any reason why they need to fall in love with each other.
And the chemistry, it's not on the characters' part but on the actors, Craig and Seydoux just didn't have the spark.
Again, I understand what they're doing with this characters, but they've got it wrong in the actors.
I don't think a flaboyant, spunky, extraverted lady would've been the right match for Craig's Bond. Maybe Roger's Bond could have handled such a girl better. ;-)
Anya Amasova? She's also a loner, or what about Melina Havelock?
Solitaire, she's also loner, Mr. Big held her like his slave.
And Moore's Bond could be also easily annoyed by such attitude of women, think of his reaction towards Bibi Dahl, or heck he's even annoyed towards Anya, when she's trying to outweigh him.
I think it's Dalton who could have handled those, both Kara and Pam (she's also flamboyant, and spunky) were both extroverted, same for Lazenby, the Angels of Death, or even Connery, think of Pussy Galore or Tatiana Romanova.
But Moore? I'm not sure, he's a bit of Old Fashioned guy, a conservative one in my view.
I can see what you mean about Dalton. One of the weakest things about TLD for me is just how naive and... well, young Kara comes across as. The character on paper seems like she'd be more world weary, perhaps cynical, and I suspect would have worked better if played like this. They vastly improved things with Pam in LTK and the relationship feels more organic despite the fact that it's TLD that's leaning into the 'Bond falls in love with this girl' aspect.
It's an interesting thought for future Bond films - what types of Bond girls/what personalities work better alongside certain Bonds?
I've found this with quite a few other Bond films. I only watch them occasionally, when I've half-forgotten what happens. As such they can move or down my rankings accordingly.
The suspense should have been in the execution of whoever that guy was, as it was in all the old SPECTRE scenes (FRWL, TB, YOLT). If you're going to buy the rights to SPECTRE back, at least get that part right.