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Hashima 'Ghost' Island and the death of Severene.
This abandoned island in Japan was the inspiration for the ruined island lair of Silva,although it was not used in the film :
A good bio on it can be found here on WIKI :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashima_Island
How do you feel about the death of Severene ? Should her character have been developed more ?
Do you think the death was cleverly executed (pardon the pun !) and used the fact well that Bond was at the end of his physical tether,in the shooting contest ?
A good bio on it can be found here on WIKI :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashima_Island
How do you feel about the death of Severene ? Should her character have been developed more ?
Do you think the death was cleverly executed (pardon the pun !) and used the fact well that Bond was at the end of his physical tether,in the shooting contest ?
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Comments
But was the Hashima/death sequence good? Dam' straight. The more I see it, the more I love it. With Charles Trenet's Boum playing in the background, it was a masterstroke. Also reminded me of Caparzo's death sequence in Saving Private Ryan.
It's unfortunate how many people misinterpret the line (or conversely, try to defend it on utilitarian grounds). The reason it comes across so badly to many fans is that it's a vicious play on a franchise cliché. It's not "they're on their way to a funeral", but its complete inverse - the breakdown of a coping strategy. If you've spent years soaking in the Bond formula, it can be hard to see that.
If it made you uncomfortable, good, that was the point. Complaining about the "waste of scotch" is like complaining about Bond not making love to Tracy's limp body at the end of OHMSS. Neither were intended as conventions; rather, they demolished conventions to display James Bond as an ordinary man.
Interesting thoughts. I had issues with the scene until some users pointed out that Bond was upset and unsure how to express himself. I've re-watched the scene and accept that now. Craig's response is very subtle and it's easy to miss.
Perhaps the biggest complaint would seem to be that the Silva lair could of been utilized more than just a few minutes in the movie. Less time in London maybe and more spent on the island than just the 'target practice' scenes. Wish they could of provided a little more. Some would argue it would of been a more fitting location for an end battle with Silva and his men than the finale in Scotland I.E. make some 'Home Alone' style ideas and a whole lot of bangs and explosions, but that's the decision they undertook
That's how i see it as well,but with so many quips in the Moore/Brosnan eras,it's not surprising people see it as a 'throw-away' quip rather than an emotionally and physically wrecked Bond trying to hold it together - before he snaps of course and wipes out Silva's men,reverting to the Bond we know.
Even though I have seen this place a number of times? It still takes my breath away in wonderment!
Agreed--an abandoned island is a terrific setting, full of material for ingenious bits of action. It was definitely under-utilized.
Amen! I'm getting very tired of the sacrificial-bedmate cliche. The books managed to avoid it for the most part, but the films picked up the bad habit with Goldfinger and have run the trope into the ground.
Regarding the debate on the "waste of" line--the fact that folks still can't agree on its interpretation suggests a fault on either Craig's part (though he's excellent in the rest of the film) or Mendes (who either didn't give clear direction or didn't go for a better take). Ambiguity can occasionally benefit a Bond film, but here its suggest that Bond is either shaken or callous--the latter is to be avoided.
I think LTK was the last time (and one of the few times, OP comes to mind) when both of Bond's bedmates survive. The morbid practice began with GF and has gone full bore with Brosnan's and Craig's films. (especially Craig's)
It was an unnatural attempt, much like the forced humor, by Craig to appear as though he is Connery or Moore instead of leading the way as his own Bond like in CR or QoS. Just stupid.
But Della was brutally murdered...
Just think, in how many Bond films a woman does NOT die?? (Answer: two!)
FRWL- ROSA KLEBB
GF- JILL AND TILLY MASTERSON
TB- PAULA CAPLAN
YOLT- HELGA BRANDT
OHMSS- TRACY
DAF- PLENTY O'TOOLE
LALD- ROSIE CARVER
TMWTGG- ANDREA ANDERS
TSWLM- NAOMI
MR- CORINNE DUFOUR
FYEO- IONA HAVELOCK
OP- No female death
AVTAK- MAYDAY
TLD- No female death
LTK- DELLA LEITER
GE- XENIA ONATOPP
TND- PARIS CARVER
TWINE- ELEKTRA KING
DAD- MIRANDA FROST
CR- VESPER
QOS- FIELDS
SF- SEVERINE
Thanks, @MayDayDiVicenzo
I wouldn't actually count Della as being a "Bond girl" per se.
Still ever since after Goldfinger, you can be sure that the second billed actress' character was going to be bumped off, to the point where I was expecting Bibi, Magda and Lupe to die...but luckily they didn't.
Yes, that's certainly a part of it.
I would say under such circumstances, people often say things that are the opposite of how they feel.
To me, Bond's "waste of good scotch" remark was likening Severine to a fine 50 yr old scotch. Killing her was a waste of an exceptional woman.
Bond committed himself to killing people based to a considerable extent on M´s trust in him. When M shows gross misjudgement of Bond at the beginning of the film, she takes away one of (if not the) Bond´s main motivations for killing people, confronting him at once with the cruelty inherent in the act, which is only bearable with a thorough motivation. He can be a very effective killer - but cold-hearted he´s not at all. That´s why especially with the gun Bond shows insecurity. The moment he realises how cold-heartedly Silva kills people, especially the gorgeous Severine, he snaps out of his motivational coma and goes back to normal.
And Bond also had to keep his cool. Had he said something like: "Oh you despicable sadistic monster!" he would have let Silva know he got under his skin and the emotional outburst would have prevented him to keep focused.