SPECTRE - Grading & Discussion
- Thread starter Commander Richard
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I haven't seen Skyfall. I did see this one.
I think they had the ingredients there, the actors there but they could've done more with the bits and pieces that they had and the result was the film just didn't gel at all. I think Blofeld was potentially well cast but nothing was done with that actor, his dialogue was weak, his characterisation was weak and the way Blofeld was ultimately captured was just wishy-washy. And the Bond torture scene is just odd rather than effective. I don't object to Bond being his adoptive brother but they didn't exploit it much.
For me the building blocks to have strong film are all there but they just didn't build the structure properly.
I think they had the ingredients there, the actors there but they could've done more with the bits and pieces that they had and the result was the film just didn't gel at all. I think Blofeld was potentially well cast but nothing was done with that actor, his dialogue was weak, his characterisation was weak and the way Blofeld was ultimately captured was just wishy-washy. And the Bond torture scene is just odd rather than effective. I don't object to Bond being his adoptive brother but they didn't exploit it much.
For me the building blocks to have strong film are all there but they just didn't build the structure properly.
Well, I've been no fan of the previous Craig-Bonds, which is why it's taken me so long to watch this one. And although there is a lot to complain about SPECTRE, gotta say ...
Well, I've been no fan of the previous Craig-Bonds, which is why it's taken me so long to watch this one. And although there is a lot to complain about SPECTRE, gotta say ...
That was an awesome scene by the way.
Wheaton really needs his own show.
I also think in the next Re-mastered TNG release they should randomly insert Wesley telling Picard to "Live long and suck it!"
I also think in the next Re-mastered TNG release they should randomly insert Wesley telling Picard to "Live long and suck it!"
He had a 'talk' show on SyFy. It didn't do well.
"Writing's on the Wall" won Best Original Song at the Golden Globes.
Blu-ray rip is now available in the usual place for anyone who's not seen it. Retail copies hit stores in 3 weeks in the US.
I didn't catch this in theaters but I finally saw it on home video. Like many have said, Spectre is a very paint by the numbers Bond film. It doesn't do anything horrible or stupid (Die Another Day, A View To A Kill) but it doesn't do anything particularly well or new (Casino Royale, Goldeneye).
Blofeld was wasted and Spectre's master plan left me scratching my head. "Surveillance! That will bring world domination! So how..."
I get the sense they wanted to do a story that was topical to our world now, but no one is really intimidated by surveillance in that way. Also Blofeld's plan to drill holes into Bond's skull is silly. All that would result would Bond not being able to recognize the Bond girl he literally just met.
Oh well. Hopefully Bond 25 is a revenge of Blofeld type movie.
Blofeld was wasted and Spectre's master plan left me scratching my head. "Surveillance! That will bring world domination! So how..."
I get the sense they wanted to do a story that was topical to our world now, but no one is really intimidated by surveillance in that way. Also Blofeld's plan to drill holes into Bond's skull is silly. All that would result would Bond not being able to recognize the Bond girl he literally just met.
Oh well. Hopefully Bond 25 is a revenge of Blofeld type movie.
I bought the Blu-ray this week and have just watched it (4th viewing 3 at the cinema) and it's still a film that infuriates me. So much about it is good but it just goes off the rails after Austria.
There was no need for Bond and Blofeld to have a prior connection, no need for the grand 'reveal', no need for every Daniel Craig Bond film to tie into this one. The finale is bland and the shooting down of a helicopter with a PPK is just ridiculous (I know Bond films are supposed to be preposterous but oddly this annoys me more than an invisible car ever could). Their escape from Blofeld's lair is ridiculously easy, the henchmen just stand there like targets and let him shoot them!
The diabolical scheme to read all our emails might be topical but that doesn't make it engaging and several people are badly miscast. Waltz should be awesome but he never seems to fizzle, and whilst I can see Seydoux is a decent actress she and DC have zero chemistry, so falling in love after 30 minutes seems trite in the extreme, and especially to suggest that have the kind of connection that means Bond would give up his 00 status for her make zero sense. Craig has more chemistry with Bellucci.
Yet there is a lot to like: The bits in Mexico, Rome, Austria. Batuista is formidable, Q is awesome and M and Moneypenny are good, it's just like they wrote half the script then didn't know what to do next?
I think Bond #25 would benefit from a new actor in the role (much as I love Captain Grumpy's portrayal) zero baggage from previous films, a villain with a plot that's tangible and perhaps a director better suited to action (also a Bond film that returned to a 2 hour run time would be good there's really no need for a Bond film to run to almost 150 minutes)
There was no need for Bond and Blofeld to have a prior connection, no need for the grand 'reveal', no need for every Daniel Craig Bond film to tie into this one. The finale is bland and the shooting down of a helicopter with a PPK is just ridiculous (I know Bond films are supposed to be preposterous but oddly this annoys me more than an invisible car ever could). Their escape from Blofeld's lair is ridiculously easy, the henchmen just stand there like targets and let him shoot them!
The diabolical scheme to read all our emails might be topical but that doesn't make it engaging and several people are badly miscast. Waltz should be awesome but he never seems to fizzle, and whilst I can see Seydoux is a decent actress she and DC have zero chemistry, so falling in love after 30 minutes seems trite in the extreme, and especially to suggest that have the kind of connection that means Bond would give up his 00 status for her make zero sense. Craig has more chemistry with Bellucci.
Yet there is a lot to like: The bits in Mexico, Rome, Austria. Batuista is formidable, Q is awesome and M and Moneypenny are good, it's just like they wrote half the script then didn't know what to do next?
I think Bond #25 would benefit from a new actor in the role (much as I love Captain Grumpy's portrayal) zero baggage from previous films, a villain with a plot that's tangible and perhaps a director better suited to action (also a Bond film that returned to a 2 hour run time would be good there's really no need for a Bond film to run to almost 150 minutes)
Thought it was pretty terrible. Casino Royale impressed but each subsequent film has been getting more and more Bond-like in its ridiculousness.
How long before a villain puts his little finger to his mouth?
The scene with the watch annoyed me. Blofeld knows the ins and outs of the intelligence world (including gadgets) yet he let's him keep his watch on for the torture... and then starts monologuing.
How long before a villain puts his little finger to his mouth?
The scene with the watch annoyed me. Blofeld knows the ins and outs of the intelligence world (including gadgets) yet he let's him keep his watch on for the torture... and then starts monologuing.
So, let me get this straight; "Skyfall" was the first Bond theme song to win an Oscar, which means none of the previous theme songs got one. Not "Goldfinger", not "Thunderball", not "Live & Let Die", not "Nobody Does it Better", not "A View to a Kill", not "GoldenEye", not "The World is not Enough", and not "You Know My Name".
So, how the fuck did that sonic equivalent of a huge pile of shit win an Oscar?
And no, it wasn't "just a weak year". Have you heard Lady Gaga's "Til It Happens to You"? That was outstandingly touching and brilliant. Or "Simple Song #3"?
Seriously, it felt like most of the Academy didn't even bother to check the nominees out before going "What the hell, I'll just vote for the Bond song".
So, how the fuck did that sonic equivalent of a huge pile of shit win an Oscar?
And no, it wasn't "just a weak year". Have you heard Lady Gaga's "Til It Happens to You"? That was outstandingly touching and brilliant. Or "Simple Song #3"?
Seriously, it felt like most of the Academy didn't even bother to check the nominees out before going "What the hell, I'll just vote for the Bond song".
I agree with all of this.
The Honest Trailer for Spectre ripped the movie a new one for all the things you and I listed.
The thing about Léa Seydoux, is that we've seen her be a badass in a previous spy movie. Mission Impossible IV Ghost Protocol. In Spectre though, she's just kind of a damsel. Bond really didn't bring it last year. Kingsmen, MI 5 and The Man From Uncle all tried to innovate the genre in different ways. Please Bond 25, bring us back to the intensity of Skyfall and Casino.
Finally saw it via "On Demand" here, and I did not think much of it.
Seemed to be a collection of "usual" vignettes, Bits, and obligatory plot elements. Bond is Bond, to be sure, but this one was (as has been mentioned well and often in this Thread) not one of the Best.
Seemed to be a collection of "usual" vignettes, Bits, and obligatory plot elements. Bond is Bond, to be sure, but this one was (as has been mentioned well and often in this Thread) not one of the Best.
Yeah I think that's part of the problem with Spectre, by the time it came along I'd seen Kingsman (twice) Man from UNCLE, Rogue Nation and Spooks and whilst the only one of those films I'd say was definitely better on all fronts than Spectre was Kingsman,the only film I'd definitely say Spectre was better than was Rogue Nation.
I still think Spectre suffers from the same problem as Rogue Nation in that all the good stuff is front loaded, so by the time it gets to the final third both have to fall back on some drab running and shooting in London in the dark. I'd love to know how much of the budget went on Mexico City!
It's clear there were script issues all the way through as well; Logan's initial script was weak enough that the producers bought Wade and Purvis back in again, but even their polish needed a polish given that Jez Butterworth was bought in to do yet more work on it. I never read the hacked Sony emails that came out in the early days but looking at them now it's clear that the original final third might have even been worse.
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