SPECTRE - Grading & Discussion
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I have been looking forward to Spectre since it was first announced. Not only was this the return of the most dangerous adversarial group that James Bond has ever faced (the aforementioned SPECTRE) but the return of Bond's greatest enemy: Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Ever since the scenes where the character was "killed" I've been waiting for this moment. I've been waiting for this moment with each Bond film since, and Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace had me ready for this film. Finally, a fitting enemy!
And this is what they gave us? I was expecting much, much more from the return of SPECTRE and Blofeld. Instead they gave us a horribly predictable plot, action scenes that were boring more than thrilling, and an overall bland villain. Why the hell does Blofeld have to have any past connection with James Bond anyway? This was just trying to shoehorn interest in a horrible film. What was up with Daniel Craig in this film too? I know (from the articles) that he is getting tired of the role, but after this I'd prefer him not to come back either.
Regardless, I'm giving it a C for pure nostalgic purposes of a return to Blofeld and SPECTRE. Hopefully they get an exciting follow up in Bond 25.
And this is what they gave us? I was expecting much, much more from the return of SPECTRE and Blofeld. Instead they gave us a horribly predictable plot, action scenes that were boring more than thrilling, and an overall bland villain. Why the hell does Blofeld have to have any past connection with James Bond anyway? This was just trying to shoehorn interest in a horrible film. What was up with Daniel Craig in this film too? I know (from the articles) that he is getting tired of the role, but after this I'd prefer him not to come back either.
Regardless, I'm giving it a C for pure nostalgic purposes of a return to Blofeld and SPECTRE. Hopefully they get an exciting follow up in Bond 25.
Well I saw Spectre for the third time this week and I have to say it does get better with repeat viewings. I am completely convinced now that Blofeld doesn't give much of a shit about Bond, and that his primary motivation is all about the girl!
That's a reasonable interpretation. I like it.
I still haven't seen it. I'm too lazy to go to the theatre. I'll wait until it's released for streaming.
I only got around to seeing it last week. I didn't want to break a streak I've had going since I saw Octopussy in the theater in 1983.
Boy, the Mendes/Craig Bond really sucks at his job, doesn't he? In Skyfall, he disobeys orders and loses the list of undercover agents to tend to an agent who was dying anyway. Then he lets the IT intern plug a master hacker's laptop right into MI6's network, resulting in the deaths of several people and the shooting up of a parliamentary inquiry. Then he takes his boss on a spectacularly ill-conceived countryside lark instead of, say, calling any of his fellow 00 buddies for backup. (Or Leiter. Or literally anyone else except some old fart at his childhood estate. No worries, dude, you're only guarding one of the heads of British Intelligence.)
Now, in Spectre, it takes him several minutes to win a fight against some random old dude in a helicopter, and in the process attacks the helicopter's pilot (while they're in midair) for no apparent reason. (Oh, and he previously let the old dude get on the helicopter in the first place by merely walking behind him for some reason.) Then he steals an MI6 car without bothering to learn its capabilities or how to use them. (Luckily for him, in this universe, Rome is pretty much completely deserted after dark in May). And when he's told about someone who might be able to help his investigation, at extreme potential risk to herself, he opts not to, say, sneak into her quarters and wait for a private chat opportunity, but instead waltzes into her extremely visible office and, without any apparent check to see if it's bugged, starts spouting off talk that immediately gets her abducted, and almost killed.
He then takes a train directly to the villain's lair, for some reason. He doesn't even break into it or employ any stealth whatsoever, he's chauffered there. I repeat: he and his date are willingly chauffered to the villain's lair, with no forward planning whatsoever. ("Let me teach you how to use a gun! Even though I'll happily smile and hand mine over to whoever greets us. Maybe if we find another weapon lying around at some point, say, in the lair's gym's locker room, it'll come in handy. I'm a secret agent dude!")
Finally, once he gets back to London, despite warning his date that "this isn't over", he lets her leave an apparently perfectly decent safe house on the night of an important operation... and then, the very next day, instead of helping with the task of investigating and bringing to justice the other few dozen members of Spectre, he up and resigns. Maybe he's only able to do so because M was glad to seem him off, because man, as a secret agent, he suuuuuuuuucccckkkks!!! He wouldn't last a day on Ethan Hunt's team.
That said, I liked Spectre a lot more than the equally ludicrous but much more boring Skyfall. The franchise still has no idea whatsoever to do about the issue of white spies being pretty much useless in today's actual world. If Craig doesn't return, I stand by my words from January:Since the much-balleyhooed reboot of Spectre the organization turned out to be a whole lot of nothin' (pretty much just some dudes skimming profits off international crime), and The Man from UNCLE won't be launching a rival period-piece franchise, why not let a WW2 Bond fight some dirty rotten Nat-zees?! 
Now, in Spectre, it takes him several minutes to win a fight against some random old dude in a helicopter, and in the process attacks the helicopter's pilot (while they're in midair) for no apparent reason. (Oh, and he previously let the old dude get on the helicopter in the first place by merely walking behind him for some reason.) Then he steals an MI6 car without bothering to learn its capabilities or how to use them. (Luckily for him, in this universe, Rome is pretty much completely deserted after dark in May). And when he's told about someone who might be able to help his investigation, at extreme potential risk to herself, he opts not to, say, sneak into her quarters and wait for a private chat opportunity, but instead waltzes into her extremely visible office and, without any apparent check to see if it's bugged, starts spouting off talk that immediately gets her abducted, and almost killed.
He then takes a train directly to the villain's lair, for some reason. He doesn't even break into it or employ any stealth whatsoever, he's chauffered there. I repeat: he and his date are willingly chauffered to the villain's lair, with no forward planning whatsoever. ("Let me teach you how to use a gun! Even though I'll happily smile and hand mine over to whoever greets us. Maybe if we find another weapon lying around at some point, say, in the lair's gym's locker room, it'll come in handy. I'm a secret agent dude!")
Finally, once he gets back to London, despite warning his date that "this isn't over", he lets her leave an apparently perfectly decent safe house on the night of an important operation... and then, the very next day, instead of helping with the task of investigating and bringing to justice the other few dozen members of Spectre, he up and resigns. Maybe he's only able to do so because M was glad to seem him off, because man, as a secret agent, he suuuuuuuuucccckkkks!!! He wouldn't last a day on Ethan Hunt's team.
That said, I liked Spectre a lot more than the equally ludicrous but much more boring Skyfall. The franchise still has no idea whatsoever to do about the issue of white spies being pretty much useless in today's actual world. If Craig doesn't return, I stand by my words from January:
Maybe the next series after Craig should reintroduce the character as a commando in his 20s at the height of the war, and have the first installment be a cross between a traditional Bond movie and a classic war caper like The Dam Busters, something requiring his upper-class suavity in addition to traditional soldiering grit. Said reboot could then end with the war ending, and Bond being recruited into MI6.
Because the more I think on it, the weirder Casino Royale's introduction of Bond as a late-30s rookie gets. What was he doing prior to scoring his two kills? He was a Commander in the Royal Navy... but never killed anyone? Or did military kills not count?
Because the more I think on it, the weirder Casino Royale's introduction of Bond as a late-30s rookie gets. What was he doing prior to scoring his two kills? He was a Commander in the Royal Navy... but never killed anyone? Or did military kills not count?
I don't see how that was Bond's fault...that was Q's territory.
He spent their whole meeting scene shaking his head at how young, and therefore inexperienced, the kid was. So, what's the use of him being experienced if he isn't even smart enough to say "hey, are you sure that's a good idea?" I was in the audience groaning, "nooooo, don't do that, you morons; it's a trap!" When I'm a cleverer secret agent than a 00... your movie's got issues, yo. It wanted to have things both ways: to tell the audience that it was a really sophisticated film, because beautiful cinematography, old paintings, and a Tennyson recitation, but wrapped in a plot a not-particularly-bright high schooler might have farted out.
Personally I liked Skyfall over Spectre, Bond's secret mission was an odd one in that MI6 had no clues about Spectre just as they no idea Quantum existed. And Blofield's master plan should've IMO been performed by an underling, it all seemed beneath Blofield to take an active role in things. Still the movie had alot of good things in it, it wasn't as memorial for me as Skyfall was.
I didn't much care for this one for many of the same reasons I haven't liked any of Daniel Craig's: It was focused too much on him and his history than actually being a spy out to save England and the world at large. It's almost like they're treating him like a superhero and insisting that he get an origin movie every time they make a new one.
And exactly how many times does he have to go rogue? He's done it in literally every single movie featuring Craig except maybe Casino Royale, and I have fuzzy memories of that.
That and Blofeld's evolution and reveal were just laughable. The foster brother thing was complete and utter eyerolling on my part.
And exactly how many times does he have to go rogue? He's done it in literally every single movie featuring Craig except maybe Casino Royale, and I have fuzzy memories of that.
That and Blofeld's evolution and reveal were just laughable. The foster brother thing was complete and utter eyerolling on my part.
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I'm not that well-versed in Bond lore, but was this whole Bond/Blofeld connection of them being “brothers” something they cooked up for this movie, or is it an idea from one of the earlier outings?
As for the movie itself: I loved it! It was better than “Skyfall” but not as good as “Casino Royale”.
As for the movie itself: I loved it! It was better than “Skyfall” but not as good as “Casino Royale”.
^ It's an idea from Austin Powers in Goldmember. Seriously! 
Which is partly why the whole thing fell apart for me. I mean, it's never a good idea to emulate the parody.^ It's an idea from Austin Powers in Goldmember. Seriously!
I mean, when the Sony leak happened, it was the one thing everyone focused on, so much so, that EON made assurances that everything would be okay.
At which point I sort of assumed they'd at least change it such that Oberhauser was his own person and there'd be a Blofeld (as someone else) reveal at the end.
And besides, the whole step-brothers angle adds absolutely nothing to the film, anyway.
Yeah, the family connection angle was horribly undercooked, and the "Bond goes rogue" schtick has been way overused. A better way to handle that would be if he went rogue with a wink and a nudge from M, playing upon his reputation for going rogue. "We've been ordered not to look into this. It's a good thing that I can rely upon my agents not to go off and take matters into their own hands. By the way, Bond, don't you have some leave coming?"
I found it overlong, overly complicated, and just plain boring -- with the exception of the excellent opening sequence.
Eh. From a purely artistic standpoint, that long shot was pretty incredible. But, yeah, as a whole, the opening didn't do much for me either.
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