I enjoyed it, it definitely felt like a true bond movie, as opposed to Quantum of Solace which was just a generic action movie. It continues Skyfall's tradition of fusing the new Bond aesthetics with a classic Bond plot. I think that may turn quite a few people off, because classic Bond plots are silly, but I honestly loved it. It wasn't the best movie ever, but it was a fun popcorn flick. The revival of Spectre in Bond was incredibly welcome, and Christopher Waltz was delightfully chewing the scenery in his role. Dave Bautista was entertaining as the newest henchmen, although he never got a formal name in the film and only seemed to use his gimmick once when introduced. The movie even has a ridiculously convoluted torture scene!
Spoilers for the identity of a major character. If you're a Bond fan you'll have guessed this already, and if you're not it will be a meaningless reveal.
So, I already figured that Christopher Waltz was Blofeld, but the moment Bond wakes up in the torture chamber I got really excited when the first thing we saw was a fluffy white cat!
All in all I thought it was alright. I usually like Christoph Waltz a lot, but not too much in this. I think it was largely the writing for the villain himself though. Lots of strange individual lines (in general, not just for Waltz).
When the burly assassin man realizes he's ****ed after Bond ropes him to the metal barrels in the train, they take that setup and give him the line "shoot". Really, you thought just "shoot" was good enough? You gotta have something full-on cheesy or else legitimately clever or dramatic for that moment.
First act was pretty good in all but then I feel like it started to drag as they tried to backfill the past few movies with plot.
Also, I get what they're trying to do, but I don't like the recent trend of "WooOOooOOOoOO spooky information stuff is supplanting agents!!!", with a basic knowledge of computers all the computer stuff looks really silly (as in most movies) and I don't know, it just smacks of riding the modern fear of big information without really taking the effort to fully make it truly fit Bond. Would've been fine for just one movie, or if it was incorporated better. I get that Bond proves the worth of individual agents in the end, but this is one deviation from the formula (Bond being somehow in control of whatever crazy events at all times, even if not obviously) that I don't generally appreciate.
I'm fine with how predictable C being allied with Christoph was - in fact a lot more cool stuff might have been done with it - but it's always annoying to me to figure things like that out far before professional spies in the movie do, when the director doesn't establish it deliberately.
Eh, not like I'm a big Bond fan anyway. It was okay.
It was alright. As Jay13x said, it was a good popcorn flick, and had it been made in the past, when that's what James Bond was expected to be, we'd rate it among the best Bonds.
But in this era of Daniel Craig Bond, with Casino Royale and Skyfall, Bond became something more. Bond movies became wonderful dramas in their own right. And this movie tries to be an epic conclusion to this era, but the moments never hit their full impact, and the result is something that is good but isn't quite the final crescendo we might have hoped would close this era of Bond films.
I agree with Feathas that the whole data/surveillance/drones thing could have been integrated better into the movie. It's also confusing to me why, exactly, James Bond needs to continuously justify the necessity for his existence. The man is an indestructible badass who single-handedly saves the world over and over again, and people are still saying, "Oh no, the 00 agents are a thing of the past?" Seriously?
But overall, it was a decent film. It remains to be seen whether or not it will be Craig's last.
Also, I love the fact that amidst all the continuity that this movie tries to create with the previous Bond films, Quantum of Solace is all but ignored. Which means that even in the James Bond universe, everyone pretends Quantum never happened.
But overall, it was a decent film. It remains to be seen whether or not it will be Craig's last.
I think he's contracted for one more, but I don't think he wants to do another one.
I think, considering how problematic the production of this film was, that it turned out pretty great. I went in expecting trash and found a classic Bond film with updated aesthetics. I think, as you point out, we expect more from Bond films at this point, which is why it was disappointing.
I should note, this officially resets the timeline. Before, you could kid of make everything up until Skyfall work as prequels to Dr. No (outside of the dated technology). With the dumb changes to the main villain, that's no longer the case.
I will say that if I'm running a Bond Marathon, I won't skip it like I would all of Brosnan's films after Goldeneye, or like I will Quantum of Solace.
I think if I lined up all the bond films, this would rank somewhere in the middle.
It has a lot of good bond style elements, but doesn't know if it wants to be realistic or over the top cheesy.
The best example is the train fight; it amps down the music so you can get a visceral but cinematic fight and then ends...the way it ends, as if we have wandered from realism into a roadrunner cartoon.
You know, I think it was a missed opportunity that they didn't have Dave Bautista play Jaws. Pretty much exactly the same character, just have that moment where Bond punches him, recoils in pain, looks at Bautista with a mixture of fear and confusion, and the reveal of the metal teeth in a menacing grin.
I would like to see this film again, because I'd like to assess just why it works. If you think about it, this film has a lot of problems, including some problems that are just downright obvious, chief among them being the reveal that wasn't, and really most things about the main villain. If you want to criticize it, there's a lot to criticize.
And yet the film still manages to do alright in spite of that. This should be worth studying.
I think that although it had tonal issues, there was never anything that really broke an entire scene or major segment of plot for me. It never went extremely dumb or anything like that, just mildly silly and sometimes at unfitting times. On the other hand there were scenes that worked quite well.
I really liked when Bond infiltrated the Spectre meeting - tasteful humor, nice cinematography, and a good setup for the hulking assassin all rubbed away the mild cheesiness of the basic concept of the scene.
The overarching plotline, despite the problems we've brought up, is still pretty good at its core too (unlike see above link).
So I think it had a solid foundation and that the tone and plot were not compromised badly enough to make the issues ruin it.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Virtue, Jacques, is an excellent thing. Both good people and wicked people speak highly of it..."
I would like to see this film again, because I'd like to assess just why it works. If you think about it, this film has a lot of problems, including some problems that are just downright obvious, chief among them being the reveal that wasn't, and really most things about the main villain. If you want to criticize it, there's a lot to criticize.
And yet the film still manages to do alright in spite of that. This should be worth studying.
You know, I completely agree. I think it balance the humorous tone with the seriousness enough, and updates the sillyness of Spectre as an organization to be downright terrifying. The movie is just dumb at some points,
From trying to connect all three previous villains (including the dude no one remembers from Quantum of Solace) as Spectre, or making Blofeld Bond's adopted brother and making their antipathy personal.
But then there are scenes like the satellite control center which blends Bond Villain outlandishness with just the right amount of menace.
I really feel like this must have been what watching Connery's Bond when they were new was like.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
I enjoyed it, it definitely felt like a true bond movie, as opposed to Quantum of Solace which was just a generic action movie. It continues Skyfall's tradition of fusing the new Bond aesthetics with a classic Bond plot. I think that may turn quite a few people off, because classic Bond plots are silly, but I honestly loved it. It wasn't the best movie ever, but it was a fun popcorn flick. The revival of Spectre in Bond was incredibly welcome, and Christopher Waltz was delightfully chewing the scenery in his role. Dave Bautista was entertaining as the newest henchmen, although he never got a formal name in the film and only seemed to use his gimmick once when introduced. The movie even has a ridiculously convoluted torture scene!
Spoilers for the identity of a major character. If you're a Bond fan you'll have guessed this already, and if you're not it will be a meaningless reveal.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Also, I get what they're trying to do, but I don't like the recent trend of "WooOOooOOOoOO spooky information stuff is supplanting agents!!!", with a basic knowledge of computers all the computer stuff looks really silly (as in most movies) and I don't know, it just smacks of riding the modern fear of big information without really taking the effort to fully make it truly fit Bond. Would've been fine for just one movie, or if it was incorporated better. I get that Bond proves the worth of individual agents in the end, but this is one deviation from the formula (Bond being somehow in control of whatever crazy events at all times, even if not obviously) that I don't generally appreciate.
But in this era of Daniel Craig Bond, with Casino Royale and Skyfall, Bond became something more. Bond movies became wonderful dramas in their own right. And this movie tries to be an epic conclusion to this era, but the moments never hit their full impact, and the result is something that is good but isn't quite the final crescendo we might have hoped would close this era of Bond films.
I agree with Feathas that the whole data/surveillance/drones thing could have been integrated better into the movie. It's also confusing to me why, exactly, James Bond needs to continuously justify the necessity for his existence. The man is an indestructible badass who single-handedly saves the world over and over again, and people are still saying, "Oh no, the 00 agents are a thing of the past?" Seriously?
But overall, it was a decent film. It remains to be seen whether or not it will be Craig's last.
Also, I love the fact that amidst all the continuity that this movie tries to create with the previous Bond films, Quantum of Solace is all but ignored. Which means that even in the James Bond universe, everyone pretends Quantum never happened.
I think, considering how problematic the production of this film was, that it turned out pretty great. I went in expecting trash and found a classic Bond film with updated aesthetics. I think, as you point out, we expect more from Bond films at this point, which is why it was disappointing.
I should note, this officially resets the timeline. Before, you could kid of make everything up until Skyfall work as prequels to Dr. No (outside of the dated technology). With the dumb changes to the main villain, that's no longer the case.
I will say that if I'm running a Bond Marathon, I won't skip it like I would all of Brosnan's films after Goldeneye, or like I will Quantum of Solace.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
It has a lot of good bond style elements, but doesn't know if it wants to be realistic or over the top cheesy.
The best example is the train fight; it amps down the music so you can get a visceral but cinematic fight and then ends...the way it ends, as if we have wandered from realism into a roadrunner cartoon.
I would like to see this film again, because I'd like to assess just why it works. If you think about it, this film has a lot of problems, including some problems that are just downright obvious, chief among them being the reveal that wasn't, and really most things about the main villain. If you want to criticize it, there's a lot to criticize.
And yet the film still manages to do alright in spite of that. This should be worth studying.
So I think it had a solid foundation and that the tone and plot were not compromised badly enough to make the issues ruin it.
But then there are scenes like the satellite control center which blends Bond Villain outlandishness with just the right amount of menace.
I really feel like this must have been what watching Connery's Bond when they were new was like.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
And, like Skyfall, cinematography that is way better than genre action films deserve.
candidus inperti; si nil, his utere mecum.