Post by oscarnerdjulief on Nov 9, 2015 16:13:38 GMT -5
It was fun to watch, but didn't leave much of a lasting impact and wasn't as good as "Skyfall." Thoughts?
I'm not big on Bond. It's only the third Bond movie I've seen. I've missed all the classics; Brosnan and Craig are the only Bonds I've watched. It's not something I really care about.
Post by oscarnerdjulief on Nov 10, 2015 18:59:26 GMT -5
Neat.
Movie Geeks United have a Spectre/Bond podcast that might interest you. It just came out this week. I think they take a look at the history of the franchise; I haven't listened yet, but they have had many other episodes I've loved, esp. Tinseltown Tragedies about the deceased actresses Peg Entwistle and Christa Helm. A Black Dahlia episode is coming out soon.
Post by dr.girlfriend on Nov 12, 2015 19:30:02 GMT -5
Definitely not on par with Casino Royale or Skyfall. More like Quantum of Writer's Strike. ;-)
[spoilers below]
[also some ranting]
CR and Skyfall both had action set pieces that really furthered the storyline, and were riveting because something important was at stake. Like, in Skyfall, we knew he had to get the drive, an agent died for it, and that's what made the train chase so awesome. In this, it was just like action with no purpose. The opening tracking shot, although technically impressive, was just like -- okay, who is this guy? Why did Bond shoot everyone *except* him (except to keep the action scene going) if he wants him dead? Why do we care?
And after all the hype about a "Bond girl" Daniel Craig's age, the role of Monica Belucci was so WTF. I mean, it's a throwback to the old cliche of Bond films but there's a reason those got subverted in the reboot -- they're stupidly implausible. Yes, assassins are coming to kill us both, and yes, I just met you, but let's bone because that's not at ALL a vulnerable position to be in. :-P Not to mention, all the set-up just to have the guy say, "I'm calling myself ERNST STAVRO BLOFELD!!!" DUN DUN DUN!!! And Bond's like, "Okay, whatever, dorky name but you be you." Because it's not like he's heard the name Blofeld before, but the fans have, and that's who that dramatic line was in there for, not like we didn't know the second we saw that fluffy cat. And whatever, the big international villain just HAPPENS to be someone Bond grew up with and for some reason Madeleine was there too even though she's like 20 years younger than them so Bond should have already been in the Navy when she was a kid? And this guy has been messing with Bond all this time for...reasons?
I am a big fan of Q, Moneypenny, and Mallory in this reboot (and I loved Judi Dench's M too) so I was excited to see them taking a bigger role in the previews and stuff, and they did, but it wasn't well-formulated at all. They could have done a lot more.
So, I guess the sum of all this ranting is that I heard a lot about how they started shooting this thing before the script was solid, and it really shows it. And how crazy over budget it was -- I keep seeing headlines about that big explosion, and I'm like...my kid could CGI that in iMovie. Why the HELL did they actually blow some giant thing up except to waste money? And like that wasn't the stupidest thing either, hit one pipe and five square miles of super-secure facility goes up in a ball of fire. Apparently it was designed by the same guy who drew up the plans for the Death Star.
Post by oscarnerdjulief on Nov 13, 2015 16:14:58 GMT -5
It seems like it's not doing that great considering the budget. If it's at about 80 right now and cost 240+ to make, it will have to do really well overseas to make back its money. Maybe it will. I am not a Bond fan and haven't studied it.
I'm more into analyzing the failure of Steve Jobs and what ramifications it will have for screenplay. (I feel that its failure has made Best Pic and Actor out of reach, probably Supporting Actress, too.)
I saw it and it certainly wasn't as good as Skyfall, which is my favorite of the Daniel Craig bonds so far, and the script was lacking quite a bit more than Casino Royal. Not as boring as Quantum of Solace, though.
I certainly love the fact that Bond is so self-reverential, and that they are playing around with a lot of that history since the reboot. I'm interested in having Blofeld back. However, I thought the end where he lived was implausible, as the only thing it accomplished was giving Bond an arch-nemesis. I also thought Christophe Waltz was just okay as a villain.
I liked the actress who played Madeleine. I love Ralph Fiennes, but I miss Judi Dench!
So we'll see. Daniel Craig is contracted for 1 more film, I believe.