Mathis was shot when he was talking to James in the hospital garden, wasn't he?
Ok I thought the film was Flipping fantastic. the best Bond film I have seen in years. I thought that Craig pulled off his version of Bond incredibly well and that the whole movie just seemed to fit so perfectly.
I knew instantly that the recipe for Bond's martini was the one from the book, becaise I made a point of reading it before I went to the cinema just to check.
I do have a few quips however. firstly why did they decide to turn the character of Mathis into a traitor? I went with it obviously. but Its very different from the book.
I also thought the beautiful Aston Martin DBS was seriously under used and I hope it makes a return.
and that the watch wasn't seen properly, I was waiting to see it properly for most of the film.
However, as a final note. I LOVED the fact that the gadgets in the film weren't out of this world. I loved the fact that Bond's aston came with a Defibualator and that the most flashy peice of gadgetry was really the tracker that Bond has on his phone. which looked Sat Nav based and therefore all together worldly and credible. some people may say there should have been more classic gadgets like in the past movies but I thought that these seeminly normal peices of kit were 10 times more effective than a grenade pen or laser.
I plan to hopefully see it again before the end of next week, I think then I'll get a better picture of the movie as a whole.
Mathis was shot when he was talking to James in the hospital garden, wasn't he?
I assumed he was just disabled with a Taser or maybe a drugdose
otherwise killing him in such a manner would be cold even for this film
and I remember the conversation with M indicating he was in custody but had not talked, but I could be wrong
heres a couple of things that have occured to me in the 36 hour since watching the movie:
additional Fleming content: Vespers body on the road - thats not from Casino Royale, but it is from The Man With The Golden Gun!
the fibrillator scene: this seems very contrived to me - Bond phones home as his heart is stopping, and theres how many technicians there to answer his call? including M? were they all gathered round those monitors all this time just waiting for Bond to have a heart attack? didnt M have any Cabinet Ministers to meet with or Algerian wine to drink at Blades, she felt her time was better spent with the technicians just waiting for Bond to have that heart attack?
and assuming Vesper did know to look for him in the car at that moment, how did she instantly know what was wrong with him and that she needed to press the red button?
if this were Die Another Day that would have all seemed as credible as anything else, but was a surprising lapse in logic for this film
Mathis, good guy or bad guy?:
we just have le chiffre's word Mathis was really his friend, and all his alleged betrayals could just as easily have been Vespers, as they were in the book
he's still alive at the end, apparantly has not been proven guilty, and the conversation Bond has with M mainly is about her satisfaction that he now trusts nobody
but the bit where he's introduced now confuses me: the bit with the police chief, who he claims was working for le Chiffre and he's just now set up - theres betrayal upon betrayal going on here, and we only have his cryptic words to tell us what just happened
I suspect he'll be back for episode 2
Agreed about Mathis, but I think your earlier point can be easily explained.
You have to remember that Bond is on an important mission (the card game occurs over a single night, remember), so I think it's reasonable to think the head of MI6 would be around while it was going on. Do intelligence agencies have medical officers available by radio during intelligence operations? Why not? A medical corpsman of some type always accompanies troops into combat. So it makes sense to me. Now a defillibrator in a car? Frankly, it makes more sense than an ejector seat for me. And just about as much fun.
As for Vesper, when your partner leaves the game unexpectedly and you find him passed out, hooked up to a machine with an uncoupled coupling and a big red button and people on a cell phone are yelling, "Push the button, Bond, push the button," it makes sense to me -- for a movie.
As for Vesper, when your partner leaves the game unexpectedly and you find him passed out, hooked up to a machine with an uncoupled coupling and a big red button and people on a cell phone are yelling, "Push the button, Bond, push the button," it makes sense to me -- for a movie.
All I can say is thank God he hadn't engaged the invisibility cloak ...
As for Vesper, when your partner leaves the game unexpectedly and you find him passed out, hooked up to a machine with an uncoupled coupling and a big red button and people on a cell phone are yelling, "Push the button, Bond, push the button," it makes sense to me -- for a movie.
All I can say is thank God he hadn't engaged the invisibility cloak ...
They do in the States if they like it and let me tell you they liked it. When Craig spoke the immortal line and the Bond theme started, the theater burst into applause.
They also cheered when Bond told LeChiffre everyone would know LeChiffre died "scratching my ..."
We're far too repressed for any of that here but the biggest reaction from the audience came from the 'Do I look like I give a damn?' line. There was a great laugh . I think the people really enjoyed the twist.They were obviously expecting something else
They do in the States if they like it and let me tell you they liked it. When Craig spoke the immortal line and the Bond theme started, the theater burst into applause.
They also cheered when Bond told LeChiffre everyone would know LeChiffre died "scratching my ..."
We're far too repressed for any of that here but the biggest reaction from the audience came from the 'Do I look like I give a damn?' line. There was a great laugh . I think the people really enjoyed the twist.They were obviously expecting something else
I know people whoop and cheer in the US for films and Clap - they might also do in other countries; i've been going to the cinema at least once a week with the lads since '87 (whoa how much must that have cost)and I have never seen people clap. I think Lady Rose is right that we are a reserved and repressed lot. After all it's a screen, they can't hear u, unlike the theatre where u can show ur appreciation
They do in the States if they like it and let me tell you they liked it. When Craig spoke the immortal line and the Bond theme started, the theater burst into applause.
They also cheered when Bond told LeChiffre everyone would know LeChiffre died "scratching my ..."
We're far too repressed for any of that here but the biggest reaction from the audience came from the 'Do I look like I give a damn?' line. There was a great laugh . I think the people really enjoyed the twist.They were obviously expecting something else
I know people whoop and cheer in the US for films and Clap - they might also do in other countries; i've been going to the cinema at least once a week with the lads since '87 (whoa how much must that have cost)and I have never seen people clap. I think Lady Rose is right that we are a reserved and repressed lot. After all it's a screen, they can't hear u, unlike the theatre where u can show ur appreciation
Reserved and repressed? A7ce, Rose -- then you guys need to set an example and get some of that British-football-fan enthusiasm going at the movies. )
Just to clear up the Mathis deal. He was "stun gunned" at the hospital, and like a previous poster mentioned I assume he will appear in the next film. Remeber it has been announced that Bond 22 will be a sequeal to the CR ending.
About the Defib. scene, my wife brought up the idea that Felix should have been the one to save Bond, to help build more of a "bond" between them, but I guess the writers thought building a "bond" with Vesper was more important.
On Mathis, clearly he's coming back in Bond 22. I would like to think he's an ally -- which would be consistent with Fleming's story and is plausible, given that any betraying act can be attributed to Vesper. However, why would Le Chiffre claim Mathis was on his side if it weren't true? That's what I can't get straight.
On the defib scene, I didn't like it. Not only would I expect Bond to know what to do without calling for help, but beyond that the scene feels extraneous. I realize they were trying to break up the card game monotony with action set pieces, but this was one too many, IMO. By contrast, the return of the Ugandans was brilliant. (BTW, when you first saw that creepy Ugandan thug at the beginning, didn't you just know you would see him again?)
On Felix...clearly underused. Great idea by a previous poster that having him save Bond's life would have been cool. I assume that he, like Mathis, will be back in a bigger way next time out.
Everybody's lamenting about the short-lived DBS. I can't really disagree...but how about the appearance of the '64 DB5? How sweet that Bond wins it from Dimitrious!
Maybe I'm so used to watching the films in my home that I've forgotten how different the cinema is, but there were two moments when I was startled out of my seat -- when the Ugandans pounced on Le Chiffre, and when Bond shot White. Wasn't expecting those.
Two great moments: the absolute shock -- first of Bond, then of Le Chiffre -- at their stunning poker losses. Great acting by Craig and Mikkelsen in those sequences.
Something I need help with...when Vesper leaves Bond at the dinner table, saying Mathis wants to meet with her, what makes Bond suddenly chase after her? Is it merely that hearing Mathis's name again triggers a realization that it was Mathis who was betraying him.
Finally, one thing I was confused about...near the end, when M tells Bond that someone from MI6 Treasury is waiting for the money to be deposited, there's a man in her office. To me, it looked just like Michael G. Wilson. Were my eyes tricking me, or was Mickey in another cameo (in addition to the Chief of Police)?
I think it occurs to him that Mathis may have tipped off LeChiffre that Bond had figured out his "tell."
I didn't notice Wilson in M's office, but that would be quite an interesting twist if it is, although I'm not sure what it would mean. I'll let you know towards the end of the week. I'll be seeing it again over Thanksgiving.
When was the last time there was actually any real mystery in a Bond film?
I have to say, I loved the poisoning scene, especially when he stumbles out of the Splendide and grabs the glass of water and salt shaker to try and make himself vomit. I was really on the edge of my seat.
I think being that Bond is a Spy and as a result his mind should be mulling over many things simultaneously. While having dinner with Vesper I'm sure Bond was still wondering how he lost the first portion of his money in the poker game, which all had to do with Le Chiffre's mannerisms when he bluffed. He told both Vesper and Mathis about his "tip", and I think the marble dropped when Vesper mentions Mathis, Bond realizes that someone told Le Chiffre he was tipping his hand/bluffs. In the next film it could be brought out that Vesper tipped off Le Chiffre.
Upon second viewing of the film that did look like Michael G. Wilson , but I'm not completely sure.
Okay...I'll post my thoughts here, and you guys can let me have it. Overall, I was not that impressed with CR. It wasn't bad, but could have been better.
The good?
THE FIRST HALF
Action galore. Original concepts and excellent editing (from ace editor Stuart Baird) make for some riveting action sequences. Shame that the back half of the film was so uneven.
DANIEL CRAIG
DC proves himself as an excellent James Bond and polished actor. He delivered lines which of all the actors who played the part, I could only imagine Dalton being able to give credence to. Top notch
For me, this pretty much constitutes what is good in CR
The reasons I dislike CR tend to be a little different from what I was expecting:
THE REBOOT - pointless, IMO. The black and white opening for me was simply Over The Top. Other than confirming Bond’s OO status, it doesn’t carry over into the story. We see Bond is a tough killer (but we knew that already). How does this relate to the remainder of the story? I didn’t feel it worked.
“M”
I appear to be the only one who feels Dame Judy fails miserably in this role. Part of it, to her credit, is the poor handling of the character. “M” was always a strong character, but since GE, Dench was left with a struggling and semi-ineffective beauracrat. There was a time when even the audience cowered under M’s authority, an individual who ruled his organization in Bristol-fashion. Gone are the strong bits of dialogue that made Bond feel sheepish like “Since I’ve been in charge, there’s been a drop in 00 casualties!” “Having a licence to kill is useless unless one can set up a target!” and “From this moment, your licence to kill is revoked!” These were moments that reminded us that M was the one calling the shots, but in CR, Bond acts like a rogue agent that M has no control over. All she can do is rant at underlings and wring her hands with no effect. All she does is place a little tracker in his arm - their version of a slap on the wrist, I guess - and utterly pointless as we find out in the film.
WHO IS THIS GUY?
Daniel Craig does a great job, but is it Bond? I’m not talking about looks, I’m referring to the character itself. He comes across as more of a troublemaker than troubleshooter. He hs no respect for authority, which seems highly undisciplined for a man who forges a career in the military and Secret Service. This guy wouldn’t last a day under the thumb of Bernard Lee. The literary Bond held M in high regard, almost as a father figure, but here Bond seems to make up his own rules. It’s doesn’t make sense to me.
THE LOVE STORY
A bit rushed. The character of Vesper fails. I can’t believe Bond would fall for her only because we are given no reason for him to. In the novel, she cares for him. After being tortured, Bond has serious misgivings about the life ahead of him in the service. Vesper offers something better. But this doesn’t come out in the film. And the script gives no opportunity for Eve Green to shine. She’s cold at first, weak at second, and a traitor at the third. I never saw a moment in the film that makes me say “I like this girl”. The audience needs to see what Bond sees in her to make the romance work, and the film doesn’t do that.
THE ENDING
I got a very real impression that the audience I saw the film with was very disappointed with the ending. Bond says his name, the music kicks in. Are we supposed to cheer? As the song points out at the beginning, we know his name. So what makes this significant? It really only signals that he’s not resigning from the service...and that he has somehow magically become the secret agent we have come to know. But wasn’t he before? Did his love for Vesper get him his 00 at the beginning of the film? No. Did his ability to shoot the guy in the leg make him Bond? I don’t think so. The fact that we know nothing about Mr. White makes it hard for me to see any significance of Bond’s introduction to him. Seeing Bond shooting some unarmed old man in the leg, and gloat over his soon-to-expire corpse is not the Bond of the books. Maybe if Bond didn’t sound so proud, the line would have had more gravitas but the way it was just didn’t work for me.
Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to like this movie. For me, though, it simply didn’t deliver action-wise, story-wise, or character-wise.
I've seen CR on Friday and Saturday with different friends and will see it a 3rd time soon.
It is superb. The best since OHMSS for character acting and great dialogue.(The meeting on the train-sussing each other out.)
Bond films are better with unknown actors, as you don't relate them with any other part.
My favourite word of Le Chiffre is "oops!" as he reveals his winning Jacks. and for Bond there's the cheeky phrase "You don't know what I can do with my little finger!"
Watch out for Mr. White and the Organisation !
Bond knows "the old unarmed guy" was armed and is the person who got Vesper involved in her dilemma. Remember "For James-Mr. White". Bond, the "blunt instrument", has been surgically sharpened and instead of just killing Mr. White they now get the money back, and will be able to "sweat" him for some valuable information.
In a full house at the Odeon cinema on Saturday
night, at the end of CR, half the audience spontaneously applauded. I was pleasantly surprised. (I read it also happened at the Press screening in London.)
I've bought the toy DB5 and DBS and the music soundtrack CD, and now the Cartamundi picture playing cards. So I'm very happy.
It's a superb Bond film.
De Bleuchamp.
Okay...I'll post my thoughts here, and you guys can let me have it.
I hope you won't view this as letting you "have it," you're entitled to your impressions, Darenhat.
But I have to disagree on just about everything you wrote and say, emphatically, that this Bond is the most character-driven 007 film I've seen since the early Connery Bonds. And Craig is unquestionably Bond to me, and a very welcome human one. Maybe a little brash and green, but he often makes mistakes in the books even as a seasoned agent, as you would expect he would, and I hope he continues to in the movies (one of the annoying film Bond traits for me is that he knows everything, always does everything perfectly, all the women swoon over him, etc ... ). No we don't know everything about Mr. White. There's some mystery there. But how is that a bad thing? CR is the first Bond film since Thunderball where the plot really involves you, where it really seems to matter. The second part of the film is not as loud as the first, but I found it incredibly exciting nonetheless. In fact, I give the filmmakers credit for not shoehorning in some huge set piece in the middle of the card game just so the 14-year-olds won't get fidgety. This was a Bond for grownups, and all I can say is, it's about time.
During the scene at the rehab center with Vesper, when Craig was wearing the robe and bed slacks, did anyone else get visions of the literary Bond sitting down to have his morning four eggs and toast served to him by May? I certainly did.
Now, may we commence the campaign for May to make an appearance in Bond 22!
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
Now, may we commence the campaign for May to make an appearance in Bond 22!
Here, here! {[]
Plus Bond's morning exercise routine...pretty please?
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
“M”
I appear to be the only one who feels Dame Judy fails miserably in this role. Part of it, to her credit, is the poor handling of the character. “M” was always a strong character, but since GE, Dench was left with a struggling and semi-ineffective beauracrat. There was a time when even the audience cowered under M’s authority, an individual who ruled his organization in Bristol-fashion. Gone are the strong bits of dialogue that made Bond feel sheepish like “Since I’ve been in charge, there’s been a drop in 00 casualties!” “Having a licence to kill is useless unless one can set up a target!” and “From this moment, your licence to kill is revoked!” These were moments that reminded us that M was the one calling the shots, but in CR, Bond acts like a rogue agent that M has no control over. All she can do is rant at underlings and wring her hands with no effect. All she does is place a little tracker in his arm - their version of a slap on the wrist, I guess - and utterly pointless as we find out in the film.[\quote]
You aren't alone! I despised M wholeheartedly in this movie, though in GoldenEye and beyond she was a very strong character. She most recently ditched her accounting and efficient persona for a crazy, reckless hag that probably spits on children during Christmastime! (Plus, she needs a new hairstylist, perhaps this is M's evil twin, N!)
It made me so angry she was a hypocrite too, saying "God I miss the Cold War" while eleven years ago she called Bond himself a "relic of the cold war." Curse N... CURSE N! (I am calling her N from now on, for future reference).
I sat through the credits (I always do). I must have stood up and turned around or something....I missed the one thing I was waiting for "James Bond will return"....but I am glad to hear ti was there.
Now, may we commence the campaign for May to make an appearance in Bond 22!
Here, here! {[]
Plus Bond's morning exercise routine...pretty please?
Logical question who should play May. I reckon The Dench, if she wasn't M
Fionnella Flanagan would be perfect.
As for the exercise routine, I'm all for it. But it's going to have to be a little more vigorous than the books to acquire that body.
In fact, that's exactly the kind of stuff that I would like to see. Just glimpses of it. It makes Bond more human. With precious few exceptions, it's almost as if 007 is kept in a closet at MI-6 and only let out when the world needs saving. Enough already.
Show Bond at home. In the books he sometimes had to work nights as duty officer, just like any other public servant. Surely the writers could find something interesting that could happen to him there. How about uncovering a double agent? The action could be centered in London.
I'm just really jazzed about this new Bond because by breaking the formula with CR, they've freed the character and the possibilities are endless. I hope they continue in that vein.
Perhaps this belongs in the 'Eccentric Bond Opinions' thread, but it would appear that I'm the only guy who actually enjoyed the 'defibrilator' (sp?) sequence. I thought it was a great spin on the 'cane/gun' episode of the book. And more than anything I was gleefully anticipating the look on Le Chiffre's face when Bond returns to the table. I would rather that scene stay in, and the whole stairwell fight be taken out (if I had to choose).
Perhaps this belongs in the 'Eccentric Bond Opinions' thread, but it would appear that I'm the only guy who actually enjoyed the 'defibrilator' (sp?) sequence. I thought it was a great spin on the 'cane/gun' episode of the book. And more than anything I was gleefully anticipating the look on Le Chiffre's face when Bond returns to the table. I would rather that scene stay in, and the whole stairwell fight be taken out (if I had to choose).
Not me. I loved that scene. I loved the way that Craig grabs the salt shaker and water glass as he stumbles out to the bathroom. And Bond's "You OK?" and of course: "That last hand nearly killed me." I was on the edge of my seat. I didn't see it coming at all.
But I definitely would have kept the machete fight because it sets up the tender moment with Vesper.
Actually, if the movie had started on the train to Montenegro with M or someone setting up the game, I still would have loved the movie.
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
I didn't know what to think about the defib when I read the script, but I enjoyed how they pulled it off...too bad 007 didn't have it with him in Venice...
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Perhaps this belongs in the 'Eccentric Bond Opinions' thread, but it would appear that I'm the only guy who actually enjoyed the 'defibrilator' (sp?) sequence. I thought it was a great spin on the 'cane/gun' episode of the book. And more than anything I was gleefully anticipating the look on Le Chiffre's face when Bond returns to the table. I would rather that scene stay in, and the whole stairwell fight be taken out (if I had to choose).
Not me. I loved that scene. I loved the way that Craig grabs the salt shaker and water glass as he stumbles out to the bathroom. And Bond's "You OK?" and of course: "That last hand nearly killed me." I was on the edge of my seat. I didn't see it coming at all.
But I definitely would have kept the machete fight because it sets up the tender moment with Vesper.
Actually, if the movie had started on the train to Montenegro with M or someone setting up the game, I still would have loved the movie.
I didn't enjoy the defibrilator sequence at all, the low point of the film. It was all rather silly with half the MI6 staff shouting at Bond, who then makes a miraculously quick recovery when revived by Vesper. If that's the best they can do with regards to gadgets/equipment then I say bring back Q immediately.
As for the stairwell fight. I enjoyed the majority of it, but the last part was too brutal for me. I didn't enjoy seeing all that blood on Bond and his nemesis' legs flailing in the air as the life was being choked out of him.
Comments
Ok I thought the film was Flipping fantastic. the best Bond film I have seen in years. I thought that Craig pulled off his version of Bond incredibly well and that the whole movie just seemed to fit so perfectly.
I knew instantly that the recipe for Bond's martini was the one from the book, becaise I made a point of reading it before I went to the cinema just to check.
I do have a few quips however. firstly why did they decide to turn the character of Mathis into a traitor? I went with it obviously. but Its very different from the book.
I also thought the beautiful Aston Martin DBS was seriously under used and I hope it makes a return.
and that the watch wasn't seen properly, I was waiting to see it properly for most of the film.
However, as a final note. I LOVED the fact that the gadgets in the film weren't out of this world. I loved the fact that Bond's aston came with a Defibualator and that the most flashy peice of gadgetry was really the tracker that Bond has on his phone. which looked Sat Nav based and therefore all together worldly and credible. some people may say there should have been more classic gadgets like in the past movies but I thought that these seeminly normal peices of kit were 10 times more effective than a grenade pen or laser.
I plan to hopefully see it again before the end of next week, I think then I'll get a better picture of the movie as a whole.
otherwise killing him in such a manner would be cold even for this film
and I remember the conversation with M indicating he was in custody but had not talked, but I could be wrong
Agreed about Mathis, but I think your earlier point can be easily explained.
You have to remember that Bond is on an important mission (the card game occurs over a single night, remember), so I think it's reasonable to think the head of MI6 would be around while it was going on. Do intelligence agencies have medical officers available by radio during intelligence operations? Why not? A medical corpsman of some type always accompanies troops into combat. So it makes sense to me. Now a defillibrator in a car? Frankly, it makes more sense than an ejector seat for me. And just about as much fun.
As for Vesper, when your partner leaves the game unexpectedly and you find him passed out, hooked up to a machine with an uncoupled coupling and a big red button and people on a cell phone are yelling, "Push the button, Bond, push the button," it makes sense to me -- for a movie.
All I can say is thank God he hadn't engaged the invisibility cloak ...
We're far too repressed for any of that here but the biggest reaction from the audience came from the 'Do I look like I give a damn?' line. There was a great laugh . I think the people really enjoyed the twist.They were obviously expecting something else
I know people whoop and cheer in the US for films and Clap - they might also do in other countries; i've been going to the cinema at least once a week with the lads since '87 (whoa how much must that have cost)and I have never seen people clap. I think Lady Rose is right that we are a reserved and repressed lot. After all it's a screen, they can't hear u, unlike the theatre where u can show ur appreciation
Reserved and repressed? A7ce, Rose -- then you guys need to set an example and get some of that British-football-fan enthusiasm going at the movies.
About the Defib. scene, my wife brought up the idea that Felix should have been the one to save Bond, to help build more of a "bond" between them, but I guess the writers thought building a "bond" with Vesper was more important.
On Mathis, clearly he's coming back in Bond 22. I would like to think he's an ally -- which would be consistent with Fleming's story and is plausible, given that any betraying act can be attributed to Vesper. However, why would Le Chiffre claim Mathis was on his side if it weren't true? That's what I can't get straight.
On the defib scene, I didn't like it. Not only would I expect Bond to know what to do without calling for help, but beyond that the scene feels extraneous. I realize they were trying to break up the card game monotony with action set pieces, but this was one too many, IMO. By contrast, the return of the Ugandans was brilliant. (BTW, when you first saw that creepy Ugandan thug at the beginning, didn't you just know you would see him again?)
On Felix...clearly underused. Great idea by a previous poster that having him save Bond's life would have been cool. I assume that he, like Mathis, will be back in a bigger way next time out.
Everybody's lamenting about the short-lived DBS. I can't really disagree...but how about the appearance of the '64 DB5? How sweet that Bond wins it from Dimitrious!
Maybe I'm so used to watching the films in my home that I've forgotten how different the cinema is, but there were two moments when I was startled out of my seat -- when the Ugandans pounced on Le Chiffre, and when Bond shot White. Wasn't expecting those.
Two great moments: the absolute shock -- first of Bond, then of Le Chiffre -- at their stunning poker losses. Great acting by Craig and Mikkelsen in those sequences.
Something I need help with...when Vesper leaves Bond at the dinner table, saying Mathis wants to meet with her, what makes Bond suddenly chase after her? Is it merely that hearing Mathis's name again triggers a realization that it was Mathis who was betraying him.
Finally, one thing I was confused about...near the end, when M tells Bond that someone from MI6 Treasury is waiting for the money to be deposited, there's a man in her office. To me, it looked just like Michael G. Wilson. Were my eyes tricking me, or was Mickey in another cameo (in addition to the Chief of Police)?
I didn't notice Wilson in M's office, but that would be quite an interesting twist if it is, although I'm not sure what it would mean. I'll let you know towards the end of the week. I'll be seeing it again over Thanksgiving.
When was the last time there was actually any real mystery in a Bond film?
I have to say, I loved the poisoning scene, especially when he stumbles out of the Splendide and grabs the glass of water and salt shaker to try and make himself vomit. I was really on the edge of my seat.
Upon second viewing of the film that did look like Michael G. Wilson , but I'm not completely sure.
I actually felt sorry for him, he was lost like a little school boy ! He had a money problem and was doing his best to sort it out via a card game.
The good?
THE FIRST HALF
Action galore. Original concepts and excellent editing (from ace editor Stuart Baird) make for some riveting action sequences. Shame that the back half of the film was so uneven.
DANIEL CRAIG
DC proves himself as an excellent James Bond and polished actor. He delivered lines which of all the actors who played the part, I could only imagine Dalton being able to give credence to. Top notch
For me, this pretty much constitutes what is good in CR
The reasons I dislike CR tend to be a little different from what I was expecting:
THE REBOOT - pointless, IMO. The black and white opening for me was simply Over The Top. Other than confirming Bond’s OO status, it doesn’t carry over into the story. We see Bond is a tough killer (but we knew that already). How does this relate to the remainder of the story? I didn’t feel it worked.
“M”
I appear to be the only one who feels Dame Judy fails miserably in this role. Part of it, to her credit, is the poor handling of the character. “M” was always a strong character, but since GE, Dench was left with a struggling and semi-ineffective beauracrat. There was a time when even the audience cowered under M’s authority, an individual who ruled his organization in Bristol-fashion. Gone are the strong bits of dialogue that made Bond feel sheepish like “Since I’ve been in charge, there’s been a drop in 00 casualties!” “Having a licence to kill is useless unless one can set up a target!” and “From this moment, your licence to kill is revoked!” These were moments that reminded us that M was the one calling the shots, but in CR, Bond acts like a rogue agent that M has no control over. All she can do is rant at underlings and wring her hands with no effect. All she does is place a little tracker in his arm - their version of a slap on the wrist, I guess - and utterly pointless as we find out in the film.
WHO IS THIS GUY?
Daniel Craig does a great job, but is it Bond? I’m not talking about looks, I’m referring to the character itself. He comes across as more of a troublemaker than troubleshooter. He hs no respect for authority, which seems highly undisciplined for a man who forges a career in the military and Secret Service. This guy wouldn’t last a day under the thumb of Bernard Lee. The literary Bond held M in high regard, almost as a father figure, but here Bond seems to make up his own rules. It’s doesn’t make sense to me.
THE LOVE STORY
A bit rushed. The character of Vesper fails. I can’t believe Bond would fall for her only because we are given no reason for him to. In the novel, she cares for him. After being tortured, Bond has serious misgivings about the life ahead of him in the service. Vesper offers something better. But this doesn’t come out in the film. And the script gives no opportunity for Eve Green to shine. She’s cold at first, weak at second, and a traitor at the third. I never saw a moment in the film that makes me say “I like this girl”. The audience needs to see what Bond sees in her to make the romance work, and the film doesn’t do that.
THE ENDING
I got a very real impression that the audience I saw the film with was very disappointed with the ending. Bond says his name, the music kicks in. Are we supposed to cheer? As the song points out at the beginning, we know his name. So what makes this significant? It really only signals that he’s not resigning from the service...and that he has somehow magically become the secret agent we have come to know. But wasn’t he before? Did his love for Vesper get him his 00 at the beginning of the film? No. Did his ability to shoot the guy in the leg make him Bond? I don’t think so. The fact that we know nothing about Mr. White makes it hard for me to see any significance of Bond’s introduction to him. Seeing Bond shooting some unarmed old man in the leg, and gloat over his soon-to-expire corpse is not the Bond of the books. Maybe if Bond didn’t sound so proud, the line would have had more gravitas but the way it was just didn’t work for me.
Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to like this movie. For me, though, it simply didn’t deliver action-wise, story-wise, or character-wise.
It is superb. The best since OHMSS for character acting and great dialogue.(The meeting on the train-sussing each other out.)
Bond films are better with unknown actors, as you don't relate them with any other part.
My favourite word of Le Chiffre is "oops!" as he reveals his winning Jacks. and for Bond there's the cheeky phrase "You don't know what I can do with my little finger!"
Watch out for Mr. White and the Organisation !
De Bleuchamp.
night, at the end of CR, half the audience spontaneously applauded. I was pleasantly surprised. (I read it also happened at the Press screening in London.)
I've bought the toy DB5 and DBS and the music soundtrack CD, and now the Cartamundi picture playing cards. So I'm very happy.
It's a superb Bond film.
De Bleuchamp.
I hope you won't view this as letting you "have it," you're entitled to your impressions, Darenhat.
But I have to disagree on just about everything you wrote and say, emphatically, that this Bond is the most character-driven 007 film I've seen since the early Connery Bonds. And Craig is unquestionably Bond to me, and a very welcome human one. Maybe a little brash and green, but he often makes mistakes in the books even as a seasoned agent, as you would expect he would, and I hope he continues to in the movies (one of the annoying film Bond traits for me is that he knows everything, always does everything perfectly, all the women swoon over him, etc ... ). No we don't know everything about Mr. White. There's some mystery there. But how is that a bad thing? CR is the first Bond film since Thunderball where the plot really involves you, where it really seems to matter. The second part of the film is not as loud as the first, but I found it incredibly exciting nonetheless. In fact, I give the filmmakers credit for not shoehorning in some huge set piece in the middle of the card game just so the 14-year-olds won't get fidgety. This was a Bond for grownups, and all I can say is, it's about time.
Now, may we commence the campaign for May to make an appearance in Bond 22!
Here, here! {[]
Plus Bond's morning exercise routine...pretty please?
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Logical question who should play May. I reckon The Dench, if she wasn't M
Fionnella Flanagan would be perfect.
As for the exercise routine, I'm all for it. But it's going to have to be a little more vigorous than the books to acquire that body.
In fact, that's exactly the kind of stuff that I would like to see. Just glimpses of it. It makes Bond more human. With precious few exceptions, it's almost as if 007 is kept in a closet at MI-6 and only let out when the world needs saving. Enough already.
Show Bond at home. In the books he sometimes had to work nights as duty officer, just like any other public servant. Surely the writers could find something interesting that could happen to him there. How about uncovering a double agent? The action could be centered in London.
I'm just really jazzed about this new Bond because by breaking the formula with CR, they've freed the character and the possibilities are endless. I hope they continue in that vein.
Not me. I loved that scene. I loved the way that Craig grabs the salt shaker and water glass as he stumbles out to the bathroom. And Bond's "You OK?" and of course: "That last hand nearly killed me." I was on the edge of my seat. I didn't see it coming at all.
But I definitely would have kept the machete fight because it sets up the tender moment with Vesper.
Actually, if the movie had started on the train to Montenegro with M or someone setting up the game, I still would have loved the movie.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I didn't enjoy the defibrilator sequence at all, the low point of the film. It was all rather silly with half the MI6 staff shouting at Bond, who then makes a miraculously quick recovery when revived by Vesper. If that's the best they can do with regards to gadgets/equipment then I say bring back Q immediately.
As for the stairwell fight. I enjoyed the majority of it, but the last part was too brutal for me. I didn't enjoy seeing all that blood on Bond and his nemesis' legs flailing in the air as the life was being choked out of him.
A website (the movie spoiler) says that the one terrorist guy with the punched out lense glasses, was Le Chiffre. Was that true?