Overly critical at first viewing?

Charmed & Dangerous

Is anyone else overly critical when seeing a Bond film for the first time?

For some reason I'm always just a bit, umm, slightly disappointed, when I first see a new Bond film. Then after a couple of viewings I start to really appreciate and enjoy it, then mostly start to love it. Maybe I just expect too much.

The only films I've really loved at first viewing since the early 80s were Goldeneye, TND, TLD and FYEO.

Does anyone else feel the same?

LastRatStanding

I'd say I was the exact opposite. The first time I see a new Bond film I'm pretty much blinded by the excitement and come out of the cinema going "OH MY GOODNESS BEST FILM OF ALL TIME EVER". Then I go and see it a few more times to get a real opinion on it and it pretty much always drops.

Kent007

Yeah I agree with LastRatStanding! I went to see Die Another Day (Ok, I was about 14) but I came out like "OH MY GOD THAT'S AMAZING" and then when I went to see Skyfall I came out with the biggest grin on my face thinking it was amazing! I think when I watch the films for the second and third times, I focus more on the weak points!

chrisisall

I was lukewarm about TMWTGG, TLD & LTK in the movies, and disliked TWINE when I first saw it on VHS, but now I love them all.

Thunderpussy

I have only see Four Bonds that I felt were very Poor on first viewing.

TMWTGG, thought it a very weak outing, but grew to like it.
NSNA, Bored, bored, bored. still fine it boring
Licence to kill, At first didn't like it, but with each viewing I liked
it more and More, ( It's now my #4 Bond film).
QOS, Hated it, have watched it a few times. Now think it's still
a poor follow on from CR. But think it's better than NSNA.

chrisisall

Thunderpussy wrote:

I
QOS, Hated it, have watched it a few times. Now think it's still
a poor follow on from CR. But think it's better than NSNA.

Oh yeah, I *HATED* it on first DVD rental... now I like it a lot.
Disliked CR & SF first times out, still trying to like them more...

NSNA I liked in the movies, now I can't really be bothered.

Dalkowski110

My first Bond film at the theater was Goldeneye. I loved it then and I love it now. But after that, things start changing...

-In TND, I initially thought it was pretty bad, but then simply began appreciating it as a fun movie, a "popcorn cruncher" if you will. Upon even further viewings, Jonathan Pryce almost seems to have perfected Charles Gray's Blofeld minus the bit about being out of character and not being sinister. He chews the scenery all day long, but remains pretty amusing.

-I initially really liked TWINE, but it's since fallen quite steeply with repeated viewings. Not even Sophie "Easy on the Eyes" Marceau can save this one for me. In addition, the pacing felt really uneven. At times, it was near-QoS-level, and at other times, it was going slower than the slowest parts of GF. Denise Richards really didn't help, either.

-Until maybe the clinic in Die Another Day, I thought it was good. And I've never changed my opinion on that.

-CR, to me, was a terrific movie. But it had this weird feeling I could never quite place at first, like somehow it was occuring in an alternate universe rather than a rebooted universe. I'd also only read three Ian Fleming Bonds at that time, but with further readings, things got much better.

-QoS was totally irredeemable upon first viewing. Now, at the very least, with repeated (and I do mean REPEATED) viewings, I am at least able to somewhat enjoy parts of it. Although it makes my top 20, I simply cannot bring myself to truly enjoy the film even as a popcorn cruncher. I don't think I've ever tried harder to like a Bond film and failed again and again.

-SF was incredible the first time I saw it and merely "very, very good, just enough to make my top five" the second and third times I saw it. I hope to get the DVD pretty soon. My first thoughts after the closing gun barrel scene were "Bond is BACK, Casino Royale-style!".

chrisisall

Dalkowski110 wrote:

-SF was incredible the first time I saw it and merely "very, very good, just enough to make my top five" the second and third times I saw it.

He boinks Severine, then watches as she's killed. That's a Bond buzzkill for THIS fan.

raptors_887

I've only seen 3 of them in the theatre and the only one I changed my mind on was TWINE. I absolutely hated DAD and then thought Skyfall was the best thing ever.


I hated TWINE at first but I like it quite a bit now.

Thunderbird 2

My partial turnaround was CR-06.

I saw it and liked it, but it was on repeat viewings that I realised how much I liked it - the story, the casting, the settings, - everything falls into place nicely. I even in the context of this one film liked how much Dame Judi had to do as M!

PR guff is best to be ignored anyway, so when the shouting about Skyfall started in the mediam I knew not to listen or I would have been disappointed with the film. The strategy paid off, and although it has its flaws which hit the story on the head, I did still enjoy it very much.

I wasn't impressed with some of the outlandish stuff in DAD when I first saw it, but subsequent viewings on the telly at home mean I quite enjoy it now! I think QoS and finally seeing CR-67 have made me see DAD in a much better light.

Its easy to forget sometimes that the Bond films are a fun ride as well as dramatic and full of action. Unlike other film types, they keep evolving so your tastes and expectations have to as well I suppose!

Napoleon Plural

It depends. One of the probs with so much pre-publicity is that I end up constructing the movie in my head beforehand, and of course it's the best movie ever! Only to be let down. The plot holes and naff dialogue always winds me up, things that just don't hold up. It becomes like laughing at a rubbish sitcom on TV, why should I?

It happened first with FYEO and NSNA, films that promised a grittier, more realistic Bond, but all the same had really daft, slapstick moments that let the side down. If you wanna do MR, fine, but if you want to do something realistic, stick to it.

But also the Bonds tend to improve on repeat viewing in that you can focus solely on the visuals and change of scene and not take it so seriously, whereas as a straight narrative a great many of them in recent years fail imo. The exception is LTK, which did work as a narrative at the time, but its lack of exotic appeal, cheek and glamour means I don't watch it at all nowadays. I liked it at the time sure enough.

chrisisall

Napoleon Plural wrote:

The exception is LTK, which did work as a narrative at the time, but its lack of exotic appeal, cheek and glamour means I don't watch it at all nowadays.

That's so sad.
:007)

Dalkowski110

chrisisall wrote:

He boinks Severine, then watches as she's killed. That's a Bond buzzkill for THIS fan.

"And all the dry martinis to silence the screams of the women you failed to protect."
-Alec Trevelyan, basically implying this was a regular, if off-screen, occurance. Before the reboot? Of course, but it's basically meant to be the same character with the same strengths and weaknesses.

Thunderbird 2

Sorry, but "failed to protect" in this context means Trevelyan was goading Bond for attempting and failing to save them - not just standing there like a stooky, doing nothing except lamenting the loss of the booze! (One of the flaws I was referring to in my previous post).

chrisisall

Dalkowski110 wrote:

"And all the dry martinis to silence the screams of the women you failed to protect."
-Alec Trevelyan, basically implying this was a regular, if off-screen, occurance. Before the reboot? Of course, but it's basically meant to be the same character with the same strengths and weaknesses.

MY Bond would have sensed that the contest was crap, and that she was going to DIE to make him feel bad, and would have plugged Silva before it began damn the consequences. Effing period.

Sorry, but that scene irks me more than any other in a Bond movie. X-(

Dalkowski110

chrisisall wrote:

Dalkowski110 wrote:

"And all the dry martinis to silence the screams of the women you failed to protect."
-Alec Trevelyan, basically implying this was a regular, if off-screen, occurance. Before the reboot? Of course, but it's basically meant to be the same character with the same strengths and weaknesses.

MY Bond would have sensed that the contest was crap, and that she was going to DIE to make him feel bad, and would have plugged Silva before it began damn the consequences. Effing period.

Sorry, but that scene irks me more than any other in a Bond movie. X-(

Won't debate it, then, for fear of this turning into a second QoS dumpster scene thread. No, really. However...

Thunderbird 2 wrote:

Trevelyan was goading Bond for attempting and failing to save them

Of course, but however he failed, it hit a nerve. But then we're in agreement here...

and although it has its flaws which hit the story on the head, I did still enjoy it very much.

-"You know, I don't know your name, but the thought of you shaving me with a huge razor doesn't bother me at all." )

-"Here, let me turn on this uber-powerful flashlight. We'll never be detected." )

Those were my two biggest issues that stuck immediately. We even had people in the theater saying "put out the light!" Still, I very much enjoy the film!

chrisisall

Dalkowski110 wrote:

Won't debate it, then, for fear of this turning into a second QoS dumpster scene thread.

We don't want that. )
It may just be my own sensibilities, in fact, it probably is.

Dalkowski110

chrisisall wrote:

It may just be my own sensibilities, in fact, it probably is.

Given the QoS dumpster scene is probably my own sensibilities, I DO get this.

So, I'm curious, in contrast to the thread title, were there any Bond movies you saw at the theater, loved, and subsequently thought a lot less of on repeated viewings? Of any I saw, TWINE probably fell the greatest distance. I still enjoy it, but the pacing problems are much more noticeable. Obviously, I've got to give it more time, but simply so far. If we include first viewings for Bond films I was too young to watch, I was certainly overly critical of YOLT when I first saw it on TV. But then I hit puberty and found that I was quite physically attracted to East Asian women... )

chrisisall

Dalkowski110 wrote:

So, I'm curious, in contrast to the thread title, were there any Bond movies you saw at the theater, loved, and subsequently thought a lot less of on repeated viewings?

I freaked over NSNA in the theatre, but now it's pretty low for me. I just loved seeing Connery & a modicum of seriousness again after the stabbing pain of MR back then.... )

Dalkowski110

chrisisall wrote:

Dalkowski110 wrote:

So, I'm curious, in contrast to the thread title, were there any Bond movies you saw at the theater, loved, and subsequently thought a lot less of on repeated viewings?

I freaked over NSNA in the theatre, but now it's pretty low for me. I just loved seeing Connery & a modicum of seriousness again after the stabbing pain of MR back then.... )

Interesting. NSNA was one of the very few Bond films my father took my mother to see (since she liked the Sean Connery Bonds, though little else since) and he initially really liked it, but when he got a VCR and taped it, he watched it only once more. To this day, he said it seemed really boring: "The only time that boredom was the primary emotion I ever felt while watching a Bond flick. I just...I don't know." He taped over it a few days later and it wasn't until just before seeing TWINE that my Dad rented it from Blockbuster. He was planning on watching it with me, but had to go to work. I watched it, liked it the first time, re-watched it maybe a few years later, and that's been it. It is the only Bond film that all of Mom, Dad, and myself have watched more than once but less than three times.

chrisisall

Dalkowski110 wrote:

It is the only Bond film that all of Mom, Dad, and myself have watched more than once but less than three times.

There are only two Bond movies I've watched only twice- MR & AVTAK. I even saw DAD a whopping four times before totally dismissing it, however, I think I might revisit that one again soon.
Oh, and Skyfall... only once so far, but I own it and I'll definitely watch it again (and again). :007)

Thunderbird 2

Dalkowski110 wrote:

-"You know, I don't know your name, but the thought of you shaving me with a huge razor doesn't bother me at all." )

-"Here, let me turn on this uber-powerful flashlight. We'll never be detected." )

Those were my two biggest issues that stuck immediately. We even had people in the theater saying "put out the light!" Still, I very much enjoy the film!

LOL! Add in the whole "Home Alone Strategy" with limited edition Aston going ka-boom, boom-boom , and you have a complete set there!

zaphod

chrisisall wrote:

Dalkowski110 wrote:

Won't debate it, then, for fear of this turning into a second QoS dumpster scene thread.

We don't want that. )
It may just be my own sensibilities, in fact, it probably is.

No it's not. It's the single most disconcerting signal that we now have 'Statham Bond' I don't know who that guy was in that scene, but he patently is not James Bond.

Peppermill

Dalkowski110 wrote:

So, I'm curious, in contrast to the thread title, were there any Bond movies you saw at the theater, loved, and subsequently thought a lot less of on repeated viewings?

For me this was the case with Casino Royale. Repeated viewings made me realise that there is very little Fleming in this movie in contrary to popular belief.

Blackleiter

Hmmm....sure seemed like Bond to me. I have no idea who this so-called "Statham Bond" is.

zaphod wrote:

chrisisall wrote:

Dalkowski110 wrote:

Won't debate it, then, for fear of this turning into a second QoS dumpster scene thread.

We don't want that. )
It may just be my own sensibilities, in fact, it probably is.

No it's not. It's the single most disconcerting signal that we now have 'Statham Bond' I don't know who that guy was in that scene, but he patently is not James Bond.

chrisisall

Blackleiter wrote:

Hmmm....sure seemed like Bond to me. I have no idea who this so-called "Statham Bond" is.

He's referring to Jason Statham, star of the Transporter movies. Same look & build & overall tough quality.

Blackleiter

I know who Statham is, and I have enjoyed several of his films. But nothing about any Bond film, including the Craig versions, has ever brought Staham to mind.

chrisisall wrote:

Blackleiter wrote:

Hmmm....sure seemed like Bond to me. I have no idea who this so-called "Statham Bond" is.

He's referring to Jason Statham, star of the Transporter movies. Same look & build & overall tough quality.

Silhouette Man

I'm just glad for the effort put into creating a new Bondian feast for our eyes! Criticisms usually come later after repeated viewings. But then I'm alone in liking Quantum of Solace!

chrisisall

Silhouette Man wrote:

But then I'm alone in liking Quantum of Solace!

Hardly. QOS is my favourite Craig Bond, and solidly in my top ten. :007)

Silhouette Man

chrisisall wrote:

Silhouette Man wrote:

But then I'm alone in liking Quantum of Solace!

Hardly. QOS is my favourite Craig Bond, and solidly in my top ten. :007)

It's in my Top 5 and I've not seen it too often!

chrisisall

Silhouette Man wrote:

It's in my Top 5 and I've not seen it too often!

Every time I see it, I like it more. Still not crazy about the bleed-out kill, but hey, that's a small thing.