Favourite Things in SPECTRE (SPOILERS)
bigzilcho
Toronto, ONPosts: 245MI6 Agent
Greetings everyone.
Just saw Spectre last night. Bloody good! And a welcome return to a Bond universe where 007 battles a secret organization seeking world domination. Just the way it should be.
The film has its flaws, to be sure (title song, anyone?) But its highpoints rank up there with the series best.
Haters can hate all they want...but so what? I am on the record as being officially bored by blanket dismissals of a Bond film. You gotta take your pleasures any way you can in a Bond movie.
And Spectre has some glorious things to appreciate:
.
1) Bond in the PTS, leaving the girl and walking out onto the roof. The tail end of a stunning tracking shot, this is the Bond of our collective dreams.
Impeccably dressed...walking with a swagger...assembling a rifle...looking for trouble.
The essence of Bondian cool.
2) "Cant you see Im grieving?"
"No."
Bond shamelessly pursuing the widow of a man he has killed for fun and info is the height of questionable ettiquete...but thats the kind of bastard that Bond is...Fleming would be proud.
A genuinely hot scene between Craig and Bellucci (God, what a woman!) and a glorious reminder that a woman in her 50s can have more sexual heat than a woman half her age.
.
3) An absolutely crackerjack Spectre meeting that surpasses the one in TB. Beautifully lit with Waltz in the shadows, every subtle gesture and silence conveying spookiness and menace. Bonus points for the magnificent intro of Hinx, already a Bond henchman for the ages.
.
4) A Bond lady who will surely be underrated in future Bond discussions, Lea Seydoux is not a bombshell in the order of Ursula Andress or Barbara Bach. Shes got the girl next door quality of a Maryam D'Abo in TLD. The girl you want to protect.
Bravo to the Bond team for making tbe damsel in distress a tough lady.
We're not talking Michelle Yeoh here...just a regular lady whos got guts... Who knows how to use a gun and is not afraid to get her hands dirty against Hinx in the train fight.
She reminds me of Tracy in OHMSS. Vulnerable on the surface but can handle herself in a scrape.
The type of lady to fall in love with as you drive off in your DB5.
5) An absolutely terrific fight between Bond and Hinx. Easily the best fight since Bond/006 in GE. (Although the stairwell fight in CR, the Slate fight in QOS and the Patrice fight in SF are all great) This ranks up there with the immortal Bond/ Grant fight in FRWL.
Hinx is an unstoppable force and, for the first time during Craigs tenure, we see Bond clearly outmatched and scared out of his wits as he scrambles to escape his adversary.
A magnificent fight that reminds us that a good Bond henchman is worth his weight in gold. The first proper henchman for Craig and the best since Xenia Onnatop in GE.
ACTION NIRVANA!!!
6) Waltz. Christopher Waltz. Nuff said.
7) A brilliant moment when Franz presses a button and dozens of faceless technicians spring to attention.
A chilling bit of villiany and a glorious reminder of a,time when SPECTRE was not just a secret criminal organization but a destination for all true believers in the criminal mind being superior. It has to be...as Dr.No said once.
Ever wonder how Blofeld could build a hollowed volcano base in YOLT? Well, that simple press of the button says it all. With that type of unthinking manpower world domination is possible.
I will continue later. There are so many great scenes and moments to treasure and, like Swiss clockmakers, we will dissect every minute detail for years to come.
Please share your favourite things in SP.. But a simple list wont do. Please explain the reasons for what you like.
"You're mad. Do you know that?"
"Yes. Isn't everyone?"
Just saw Spectre last night. Bloody good! And a welcome return to a Bond universe where 007 battles a secret organization seeking world domination. Just the way it should be.
The film has its flaws, to be sure (title song, anyone?) But its highpoints rank up there with the series best.
Haters can hate all they want...but so what? I am on the record as being officially bored by blanket dismissals of a Bond film. You gotta take your pleasures any way you can in a Bond movie.
And Spectre has some glorious things to appreciate:
.
1) Bond in the PTS, leaving the girl and walking out onto the roof. The tail end of a stunning tracking shot, this is the Bond of our collective dreams.
Impeccably dressed...walking with a swagger...assembling a rifle...looking for trouble.
The essence of Bondian cool.
2) "Cant you see Im grieving?"
"No."
Bond shamelessly pursuing the widow of a man he has killed for fun and info is the height of questionable ettiquete...but thats the kind of bastard that Bond is...Fleming would be proud.
A genuinely hot scene between Craig and Bellucci (God, what a woman!) and a glorious reminder that a woman in her 50s can have more sexual heat than a woman half her age.
.
3) An absolutely crackerjack Spectre meeting that surpasses the one in TB. Beautifully lit with Waltz in the shadows, every subtle gesture and silence conveying spookiness and menace. Bonus points for the magnificent intro of Hinx, already a Bond henchman for the ages.
.
4) A Bond lady who will surely be underrated in future Bond discussions, Lea Seydoux is not a bombshell in the order of Ursula Andress or Barbara Bach. Shes got the girl next door quality of a Maryam D'Abo in TLD. The girl you want to protect.
Bravo to the Bond team for making tbe damsel in distress a tough lady.
We're not talking Michelle Yeoh here...just a regular lady whos got guts... Who knows how to use a gun and is not afraid to get her hands dirty against Hinx in the train fight.
She reminds me of Tracy in OHMSS. Vulnerable on the surface but can handle herself in a scrape.
The type of lady to fall in love with as you drive off in your DB5.
5) An absolutely terrific fight between Bond and Hinx. Easily the best fight since Bond/006 in GE. (Although the stairwell fight in CR, the Slate fight in QOS and the Patrice fight in SF are all great) This ranks up there with the immortal Bond/ Grant fight in FRWL.
Hinx is an unstoppable force and, for the first time during Craigs tenure, we see Bond clearly outmatched and scared out of his wits as he scrambles to escape his adversary.
A magnificent fight that reminds us that a good Bond henchman is worth his weight in gold. The first proper henchman for Craig and the best since Xenia Onnatop in GE.
ACTION NIRVANA!!!
6) Waltz. Christopher Waltz. Nuff said.
7) A brilliant moment when Franz presses a button and dozens of faceless technicians spring to attention.
A chilling bit of villiany and a glorious reminder of a,time when SPECTRE was not just a secret criminal organization but a destination for all true believers in the criminal mind being superior. It has to be...as Dr.No said once.
Ever wonder how Blofeld could build a hollowed volcano base in YOLT? Well, that simple press of the button says it all. With that type of unthinking manpower world domination is possible.
I will continue later. There are so many great scenes and moments to treasure and, like Swiss clockmakers, we will dissect every minute detail for years to come.
Please share your favourite things in SP.. But a simple list wont do. Please explain the reasons for what you like.
"You're mad. Do you know that?"
"Yes. Isn't everyone?"
Comments
Chilling is the right word. Everything in that scene was played brilliantly. Event though so much was seen in the trailers I thought that moment when he addresses James felt like something out of a nightmare.
[*]Day of the Dead PTS[/*]
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[list=*]
[*]Title sequence[/*]
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[list=*]
[*]Hinx's introduction[/*]
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[list=*]
[*]Train fight[/*]
[/list]
[list=*]
[*]Torture scene[/*]
[/list]
[list=*]
[*]Bond and Oberhauser's scene at Mi6[/*]
[/list]
[list=*]
[*]Bond and Madelaine escaping from Mi6[/*]
[/list]
[list=*]
[*]"Now I guess we know what C stands for"[/*]
[/list]
Well said!!
My favourite line was Tanners. "Denbeigh is an old friend of the Home secretary". They are all from the same school, university etc. Those at the top all know each other and help each other out...
The same people at the top are all Cameron lookalikes....
1) Craig. Daniel Craig. Still hard edged, ice cold and taciturn. The emotions are hidden but the camera reveals all. A good movie actor and a great Bond. The best? No, Dalton has him beat. But Big Tam from Scotland still holds the heavyweight title.
2) The backup team (M,, Tanner, Moneypenny,Q) is in great shape for a long time. Everybody's performance is topnotch. Their involvement in tbe plot, however, is a matter of highs and lows.
A perfect opportunity to highlight the team and the film fails to provide them with a cool execution of their talents. Believe me, if the quartet was handled brilliantly there would be whispers of a spinoff with the four and without 007.
.
3) Mr. White...haunted...decaying...a Bond villian who elicits sympathy. Well written, beautifully acted. A scene that elevates the film and provides it with a levity it never
sustains.
4) Bond pointing his gun at the rat. Drunk, tired and feeling silly...its a perfect expression of Bonds boredom and the mocking of his own paranoia. An intentional nod to Silva and his story of the last rat standing? Doesnt matter. The symmetry is there.
5) The film never quite recovers from the scene at Spectre HQ where Bond and Swann are forced to watch Whites death. Bond is knocked out and he awakens but the film loses its forward trajectory and sense of style and mystery.
THIS WAS THE MOMENT the film and the series needed to make a leap of imagination.
The kind of leap that Fleming would admire...or that Ken Adam would be inspired by...perhaps a touch of insanity by Harry Saltzman. Anything that would bring back the sense of this a Universe that is not quite ours.
It is a universe of Bond and supervillians. And make no mistake, THAT is Flemings universe. Hard edged is the Bond character in the books but it is villlians,that define the reality.
My point is that Ernst Stavro Blofeld is THE Bond villian. Its now time for the film and the series to take a step into a touch of Fleming madness.
What form it takes, I dont know. But it has to fulfill the promise of the buildup.And it does not.
Wheres the positive? The mood was right, Waltz is an odd but smart choice of Blofeld. Theres something genuinely disturbing about his calmness. The white cat in a white room. A viable secret order. Everything is there.
But the caper. The next step. The leap of imagination. The touch of madness.
The sublime aspect of Bond that we love and can rarely articulate that would make us leave the theatre proclaiming SPECTRE as a Bond classic. Its not...and that I will lay at the feet of Mendes and the writers.
I digress. I am still satisfied with the buildup of tension and mystery to the Blofeld reveal...even with no socks.
In a way, the film loses its own socks in that scene...if that makes any sense.
Any comments are welcome.
"I'll send you a postcard."
"Please don't."
Also from Fiennes, the man sure as hell proved himself as M, as far as I'm concerned.
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
Jesus.... EVERYTHING.
:x :x :x :x :x :x :x
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
1. Pre-title sequence. The drums!
2. Judi Dench's videotaped message.
3. The Mr. White scene. Bringing back Mr. White, in my opinion, helps validate Quantum of Solace. QoS is a stand alone adventure until Spectre reels it into the story arc. Really, Quantum of Solace wasn't that bad, just a poor, hurried script.
4. Bond interrogating the mouse. The only joke that was actually funny.
5. Bond pleading with Madeleine to not watch her father's death. Whoa.... it looked like Craig actually has feelings!!
6. THE WATCH!! Finally craig uses a cliche gadget!
7. Waltz's introducing himself as Blofeld. Like a madman, he just calls himself Blofeld with no explanation.
8. Bond walking away from Blofeld in the end.
Bond in action again -- the PTS is one of the best of the series, and it represents pretty much all that Bond does so greatly.
The cinematography -- Contemporary films all have that earthtone look, but this one managed to make it look beautiful and interesting.
A bigger production -- All three of the previous Bonds felt "small" in their own way, with Casino Royale the least of such. This one felt like a Bond production again. The story was sweeping and yet managed to still keep some focus on the characters, which is what the best Bonds have always done.
Mendes' direction -- While I think he is overrated as a director, and that his direction in Skyfall was good but unremarkable, he showed in this film he is capable of handling a larger production; however, Mendes still can't figure out how to make a story unfold in a big way, and he seems to want the third act to always be less sprawling than a Bond film should have.
The acting -- No matter how one feels about the Bond films under Craig's leadership, it is difficult to argue that the acting hasn't stepped up considerably. Everyone in the production is great, even if the scripts don't give them as much to do.
The pacing -- Many people are complaining this film is too long and that the pacing is slow, as is usually the case, but I felt quite differently. The two and half hours went by fast. I wanted more, especially since the script was light. It is a sumptuous meal.
The music -- While I was critical of Newman, and I do think his Skyfall score is no big deal, I thought the score here complimented the film well. In fact, the score carried many of the scenes; even Smith's ballad fit the film's tone, and it all worked.
Erst Stavro Blofeld -- Not only was it good to have the character back, but Christoph Waltz did a fantastic job, weakened only by the bland writing, which didn't allow him much to do. But he showed all of the qualities the character has, and is a worthy villain.
Many of the aesthetic details -- The clothes, the hair (they got it better this time than that weird crewcut in Skyfall for Craig), the cars, the secret service spaces, and even Bond's stately apartment all reflected an attention to detail that is a part of the best Bonds. The product placement was less obvious, and the film is rich with atmosphere, which all Bonds must be.
The tone -- This film had a good balance of the serious and the fantastic. The last two were seasoned too much with a lot of self importance; Spectre decided to be grounded but also to be a lot of fun.
Daniel Craig -- I know I already mentioned the acting, but a special comment must be made about Craig because he goes beyond simply acting. He has (finally) settled into iconic status as Bond for me. He is comfortable and commanding as the secret agent, reminding us of Bonds past while also making the character his own, and in this, he has accomplished in his four films a success that so many thought he would not ever be able to perfect during his Bond experience.
As for #3, Quantum of Solace is not a standalone adventure, it connects to CR.
As for #7, Blofeld explains he took his mother's name. It's not a complete explanation, but it is one.
I probably should have said it validates Quantum, the organization, as a tentacle of Spectre.
Quantum is no longer a standalone organization.
Quantum of Solace will definitely be more enjoyable to rewatch because of Spectre.
I don't have a problem with the way Quantum in portrayed in QOS. Quantum was originally supposed to be a standalone organisation. SP retconned the three previous films, and I thought they were trying too hard to tie things together when that was never the idea when the previous films were made.
Oh, I agree that they were trying too hard to tie all four movies together. And it wasn't necessary. But I bought it, and ended up liking it.
On the second viewing I've gotten the vibe that the cameraman must have absolutely been in love with her and his work showed that dedication every minute!
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Could be a bit cheesy, but I liked it