Things you liked that others disliked (and vice versa)
MilleniumForce
LondonPosts: 1,214MI6 Agent
So yeah, stuff in SP you liked that most others disliked, and stuff you disliked that most others liked.
Stuff I liked, most others didn't:
- Writing's on the Wall
- Monica Belluci's limited screen time - hear me out. If she had stayed with Bond longer, it would have been not only pointless for her to still be with him, but it would have dragged the story down and would have been an awkward transition from her to Lea.
- The villain being Bond's adoptive brother. Now, I wish it wasn't Blofeld, but I think it's a nice idea that Bond's adoptive brother was so psychotic he set up an organisation to get revenge and make his life a misery.
- The London finale. A lot of people said it was underwhelming, or that bond had 'super human' strength, but I really liked the finale. M vs C and Bond finding Madelaine being parallel was fantastic, and it gave M stuff to do. I also liked how Mi6 had been decorated like a fun house style thing for Bond and I loved the fact the building was completely destroyed.
- M facing off with C. I'm glad Bond didn't finish C, it made him a unique villain. For once, it was like two separate storylines taking place; Bond didn't really do anything with C, it was very much M taking him down and foiling his plan.
I didn't really dislike anything others liked, so I'll leave it at that.
Stuff I liked, most others didn't:
- Writing's on the Wall
- Monica Belluci's limited screen time - hear me out. If she had stayed with Bond longer, it would have been not only pointless for her to still be with him, but it would have dragged the story down and would have been an awkward transition from her to Lea.
- The villain being Bond's adoptive brother. Now, I wish it wasn't Blofeld, but I think it's a nice idea that Bond's adoptive brother was so psychotic he set up an organisation to get revenge and make his life a misery.
- The London finale. A lot of people said it was underwhelming, or that bond had 'super human' strength, but I really liked the finale. M vs C and Bond finding Madelaine being parallel was fantastic, and it gave M stuff to do. I also liked how Mi6 had been decorated like a fun house style thing for Bond and I loved the fact the building was completely destroyed.
- M facing off with C. I'm glad Bond didn't finish C, it made him a unique villain. For once, it was like two separate storylines taking place; Bond didn't really do anything with C, it was very much M taking him down and foiling his plan.
I didn't really dislike anything others liked, so I'll leave it at that.
1.LTK 2.AVTAK 3.OP 4.FYEO 5.TND 6.LALD 7.GE 8.GF 9.TSWLM 10.SPECTRE 11.SF 12.MR 13.YOLT 14.TLD 15.CR (06) 16.TMWTGG 17.TB 18.FRWL 19.TWINE 20.OHMSS 21.DAF 22.DAD 23.QoS 24.NSNA 25.DN 26.CR (67)
Comments
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Writing's on the Wall: It certainly wasn't the best Bond theme, but it wasn't the worst. At least Sam Smith can hold a note. The man is a singer. I can't say that for Sheryl Crow or Shirley Manson, for instance. And while the theme lacks the upbeat quality that the film proper may have deserved, it's at least thematically meaningful.
Humor: It was relatively mild. The idea that we had some sort of all-out Moore-ish return to camp and insipidity is hyperbole. The humor in Spectre, for the most part, was closer to the Connery era than the Moore one.
Length: Some people perennially complain that Bond films are too long. Every single time a Bond film comes out. It makes no sense to me. It's like complaining that McDonalds serves hamburgers. Yet, complain they do. I like a longer film, so long as it is entertaining. Spectre entertained me.
Sweep: I can't believe it, but I've actually seen some people complain that Spectre just had too many locations, as though somehow filming in the English countryside or on a sound stage would have been a better alternative. If there's anything about this to criticize, it's that the Bond films no longer make the locations so much a part of the films, as though they are like another character to get to know. We get some brief establishing shots and then cut to some unimpressive interior. Gone are the days of From Russia with Love or Thunderball.
Now, the primary criticism I have about Spectre is the thin writing. It definitely was unimpressive in this regard. In particular, the bit about Blofeld and Bond being foster brothers was unnecessary, contrived to the point of being comical as well as comic book. There are other issues. Kleinman's animation was, once again, largely irrelevant to anything except pointing out the obvious. Mendes' direction was competent but hardly more. He's not the cinematic genius he or others think he is. But, again, these are pretty minor compared to the enjoyment I got out of the film. A better script would help. But I still had a good time.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
{[] So some people claim to have an empirical formula for exactly how long a Bond film should be!
Four hours (with intermission).
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Humor: nicely done and a welcome relief after the dour SF. Landing on the sofa = classic Bond.
The Women: I thought both Bellucci and Seydoux each had the right amount of screen time + back story. Any more and I would've been back in SF territory, I fear. A Bond movie is about Bond.
The Ending: worked for me just fine, even the split action with M and C as noted above. Such an odd film for me, I kept expecting Mendes to lose me time and again, and even at this late point in the film he didn't. Kudos.
Craig: thought he looked better here than in SF (the hair?). He had a nice swagger missing from most of the previous film, SP left me wanting another go 'round with him in the role (and I hate old Bond).
The Music: wait, does anyone like the Newman score? It's lazy crap. Don't mind the Sam Smith song though.
The Fights: waaaaay better than SF, thanks Mendes for having a learning curve.
On Sheryl Crow, I think she's a talented singer. It's just that the title sequence song for TND doesn't showcase her skill very well. I quite like "All I Wanna Do" and her cover of "The First Cut is the Deepest".
As for Shirley Manson, as a fan of Garbage I have to disagree a lot with you here. I think she's a terrific vocalist and did a solid job with the TWINE title sequence song.
But of course, musical taste is subjective, as is movie taste.
I don't know if you like any 90's rock, come to think of it.
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