Spectre, one year later
Halcon
Zen TemplePosts: 487MI6 Agent
Saw Spectre again, for the first time since last seeing it on the theater screen last year.
I had enjoyed the film immensely at the theater, I guess you could count me in the 'love' bracket rather than 'hate'.
The film for me was even more enjoyable this time around. There are SO many scenes that more than make up for any slip ups.
-the pre title sequence of course, generally applauded universally, so vibrant yet restrained. We've seen Bond do this before with helicopters but still doesn't take anything away. The colors and vibe reminded me of the warm and golden hues of the Roger Moore era.
-the scenes with M at the new/old MI6, seeing Bond back in that office was pure pleasure.
-the meeting Spectre holds in Rome scene- pure perfection! the slow and subtle pace of this scene, with the various Spectre members interacting really creates an 'observer' dynamic, I felt like I was right there witnessing Spectre doing its evil 'thing'. very realistic! The setting, the shadows, the opulence, and then Blofield walks in! Number 9's (or whatever his number was) demise at the hands of Mr. Hinx was a wonderful realistic reference to Thunderball's spectre scene.
-the scene with Mr. White, again very subtle and the relationship comes full circle to its fitting 'spy'ish conclusion, very well handled.
-the train scene, where do I start?? This has to be one of the best 'classic' sequences in James Bond films, very elegant, very classic, very dangerous with Bond's fight against Mr. Hinx.
-the Blofield layer sequences were, (also) fantastic. They clearly channeled Dr. No, YOLT, OHMSS, Blofield was equally menacing and intelligent enough to be capable of such a complex endeavor. His 'minions' in the background brought a smile to my face as well as the damn cat. How can these details be offputting??? loved the torture scene, very fitting for Blofield. The explosion scene was absolutely too short and should of had better suspense and tension. Bond escaped too easily compared to previous films with grandiose layers.
-from here I skipped to the end of the film, bypassing the final act which I must admit I had no desire to watch again. this is certainly the film's major weakness.
loved Monica Bellucci, Lia Sedoux, loved the suits (especially the tan), loved that Bond was more relaxed, loved the score...
As a Bond fan, I enjoy watching Bond in settings more so than the story itself (he's been there done that right?) I'll take a great story for sure, but settings are equally satisfying and this film had a many good ones. B-)
I had enjoyed the film immensely at the theater, I guess you could count me in the 'love' bracket rather than 'hate'.
The film for me was even more enjoyable this time around. There are SO many scenes that more than make up for any slip ups.
-the pre title sequence of course, generally applauded universally, so vibrant yet restrained. We've seen Bond do this before with helicopters but still doesn't take anything away. The colors and vibe reminded me of the warm and golden hues of the Roger Moore era.
-the scenes with M at the new/old MI6, seeing Bond back in that office was pure pleasure.
-the meeting Spectre holds in Rome scene- pure perfection! the slow and subtle pace of this scene, with the various Spectre members interacting really creates an 'observer' dynamic, I felt like I was right there witnessing Spectre doing its evil 'thing'. very realistic! The setting, the shadows, the opulence, and then Blofield walks in! Number 9's (or whatever his number was) demise at the hands of Mr. Hinx was a wonderful realistic reference to Thunderball's spectre scene.
-the scene with Mr. White, again very subtle and the relationship comes full circle to its fitting 'spy'ish conclusion, very well handled.
-the train scene, where do I start?? This has to be one of the best 'classic' sequences in James Bond films, very elegant, very classic, very dangerous with Bond's fight against Mr. Hinx.
-the Blofield layer sequences were, (also) fantastic. They clearly channeled Dr. No, YOLT, OHMSS, Blofield was equally menacing and intelligent enough to be capable of such a complex endeavor. His 'minions' in the background brought a smile to my face as well as the damn cat. How can these details be offputting??? loved the torture scene, very fitting for Blofield. The explosion scene was absolutely too short and should of had better suspense and tension. Bond escaped too easily compared to previous films with grandiose layers.
-from here I skipped to the end of the film, bypassing the final act which I must admit I had no desire to watch again. this is certainly the film's major weakness.
loved Monica Bellucci, Lia Sedoux, loved the suits (especially the tan), loved that Bond was more relaxed, loved the score...
As a Bond fan, I enjoy watching Bond in settings more so than the story itself (he's been there done that right?) I'll take a great story for sure, but settings are equally satisfying and this film had a many good ones. B-)
Comments
Spectre was a good film in the Bond group, and Sam Mendes is a master filmmaker, but my personal favorite scene from SP was the funeral scene, where the camera from Bonds view at the back of the mourners slowly zooms forward and focuses not on Monica Bellucci the widow, who we are led to believe that Bond is watching, but on the back of Blofeld’s head, and is an excellent play by the director to introduce Bond's rival. Bloefeld turns his head just slightly as if he too is sensing that his childhood opposite and as he alludes to later, the cuokoo in his nest, James Bond, is present.
I enjoy it lots overall but the weak parts for me are:
Car chase (this is the first part of the film which is weak)
Hotel Room / Hidden Room scene (hidden room in hotel makes no sense with no exit / enter lol)
Blofelds Lair (biggest flaw - what a missed opportunity)
London Blofeld finale (seems rushed and the escape was a doddle)
Everything else I really loved.
Its as if they should have made the Blofeld lair the finale however sacrificed it to squeeze in the london MI6 finale hence both turned out weak. They should have stuck with one or the other (lair made more sense since thats where Blofeld was based).
In a nutshell they crammed too much in which was detrimental to the film.
I try not to focus too hard at the story as with Skyfall it makes no sense.
If it had been anyone else playing Bond I may be more critical but I love bond and as always find dc entirely watchable.
I thought about this and the explanation I came up with goes like this: Mr White was probably already pretty rich when they got married (or getting so quickly afterwards) so he reserved the Hotel room/suite indefinitely, which allowed him to make some changes. People do this in hotels sometimes, Udo Lindenberg has been living in the Hotel Atlantic in Hamburg (TND location) since the 1990s. Having no door makes no sense but it's possible he had the room blocked off later (after withdrawing from Spectre) so it wouldn't be found.
"- That is something to be afraid of."
I guess he once had a door to the room otherwise would have to get the builders and a good plasterer in everyday
To be honest it could have been written better, personally I would have had Mr White tell him Madelaine had the co-ordinates somehow (even if she did not realise) and Mendes spent this additional time tidying up the end better etc or even extend the dinner on the train to make their relationship develop more / better
Still feel a little sick the DB.10 ended up as it did and that the James Bond Theme was a little under used through out the whole film.
It's a problem when the actors playing are better than the actor playing Bond, and they are given so much screen time. M shouldn't be competing with Bond.
We watched Skyfall the night before. Surprised how much i enjoyed Spectre and felt like it was a more entertaining film than SF. I'm really careful critiquing Bond films, because, yes its important to not be an utter fanboy, and ignore a film's faults, I really do love this series and any Bond film, for me, is a great film worth watching.
The ending sequence really grew on me and I really really like these days. The score is superb and when Bond shoots the Helicopter down with a Walther, I had a huge grin on my face.
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
I guess they really just grew on me.
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
I have no problem with Bond shooting the chopper down with his PPK. It's a Bond movie, after all. The score, however, was a huge problem. Other than the music when Bond was walking on the rooftops in Mexico City, the gunbarrel music, and Lucia's theme, it was all forgettable. Skyfall's score certainly wasn't a landmark in the series, but I thought it was much better.
The biggest weakness remains -- an underwhelming third act that begins once they're at the lair, which itself underwhelms. Mendes as a director likes to do that. He somehow thinks smaller when the film should be bigger make it more intimate without properly contextualizing why that doesn't work in a Bond film. What's interesting is how what so many critics think are weaknesses here were praised in Skyfall, which also has an underwhelming climax. But Spectre doesn't suffer from the derivative nature of Skyfall (The Dark Knight meets Straw Dogs) nor its narrative illogic.
Where Spectre suffers is in the reluctance to fully commit to being a big budget Bond entry. What's remarkable is that it cost twice as much as Casino Royale but often looks and feels even smaller than that film. This is entirely on Mendes, as his films are trademarked with exactly this approach.
Skyfall, for all the praised character development, could easily have been a generic action film -- wounded warrior faces his tortured past to right a current wrong. Spectre, on the other hand, traffics more in what the Bond films were known for -- facing a current enemy with grand schemes that could destroy the world. The attempt to shoehorn the brother element into the story was a gigantic and unfortunately misstep, too, and completely unnecessary for the plot, but it only seems clumsier here than the whole Bond-Silva brothers with M the mother in Skyfall because Spectre does not fog things with sentimentality.
Spectre remains the superior effort to me over Skyfall and Quantum of Solace, though it still falls short of Casino Royale. Rather than insert trivia about the characters, the stories needs to be better constructed to show rather than tell. Otherwise, they need to step up the scale of the films. Spectre may have spent a ridiculous among of money in production, but it didn't show up as much on the screen. That's its biggest failing. All in or don't play. And Spectre held back too much on what to show.
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