DAD wtf?!?
Lazenby
The upper reaches of the AmazoPosts: 606MI6 Agent
I just watched DAD for the first time and my Lord! What an utterly craptastic piece of Bond cinema that is! I could go on and on, but I won't...everything about that movie just begged for the old series to be put out of its misery in preparation for the wonderful reincarnation that was CR. All hail Daniel Craig! (I didn't think it was possible for AVTAK to be outdone in terms of utter badness, but it seems to have happened.)
Comments
films for what they were- all flash, no substance.
During the entire film, there were only three things which I liked: Brosnan's performance which I considered to be particularly strong considering the screenplay he had to deal with (I think he should be proud that his last performance was very good, if not the film itself), I loved the 'say goodbye to him for us' line and I really liked the fencing scene (although I wish that Bond had just killed Graves then and there.)
BTW, although I don't consider CR to be a masterpiece (for example, among films of the past decade, I preferred GE and TWINE), I do think it's alot better than DAD and I am thankful, that even though I don't love it, I still like it, unlike the horror known as DAD.
I would much rather watch even AVTAK than this- there's something I like about AVTAK (even though it's not great)...
Yes, it is one of my least favourite Bond films,
Yes Graves wasn't a very good villian
but, its still a bond film and one that I enjoy watching. the first half, skipping past the Jinx introduction is good. for example I think the scene in the underground station was very good and so was the scenes where Bond has been captured and the arrival in Hong Kong.
I think what let this film down was:
the fact that it was an anniversary film and the writers tried to put in as many throwbacks as they possibly could
the director, what kind of film are you going to get from someone who believes in the codename theory.
and the fact they wanted to go all "hip and up to date" and fill it full of CGI.
I think the reason I can defend this film is because I love all the Bond films, I don't hate any of them, there are some I dislike more than others, for example I feel TMWTGG ranks a lot lower than DAD, but that is my personal oppinion.
DAD is actually 2 ok Bond films. All the stuff up until the Virtual Reality sequence - Korea, Cuba, the fencing scene - belong in DAD-A. From then on - virtual reality, invisible cars, laser satellites, ice palaces, people saying "yo momma" - we have DAD-B. And if they actually existed as two separate films, I think people would be far more willing to overlook its flaws.
The problem is that DAD-A gets you prepared for a gritty, deep Bond film, and then it takes this strange left turn down Ludicrous Avenue. It becomes a lot harder to forgive that second half because of the first half. Put it this way: before the pre credits of Moonraker Jaws has survived falling out of an aeroplane by landing in a collapsing circus tent. At that point re-entry gags seem almost inevitable. Having Bond tortured does not lead up to Big Bang jokes.
I assume that Babs and Mickey were operating on the principle that it's 40 years of Bond, but you know what? It wasn't all From Russia With Love - there was A View To A Kill too. The film itself mirrors the series -
a low key, gritty and dangerous opening (Korea = DN & FRWL);
sunshine, glamour, sex and technology coming to the forefront (Cuba=GF through to YOLT);
a sudden drop back down to the pared down thriller (London scenes=OHMSS);
utterly ridiculous technology everywhere and cheesy humour (from virtual reality through to the Miranda love scene=the Seventies Bonds);
an attempt to wrestle the series back down to Earth with some thrills, but still a bit stupid and silly (Bond's infiltration of the dome and confrontation with Graves=FYEO and OP);
a truly what the hell were they thinking? moment (ice surfing=AVTAK);
extreme seriousness and real life events welded to big action (the ice palace chase and all those discussions about the fate of North and South Korea=TLD & LTK);
then a finale that takes everything you've already seen and repackages it in a nice interesting way, but which ultimately just isn't quite as good as you'd really have liked it to be, and is only rescued by Brosnan (GE to, well, DAD).
In fact they should be applauded for making one big cinematic metaphor.
Or am I just talking out of my hat?
@merseytart
Maybe thats why I can stand DAD, for me DAD had enough of the stuff I liked in a Bond movie for me to ignore the stuff I hated.
Yet another entry into the JSW Post Hall of Fame or the AJB Post Hall of Fame...which of course may as well be one and the same.
Brilliant, jetset! {[]
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Ingenious. But a little far-fetched. The ice-palace chase a throw-back to TLD and LTK? I must have seen the abridged versions of the Dalton entries.
Yours was a wonderful attempt to remotivate a crazily screwed-up film, but I think I'm
going to go for the simple diagnosis:
1. Starts promisingly with some hard-edged scenes.
2. Meets its first road bump with the hiring of two overblown female stars (Madonna and Halle Berry) who have no sense of Bond-culture and of course will not allow anybody from this dinosaur institution to limit their creativity or overshadow their personality.
3. Gets out of hand with the introduction of the invisible car.
4. Loses all credibility with that insulting CGI moment I keep forgetting to repress. After which it doesn't really matter whether the ending is plausible or the villain engaging
I just wish the 20th Bond had been assigned to a director with some respect for the series. I wish they'd given us more FRWL and FYEO-type down to earth action, and less laser-beams from outer space. I wish the Bond girl had been someone who wasn't trying to outdo Bond throughout the movie (and if they really needed to have an oscar winner on the ticket they should have gone for Charlize Theron).
Nothing wrong with realistic gadgets, but when the gadget is thrown into the mix to provide a scene that highlights the gadgetry (think of Little Nellie in YOLT and the remote control car in TND) and can be excised from the movie with no consequence, they don't belong.
As for Q, I agree. There is no need to reintroduce the character. It's all been done.
Same goes for Moneypenny. A blind adherence to tradition would only bring the later movies down.
Agree with the thread title.
Ooh
Good for you, Mr. Garvin.
I enjoy DAD more than many here do...and I'm of the school of thought which posits that the 1st half comprises perhaps Brozzer's best moments in the role. I liked the fact that he was held a prisoner for 16 months, and had to 'earn' his way back into the fold. The shot of him strolling through the streets of Havana is quintessential Bond. They had me right up to---and including---the excellent sword fight.
I think they got carried away with the 40th Anniversary stuff, though, and throwing in everything except the kitchen sink ultimately did it no service.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Moore was in his prime. He looked the part, was comfortable with all aspects of the character, and played what he was given beautifully. TSWLM may not be a stellar film, but Moore's performance sure was. IMHO.
Brosnan looked old in DAD. Also bored half the time, like he couldn't wait for someone to yell "Cut!" a lot of scenes. He had a couple scenes that were money, but phoned in most of that performance. IMHO. Comparing his performance to Connery's phoned-in one in YOLT would be more apt, IMO. Actually, YOLT-DAD holds up better as a comparison across the board IMO, especially considering the lead actors' underwhelming performances.
But there's still so much other badness in DAD, agree with the poster above who calls it unrewatchable.
IMO, the turningpoint happened with the line, " ...let me get on with my job."
EDIT: It dawned on me in a Zen way, the Brozzer seemed prophetic about doing the job he did best when coming into the 2nd half, which was to deftly wade through EON-induced crap and still look good (and arguably, DAD's 2nd half was the biggest stinking log EON ever laid!)
Would you care to elaborate, Willie?
The complaints would surely be just as numerous (if not more so) had Roger starred in DAD instead of Pierce. And there's no comparison between TSWLM & DAD. MR & DAD would be more apt.
WG, you're great and all, but how can you say that? The films are nothing alike. TSWLM was not an homage to all the films before it! It heavily borrowed from YOLT (which is to me, IMO, a subpar effort) and improved upon them to make a great movie. Here you have an independent agent in Anya Amasova who is not nearly as grating as Jinx and a low-key, but still threatening villain unlike the snobbish Graves. Sure, the film was a bit OTT but like MNL said, if the comparison is going to be made, DAD and MR would be a better comparison as those two are the most outlandish Bond films of all time.
And, both made great big wads of cash.
I can't help but find it interesting though that despite the extremism of DAD, the fibers of the Bond fan base held together. It was rather CR that prompted several members to abandon the series. CR has regrettably replaced mainstream Bond fans with general moviegoers.
-Roger Moore
Rarely do I disagree with Mr. Garvin, but that's a tenuous comparison IMO. There are Bond films that are cool because they combine all the so-called "classic" elements of action, humor, suaveness, danger, beautiful women, gadgets, etc. -- and TSWLM typifies that for me.
DAD on the other hand, is the proverbial wannabe cool movie. Tons of homages (which, while well-intentioned, are clunky), silly camera tricks, completely OTT effects, showy performances. Something VH1 might have produced and aired.
Box office aside, TSWLM revived a franchise. DAD blew a franchise up.
To each his own, of course. For me, DAD is easily at the bottom of the Bond film barrel.
Finally, can people please stop pretending that OTT elements were invented in the Roger Moore era? GF -- an absolute classic to many of us, myself included -- is so chock full of them that we would have a field day with it were it made today.
Members of this forum, members of the mainstream Bond fanbase.
I'm afraid I do believe that the base is fracturing. The events preceding the release of CR is proof of that. I wasn't exactly thrilled about DAD (or CR either), but as you see I am also still here.
I have no idea. Perhaps you should ask those who have boycotted the film or left us. ?:)
-Roger Moore
Really? You didn't like Brosnan? I hadn't picked that up.