I'm sure in a review someone said the passengers on the train were SPECTRE agents......that would have been cool, Bknd and Madelaine having to battle with Hinx and other henchmen as well.
http://observer.com/2015/11/james-bond-turns-bland/
Here is another "unfriendly" review of Spectre, the reviewer points out
How the action moves from Rome to New York ? I guess he was
Really paying attention. )
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
http://observer.com/2015/11/james-bond-turns-bland/
Here is another "unfriendly" review of Spectre, the reviewer points out
How the action moves from Rome to New York ? I guess he was
Really paying attention. )
Reading that I'm guessing he doesn't like it. Or indeed have really watched it. New York? Really?
60% on the Tomatometer now. Everyone acknowledges this film has some massive problems, but what divides people is whether it manages to get away with them or not.
I wonder if all of these tepid reviews are going to hurt the box office when SPECTRE is finally released here in the states? Anyway, I've already got my tix for tomorrow night, but thanks to this website, I'm going in with lowered expectations. Maybe that's a good thing haha?
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,990Quartermasters
I wonder if all of these tepid reviews are going to hurt the box office when SPECTRE is finally released here in the states? Anyway, I've already got my tix for tomorrow night, but thanks to this website, I'm going in with lowered expectations. Maybe that's a good thing haha?
Critics' disdain w/Bond generally = smiles for me. Showtime in 52 minutes :007)
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Helicopter, standard Bo105 display as seen numerous times live as flown by German army and Red Bull team at airshows, nothing new and why the feck in a flying helicopter would you keep trying beat the head of the pilot, easy way to kill yourself
Titles , good, main theme background good ,someone please gag Sam Smith
Up to Italy OK.
Funeral and Monica good.
SPECTRE meeting well filmed , but now two much Austin Powers, "Luke I Am Your Father" oh sorry brother .
Car chase ,nice cars, no real excitement.
Austria , probably the best bit in the film, very OHMSS, chase good .
Generic middle east country ,filler.
Train journey, as noted empty train and why get dressed up for dinner when you are the only people on the train.
Fight ,good and gave me the biggest laugh of the whole thing with the Jaws referance.
SPECTRE base in the crater , why?
Torture scene , Pussy galore torture , Marathon Man is the way to do this, Waltz not at all threatening.
Escape, a dozen rounds or so fired, massive explosion, just about the same as QoS.
London , ok but the scar FFS 8-) MI6 HQ not bad but no real excitement.
Thames chase, has been done better, and as for shooting down a chopper with a PPK grow the feck up , at least a MANPAD or something could have been used . Not killing Dr Evil ? I could hear Scott Evil shouting in the background.
Overall soundtrack, can't remember a note of it.
Yes one of my least favourite bond movies, bottom five.
Thanks for the review, very sensible and matter-of-fact. Given that the movie still has not had a premiere in Australia, I'm likely to save the money and get the Blu-ray, which will probably be released early next year.
Saw it tonight. I def enjoyed it alot more than I thought I would after some of the reviews. Sure, alot of plot holes.. But a still a great bond flick IMO. Didn't think I'd like the lightheartedness of it, but it was actually a little refreshing in a way. I think I still prefer SF and CR over it. Idk, I need to see it again. As I was walking out, one of the workers asked a group of us if we wanted a poster, he was going to throw them away for some reason. The weremail full size, Spectre posters. Pleasant surprise.
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,990Quartermasters
That's pretty cool! I should be so lucky...
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Pre-Title Sequence - a Perfect 10/10. Who would punch a helicopter pilot? Well Bond would, and he knows how to fly, so what's the problem? [12min.]
Titles - Well if anything is going to improve Sam Smith, its going to be tentacle porn. A Really well-shot Title sequence (3min.) [15min.]
London - A Great chance to catch my breath. So far I am loving this film. [15min.) [30min.]
Rome - Loved the car, loved the funeral, Monica Belluci's acting seems a little off at the funeral, and in turn it through Daniel off a bit. Then the cam follows her beautifully through the house, Bond dispatches the two men which the trailer spoiled. I never expected Lucia to last very long anyway. But she definetely died off camera, and its bonds fault, i mean come on. Anyway, the sex scene was amazingly passionate, a lot more than what we're used to with bond films.
Spectre Meeting - great, eery, mysterious, its cut off a little shorter than what i wanted. I would have rather had it go on for longer like eyes wide shut.
DB10 vs. CX375 - loved the car chase, hated when Bond called Moneypenny during a chase - pathetic excuse to give the secretary something meaning full to do. I know people were expecting more physical stuff on the chase but i was satisfied with the sheer high speed and turns of the chase. i would've liked to see them try to run each other off the road a couple times. - After the car chase, I am like: Ok , I could see this being my fave bond film or at least my top5 if it keeps going like this. (25min.) [55min.]
Austria - I was really looking forward to that extra long pan out along the lake, with that dark eery motor sound effect like in teaser 1. (23min.) [78min.]
Madeleine Swann - I loved Madeleine Swann as a character and a woman. She has some great dresses and her one sex scene is darn passionate. Personally i get the chemistry, between her and bond. Who better than a psychologist to disect his brain. I think she's there to tell bond to stop running from relationships and not be afraid to love again after vesper. This could've been hit harder at the audience, I mean it has something to do with the song lyrics, but its never elaborated upon.
The Plane chase - It did seem like the plane just appeared out of nowhere. And again the scenes are too short. THe movie needed more 7 minute action scenes. At this part in the movie, I'm like ok, but it isn't building up to anything
The train - People who say their new clothes appear out of nowhere. Just because it doesn't show them buying clothes doesn't mean they didn't. It didn't show them going to the grocery store either.
Q in the field - 1 thing people seem to like is Q. I thought he was ok, he wasn't that funny. He didn't have any reason to be in the field . Everything he could've done at home in his pajamas like he said in SKyfall. I didn't care that he was doing top secret stuff on the laptop in public because no one had x-ray vision to see through the back of the laptop.
The train fight - We have had 3 Mr. Hinx fights in a row. THe thing about Jaws was, he didn't appear in 2 action scenes in a row. There were always action scenes without him scattered in between.
The Evil Lair - They had the perfect evil lair, and they wasted it. I mean what a tease! The torture scene was great and I really felt for Bond and Madeleine's emotions. The watch was great but it shot the evil lair finale straight to the finish line, and we get a 45 sec. shootout, probably shorter. I do like how Mendes shoots these small action scenes with long buildups - I attribute that to Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns, but there needs to be moderation on that. (40min.) [117min.)
Waltz's Blofeld - I loved Waltz's Blofeld. I think he's the best Blofeld of the four. It felt like he had a really good backstory for motive for why he was doing things, but they never elaborated on it enough.
Spectre - Le Chiffre, Green , Silva are all connected somehow, but the movie never elaborates on anything! I would love to get the dvd just to freezeframe exactly what its says that Q is reading.
The Epilogue Finale in London - (24min.) [141min.] -
In a lot of ways this is worse than Quantum. In a lot of ways Its better. I'm not sure of what grade I want to give it just yet, but my god. Spectre was suppose to be like a no-brainer. They had to know what they were doing, how could they fall so low. I would've completeley deleted the London Epilogue, and invested that time into Austria and the Evil Lair . Blofeld goes way out of his way to kill
The Ending - In no way is that ending preventing Daniel Craig from coming back. If anything prevents him from coming back, I'd say it'd be the inability of being able to get Waltz back for a 2nd film. Eon has never been able to keep a Blofeld on callback.
I thought Daniel Craig's performance was good but the worse its been so far, he even seemed to be channeling Harrison Ford at times.
I feel like if they cut all the political cuts that M was facing they could focus more time on the mission. I thought the msision itself didn't have any plotholes, and i liked the idea of Bond still taking orders from Judi Dench, but Judi Dench's video should've been longer - if she's giving him his mission she should explain things to bond and the audience.
I didn't care that we never get to see Vesperj's interrogation tape. Its not important whats on the tape, the importance is bond picking it up and getting a reminder of the people he's lost.
I don't get how people are saying that it is giving too much references to old bond films , because they must've been so subtle that I didn't get any of them, except maybe the part where the plane flies through the barn. Something about a Hildebrand, but i didn't catch that - It definetely wasn't a hildebrand rarity, someone just said the word hildbrand. I don't think that's a reference to anything.
I want them to just erase this from history, keep everything up to the end of the car chase, and jsut start fresh from there.
Another thing i want to address is people blaming robert wade and neil purvis. From what i remember they were givin the task of correcting the script. What was it like before? I feel like the script is the main problem, not mendez. I think John Logan pulled all of his efforts into Penny Dreadful season 1 and 2.
Saw it with the girlfriend tonight -- and we both loved it. Easily my second favorite Bond after Casino Royale.
Craig finally is iconic in the role as Connery. No doubt. Allowing his Bond to demonstrate more than the same two or three emotions as in the last three films brings a lot of life to his Bond. Giving him more opportunities in more varied situations helps. He still doesn't get to demonstrate the range that Connery did, but he's far, far closer here than before. All of the performances were brilliant and topnotch. The quibbles about Christoph Waltz as Blofeld are unwarranted -- the problem isn't his performance so much as he isn't given as much to do. But, again, the modern writer seems pretty inept at this, relying more on minimalist development.
Weaknesses? The script is, of course, thin, lacking the meat it deserves. At the same time, though, it doesn't traffic predominantly in illogic and sentimentality as the last one. The romance, once again, is given short shrift, but that's been a problem with every Bond for the past 30 years. Mendes still can't get the third act right in his action films -- he thinks less is more. He glosses over the giant set pieces. He doesn't always understand what makes action interesting. I can't quite figure out what they spent $300 million on.
Having read a few criticisms of the film, though, I find many of them unfair. People have questioned, for instance, where Bond gets the plane -- when it's obvious he arrives at the institute by plane, implying an airport of some kind, no matter how unlikely, is close by. People have questioned where the clothes came from when Bond and Swann travel by train, when it's not only obvious time has passed, but there is no reason to believe the two didn't shop. Presumably, that is his tux he asks to have pressed. The same time issue occurs during the fight in the dining car -- they come aboard late night when there are a few people but then order drinks before Hinx finally shows up -- plenty of time for other diners to leave. In fact, their leaving suggests why Hinx then charges in in the first place, thinking that only Bond and Swann are in the train car. The fight itself, for some reason, was blurrier than in the clips I've seen online. Thomas Newman's score strangely enough sounded much better with the film, even fitting, perhaps because it was played at a decent volume.
This film will deserve repeat viewings, and the joy of it is that there is so much to look at. This is a film that perhaps even more than Casino Royale captures a Bond aesthetic that we really have not seen since the late 70s. It is not better than that film, but it is easily now my second favorite Craig Bond. Finally, I don't agree that it ends with any sort of finality about Craig's 007. If anything, it seems to follow suit with many Bonds of the past with him going off with the girl of the film. There's no reason to believe Hinx and Blofeld won't return, too. In fact, given how much effort there was to introduce both villains, I'd say they must.
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,990Quartermasters
Saw it with the girlfriend tonight -- and we both loved it. Easily my second favorite Bond after Casino Royale.
Craig finally is iconic in the role as Connery. No doubt. Allowing his Bond to demonstrate more than the same two or three emotions as in the last three films brings a lot of life to his Bond. Giving him more opportunities in more varied situations helps. He still doesn't get to demonstrate the range that Connery did, but he's far, far closer here than before. All of the performances were brilliant and topnotch. The quibbles about Christoph Waltz as Blofeld are unwarranted -- the problem isn't his performance so much as he isn't given as much to do. But, again, the modern writer seems pretty inept at this, relying more on minimalist development.
Weaknesses? The script is, of course, thin, lacking the meat it deserves. At the same time, though, it doesn't traffic predominantly in illogic and sentimentality as the last one. The romance, once again, is given short shrift, but that's been a problem with every Bond for the past 30 years. Mendes still can't get the third act right in his action films -- he thinks less is more. He glosses over the giant set pieces. He doesn't always understand what makes action interesting. I can't quite figure out what they spent $300 million on.
Having read a few criticisms of the film, though, I find many of them unfair. People have questioned, for instance, where Bond gets the plane -- when it's obvious he arrives at the institute by plane, implying an airport of some kind, no matter how unlikely, is close by. People have questioned where the clothes came from when Bond and Swann travel by train, when it's not only obvious time has passed, but there is no reason to believe the two didn't shop. Presumably, that is his tux he asks to have pressed. The same time issue occurs during the fight in the dining car -- they come aboard late night when there are a few people but then order drinks before Hinx finally shows up -- plenty of time for other diners to leave. In fact, their leaving suggests why Hinx then charges in in the first place, thinking that only Bond and Swann are in the train car. The fight itself, for some reason, was blurrier than in the clips I've seen online. Thomas Newman's score strangely enough sounded much better with the film, even fitting, perhaps because it was played at a decent volume.
This film will deserve repeat viewings, and the joy of it is that there is so much to look at. This is a film that perhaps even more than Casino Royale captures a Bond aesthetic that we really have not seen since the late 70s. It is not better than that film, but it is easily now my second favorite Craig Bond. Finally, I don't agree that it ends with any sort of finality about Craig's 007. If anything, it seems to follow suit with many Bonds of the past with him going off with the girl of the film. There's no reason to believe Hinx and Blofeld won't return, too. In fact, given how much effort there was to introduce both villains, I'd say they must.
{[] Yes. I'm going to see it again tomorrow before I try to coalesce everything swimming around in my fevered, post-first-new-Bond-film-viewing mind frame...but I agree with nearly everything you say here, sir.
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I w. But she definetely died off camera, and its bonds fault, i mean come on. Anyway, the sex scene was amazingly passionate, a lot more than what we're used to with bond films.
She survives. Did you miss Bond giving her Felixs' number? I expect she is the United States by now..
1. For Your Eyes Only 2. The Living Daylights 3 From Russia with Love 4. Casino Royale 5. OHMSS 6. Skyfall
Saw it with the girlfriend tonight -- and we both loved it. Easily my second favorite Bond after Casino Royale.
Craig finally is iconic in the role as Connery. No doubt. Allowing his Bond to demonstrate more than the same two or three emotions as in the last three films brings a lot of life to his Bond. Giving him more opportunities in more varied situations helps. He still doesn't get to demonstrate the range that Connery did, but he's far, far closer here than before. All of the performances were brilliant and topnotch. The quibbles about Christoph Waltz as Blofeld are unwarranted -- the problem isn't his performance so much as he isn't given as much to do. But, again, the modern writer seems pretty inept at this, relying more on minimalist development.
Weaknesses? The script is, of course, thin, lacking the meat it deserves. At the same time, though, it doesn't traffic predominantly in illogic and sentimentality as the last one. The romance, once again, is given short shrift, but that's been a problem with every Bond for the past 30 years. Mendes still can't get the third act right in his action films -- he thinks less is more. He glosses over the giant set pieces. He doesn't always understand what makes action interesting. I can't quite figure out what they spent $300 million on.
Having read a few criticisms of the film, though, I find many of them unfair. People have questioned, for instance, where Bond gets the plane -- when it's obvious he arrives at the institute by plane, implying an airport of some kind, no matter how unlikely, is close by. People have questioned where the clothes came from when Bond and Swann travel by train, when it's not only obvious time has passed, but there is no reason to believe the two didn't shop. Presumably, that is his tux he asks to have pressed. The same time issue occurs during the fight in the dining car -- they come aboard late night when there are a few people but then order drinks before Hinx finally shows up -- plenty of time for other diners to leave. In fact, their leaving suggests why Hinx then charges in in the first place, thinking that only Bond and Swann are in the train car. The fight itself, for some reason, was blurrier than in the clips I've seen online. Thomas Newman's score strangely enough sounded much better with the film, even fitting, perhaps because it was played at a decent volume.
This film will deserve repeat viewings, and the joy of it is that there is so much to look at. This is a film that perhaps even more than Casino Royale captures a Bond aesthetic that we really have not seen since the late 70s. It is not better than that film, but it is easily now my second favorite Craig Bond. Finally, I don't agree that it ends with any sort of finality about Craig's 007. If anything, it seems to follow suit with many Bonds of the past with him going off with the girl of the film. There's no reason to believe Hinx and Blofeld won't return, too. In fact, given how much effort there was to introduce both villains, I'd say they must.
{[] Yes. I'm going to see it again tomorrow before I try to coalesce everything swimming around in my fevered, post-first-new-Bond-film-viewing mind frame...but I agree with nearly everything you say here, sir.
I just have to correct something I wrote -- I should say this is easily my second favorite Craig Bond after Casino Royale. The Connery Bonds and On Her Majesty's Secret Service still do it better for me . . . but, wow, this film was very much what I've been looking for for 40 years.
And what a Bond film it is. A fine film that I only wish had had a better script. But it was a feast for the senses, a chance for Craig to do more, a good introduction for Blofeld, and a nice direction for the series. I'm going to round up some friends to see it again this weekend!
Enjoy you repeat viewing, Loeff!
This should be a time for celebration for all Bond fans!
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,990Quartermasters
It should indeed, and it is for me... :007)
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
The wait has been worth it, and I just want them to start as soon as possible on the next one.
Well, Eon's people need to be kissing Christoph's peoples' butts...and as soon as the dust settles on SP's first-run box office take, agree on what to pay Craigger...and ideally try some fresh scribes out :v ...although I've no doubt that a first draft (or at least a treatment) is on their desks already. But they really do need to let Daniel have a pint or three and a lie-down...
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
The wait has been worth it, and I just want them to start as soon as possible on the next one.
Well, Eon's people need to be kissing Christoph's peoples' butts...and as soon as the dust settles on SP's first-run box office take, agree on what to pay Craigger...and ideally try some fresh scribes out :v ...although I've no doubt that a first draft (or at least a treatment) is on their desks already. But they really do need to let Daniel have a pint or three and a lie-down...
Those are excellent points, Loeff, though I am always amused that the first three Bonds were only made a year apart. They seem to take longer and longer to make them today, even while the films seem less and less epic. Meanwhile, TV is eclipsing a lot of the feature films in most ways. It's strange how the movie business works.
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,990Quartermasters
The wait has been worth it, and I just want them to start as soon as possible on the next one.
Well, Eon's people need to be kissing Christoph's peoples' butts...and as soon as the dust settles on SP's first-run box office take, agree on what to pay Craigger...and ideally try some fresh scribes out :v ...although I've no doubt that a first draft (or at least a treatment) is on their desks already. But they really do need to let Daniel have a pint or three and a lie-down...
Those are excellent points, Loeff, though I am always amused that the first three Bonds were only made a year apart. They seem to take longer and longer to make them today, even while the films seem less and less epic. Meanwhile, TV is eclipsing a lot of the feature films in most ways. It's strange how the movie business works.
It is, though things were certainly easier with most of Fleming's works still un-explored, so Maibaum could bang out an adaptation straightaway.
(I can't recommend highly enough that they go back and look at still(!)-unused bits from books like MR, LALD, DAF...and a couple of short stories, at least for springboards or building blocks. Hope springs eternal that they can negotiate with the Fleming estate to use TSWLM as a PTS, at least :v )
I admire the use of practical stunts in lieu of excessive CGI, which is probably were much of the money did go. The sheer sprawl of the necessary travel is an element of the modern era.
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
First of all the projection was not sharp and pretty dull (not sure if that’s done with a purpose the dullness)
Ok, coming back to my brilliant Spectre review, I am happy to report that after my complaint, my cinema contacted me and told me, that after my complaint checking their equipment there was a "conflict" which caused a bad playback quality.
So it's nothing to do with my misty eyes
Am receiving free tickets for Saturday and will see if it's any better B-)
President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,990Quartermasters
Nice! {[]
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
That could be, though I suspect a lot of it went to pay exorbitant salaries to a lot of the talents involved -- as the actors got smaller, the paychecks correspondingly got bigger when the studio system went away. There is quite a bit they could look at that hasn't been used, but given that they're doing a reboot, they could certainly recycle any number of things. Certainly, Spectre liberally reinvented On Her Majesty's Secret Service and other Bond films. I do appreciate that the Bond films are among the few anymore that still rely on real stunts!
I see that a lot of the American reviewers are not as enamored with the film. That's a good sign. A lot of them are the reason we get such awful films in the first place, as they seem to endorse pablum too often, and then Hollywood goes and makes even more of the same. I was just reading the GQ review, and a complaint among many is that the conference scene went on too long (while the reviewer later complains there wasn't as much cat-and-mouse dialogue at the lair). This is what I'm talking about. That scene was pivotal in the film, both as an homage to the similar scene in Thunderball and in introducing us to just how terrified everyone except Hinx was of Blofeld. The problem, of course, was that after that scene, there isn't as much for Blofeld to do that seems to confirm the conference room scene. Weak writing. But I thought the pacing was just right for that important scene.
60% on the Tomatometer now. Everyone acknowledges this film has some massive problems, but what divides people is whether it manages to get away with them or not.
You know that is the best explanation so far of the divided response. For me it earns it right to take liberties but for Mrs Zaphod it did not
Of that of which we cannot speak we must pass over in silence- Ludwig Wittgenstein.
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,990Quartermasters
Well, I'm just relieved that this film allowed moments of reflection and observation It would have served QoS well.
On a side-note: Interesting that Craig has the three longest-running films...and the shortest
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
That could be, though I suspect a lot of it went to pay exorbitant salaries to a lot of the talents involved -- as the actors got smaller, the paychecks correspondingly got bigger when the studio system went away. There is quite a bit they could look at that hasn't been used, but given that they're doing a reboot, they could certainly recycle any number of things. Certainly, Spectre liberally reinvented On Her Majesty's Secret Service and other Bond films. I do appreciate that the Bond films are among the few anymore that still rely on real stunts!
I see that a lot of the American reviewers are not as enamored with the film. That's a good sign. A lot of them are the reason we get such awful films in the first place, as they seem to endorse pablum too often, and then Hollywood goes and makes even more of the same. I was just reading the GQ review, and a complaint among many is that the conference scene went on too long (while the reviewer later complains there wasn't as much cat-and-mouse dialogue at the lair). This is what I'm talking about. That scene was pivotal in the film, both as an homage to the similar scene in Thunderball and in introducing us to just how terrified everyone except Hinx was of
The problem, of course, was that after that scene, there isn't as much for Blofeld to do that seems to confirm the conference room scene. Weak writing. But I thought the pacing was just right for that important scene.
I would welcome shorter timescales and smaller budgets to get tighter scripts. We would lose all the plaines and helicopter stuff but I could live with that. We might get more genuine tension on a smaller scale. I'm thinking along the lines of the scene in North By Northwest where all that tension is created just out of being unobserved in the house and the lurking danger. BTW I am aware of the pivotal nature of a plane in this movie has the capacity to undermine my argument B-)
Of that of which we cannot speak we must pass over in silence- Ludwig Wittgenstein.
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,990Quartermasters
Oh, that is so true. But I don't think the producers' courage is there.
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Comments
too right! you can see them in the trailer allready
Here is another "unfriendly" review of Spectre, the reviewer points out
How the action moves from Rome to New York ?
Really paying attention.
Reading that I'm guessing he doesn't like it. Or indeed have really watched it. New York? Really?
And to think these people get paid to do this.
Critics' disdain w/Bond generally = smiles for me. Showtime in 52 minutes :007)
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Thanks for the review, very sensible and matter-of-fact. Given that the movie still has not had a premiere in Australia, I'm likely to save the money and get the Blu-ray, which will probably be released early next year.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Pre-Title Sequence - a Perfect 10/10. Who would punch a helicopter pilot? Well Bond would, and he knows how to fly, so what's the problem? [12min.]
Titles - Well if anything is going to improve Sam Smith, its going to be tentacle porn. A Really well-shot Title sequence (3min.) [15min.]
London - A Great chance to catch my breath. So far I am loving this film. [15min.) [30min.]
Rome - Loved the car, loved the funeral, Monica Belluci's acting seems a little off at the funeral, and in turn it through Daniel off a bit. Then the cam follows her beautifully through the house, Bond dispatches the two men which the trailer spoiled. I never expected Lucia to last very long anyway. But she definetely died off camera, and its bonds fault, i mean come on. Anyway, the sex scene was amazingly passionate, a lot more than what we're used to with bond films.
Spectre Meeting - great, eery, mysterious, its cut off a little shorter than what i wanted. I would have rather had it go on for longer like eyes wide shut.
DB10 vs. CX375 - loved the car chase, hated when Bond called Moneypenny during a chase - pathetic excuse to give the secretary something meaning full to do. I know people were expecting more physical stuff on the chase but i was satisfied with the sheer high speed and turns of the chase. i would've liked to see them try to run each other off the road a couple times. - After the car chase, I am like: Ok , I could see this being my fave bond film or at least my top5 if it keeps going like this. (25min.) [55min.]
Austria - I was really looking forward to that extra long pan out along the lake, with that dark eery motor sound effect like in teaser 1. (23min.) [78min.]
Madeleine Swann - I loved Madeleine Swann as a character and a woman. She has some great dresses and her one sex scene is darn passionate. Personally i get the chemistry, between her and bond. Who better than a psychologist to disect his brain. I think she's there to tell bond to stop running from relationships and not be afraid to love again after vesper. This could've been hit harder at the audience, I mean it has something to do with the song lyrics, but its never elaborated upon.
The Plane chase - It did seem like the plane just appeared out of nowhere. And again the scenes are too short. THe movie needed more 7 minute action scenes. At this part in the movie, I'm like ok, but it isn't building up to anything
The train - People who say their new clothes appear out of nowhere. Just because it doesn't show them buying clothes doesn't mean they didn't. It didn't show them going to the grocery store either.
Q in the field - 1 thing people seem to like is Q. I thought he was ok, he wasn't that funny. He didn't have any reason to be in the field . Everything he could've done at home in his pajamas like he said in SKyfall. I didn't care that he was doing top secret stuff on the laptop in public because no one had x-ray vision to see through the back of the laptop.
The train fight - We have had 3 Mr. Hinx fights in a row. THe thing about Jaws was, he didn't appear in 2 action scenes in a row. There were always action scenes without him scattered in between.
The Evil Lair - They had the perfect evil lair, and they wasted it. I mean what a tease! The torture scene was great and I really felt for Bond and Madeleine's emotions. The watch was great but it shot the evil lair finale straight to the finish line, and we get a 45 sec. shootout, probably shorter. I do like how Mendes shoots these small action scenes with long buildups - I attribute that to Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns, but there needs to be moderation on that. (40min.) [117min.)
Waltz's Blofeld - I loved Waltz's Blofeld. I think he's the best Blofeld of the four. It felt like he had a really good backstory for motive for why he was doing things, but they never elaborated on it enough.
Spectre - Le Chiffre, Green , Silva are all connected somehow, but the movie never elaborates on anything! I would love to get the dvd just to freezeframe exactly what its says that Q is reading.
The Epilogue Finale in London - (24min.) [141min.] -
In a lot of ways this is worse than Quantum. In a lot of ways Its better. I'm not sure of what grade I want to give it just yet, but my god. Spectre was suppose to be like a no-brainer. They had to know what they were doing, how could they fall so low. I would've completeley deleted the London Epilogue, and invested that time into Austria and the Evil Lair . Blofeld goes way out of his way to kill
The Ending - In no way is that ending preventing Daniel Craig from coming back. If anything prevents him from coming back, I'd say it'd be the inability of being able to get Waltz back for a 2nd film. Eon has never been able to keep a Blofeld on callback.
I thought Daniel Craig's performance was good but the worse its been so far, he even seemed to be channeling Harrison Ford at times.
I feel like if they cut all the political cuts that M was facing they could focus more time on the mission. I thought the msision itself didn't have any plotholes, and i liked the idea of Bond still taking orders from Judi Dench, but Judi Dench's video should've been longer - if she's giving him his mission she should explain things to bond and the audience.
I didn't care that we never get to see Vesperj's interrogation tape. Its not important whats on the tape, the importance is bond picking it up and getting a reminder of the people he's lost.
I don't get how people are saying that it is giving too much references to old bond films , because they must've been so subtle that I didn't get any of them, except maybe the part where the plane flies through the barn. Something about a Hildebrand, but i didn't catch that - It definetely wasn't a hildebrand rarity, someone just said the word hildbrand. I don't think that's a reference to anything.
I want them to just erase this from history, keep everything up to the end of the car chase, and jsut start fresh from there.
Another thing i want to address is people blaming robert wade and neil purvis. From what i remember they were givin the task of correcting the script. What was it like before? I feel like the script is the main problem, not mendez. I think John Logan pulled all of his efforts into Penny Dreadful season 1 and 2.
Craig finally is iconic in the role as Connery. No doubt. Allowing his Bond to demonstrate more than the same two or three emotions as in the last three films brings a lot of life to his Bond. Giving him more opportunities in more varied situations helps. He still doesn't get to demonstrate the range that Connery did, but he's far, far closer here than before. All of the performances were brilliant and topnotch. The quibbles about Christoph Waltz as Blofeld are unwarranted -- the problem isn't his performance so much as he isn't given as much to do. But, again, the modern writer seems pretty inept at this, relying more on minimalist development.
Weaknesses? The script is, of course, thin, lacking the meat it deserves. At the same time, though, it doesn't traffic predominantly in illogic and sentimentality as the last one. The romance, once again, is given short shrift, but that's been a problem with every Bond for the past 30 years. Mendes still can't get the third act right in his action films -- he thinks less is more. He glosses over the giant set pieces. He doesn't always understand what makes action interesting. I can't quite figure out what they spent $300 million on.
Having read a few criticisms of the film, though, I find many of them unfair. People have questioned, for instance, where Bond gets the plane -- when it's obvious he arrives at the institute by plane, implying an airport of some kind, no matter how unlikely, is close by. People have questioned where the clothes came from when Bond and Swann travel by train, when it's not only obvious time has passed, but there is no reason to believe the two didn't shop. Presumably, that is his tux he asks to have pressed. The same time issue occurs during the fight in the dining car -- they come aboard late night when there are a few people but then order drinks before Hinx finally shows up -- plenty of time for other diners to leave. In fact, their leaving suggests why Hinx then charges in in the first place, thinking that only Bond and Swann are in the train car. The fight itself, for some reason, was blurrier than in the clips I've seen online. Thomas Newman's score strangely enough sounded much better with the film, even fitting, perhaps because it was played at a decent volume.
This film will deserve repeat viewings, and the joy of it is that there is so much to look at. This is a film that perhaps even more than Casino Royale captures a Bond aesthetic that we really have not seen since the late 70s. It is not better than that film, but it is easily now my second favorite Craig Bond. Finally, I don't agree that it ends with any sort of finality about Craig's 007. If anything, it seems to follow suit with many Bonds of the past with him going off with the girl of the film. There's no reason to believe Hinx and Blofeld won't return, too. In fact, given how much effort there was to introduce both villains, I'd say they must.
{[] Yes. I'm going to see it again tomorrow before I try to coalesce everything swimming around in my fevered, post-first-new-Bond-film-viewing mind frame...but I agree with nearly everything you say here, sir.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Some of those old Saharan trains set of twice a week for destinations in the desert. There were people on board - but they disappeared.
She survives. Did you miss Bond giving her Felixs' number? I expect she is the United States by now..
And what a Bond film it is. A fine film that I only wish had had a better script. But it was a feast for the senses, a chance for Craig to do more, a good introduction for Blofeld, and a nice direction for the series. I'm going to round up some friends to see it again this weekend!
Enjoy you repeat viewing, Loeff!
This should be a time for celebration for all Bond fans!
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Well, Eon's people need to be kissing Christoph's peoples' butts...and as soon as the dust settles on SP's first-run box office take, agree on what to pay Craigger...and ideally try some fresh scribes out :v ...although I've no doubt that a first draft (or at least a treatment) is on their desks already. But they really do need to let Daniel have a pint or three and a lie-down...
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
It is, though things were certainly easier with most of Fleming's works still un-explored, so Maibaum could bang out an adaptation straightaway.
(I can't recommend highly enough that they go back and look at still(!)-unused bits from books like MR, LALD, DAF...and a couple of short stories, at least for springboards or building blocks. Hope springs eternal that they can negotiate with the Fleming estate to use TSWLM as a PTS, at least :v )
I admire the use of practical stunts in lieu of excessive CGI, which is probably were much of the money did go. The sheer sprawl of the necessary travel is an element of the modern era.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Ok, coming back to my brilliant Spectre review, I am happy to report that after my complaint, my cinema contacted me and told me, that after my complaint checking their equipment there was a "conflict" which caused a bad playback quality.
So it's nothing to do with my misty eyes
Am receiving free tickets for Saturday and will see if it's any better B-)
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I see that a lot of the American reviewers are not as enamored with the film. That's a good sign. A lot of them are the reason we get such awful films in the first place, as they seem to endorse pablum too often, and then Hollywood goes and makes even more of the same. I was just reading the GQ review, and a complaint among many is that the conference scene went on too long (while the reviewer later complains there wasn't as much cat-and-mouse dialogue at the lair). This is what I'm talking about. That scene was pivotal in the film, both as an homage to the similar scene in Thunderball and in introducing us to just how terrified everyone except Hinx was of Blofeld. The problem, of course, was that after that scene, there isn't as much for Blofeld to do that seems to confirm the conference room scene. Weak writing. But I thought the pacing was just right for that important scene.
You know that is the best explanation so far of the divided response. For me it earns it right to take liberties but for Mrs Zaphod it did not
On a side-note: Interesting that Craig has the three longest-running films...and the shortest
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I would welcome shorter timescales and smaller budgets to get tighter scripts. We would lose all the plaines and helicopter stuff but I could live with that. We might get more genuine tension on a smaller scale. I'm thinking along the lines of the scene in North By Northwest where all that tension is created just out of being unobserved in the house and the lurking danger. BTW I am aware of the pivotal nature of a plane in this movie has the capacity to undermine my argument B-)
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM