James Bond: The Ultimate Collection (1962-2012) + Volume Collections

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by Tom Sharky

One thing that I hope they do moving forward with Bond is do more one-off movies rather than trying to tie the plots of the future movies together. I felt like the script writers were having to really work hard and force things in order to find a way to tie the 5 Daniel Craig Bond movies together plot-wise. I think it's a mistake to try to get that many movies to fit together, as it's hard to make the plot(s) coherent across that many movies. Edit: if they are going to try to tie movies together plot-wise, just do it with 2 consecutive Bond movies but don't try to do it with 4 or 5 Bond movies like with the Craig films. It's just too much.

I have a feeling they will do that. Just like many Bond films of the past 50 years, they were trying to ape popular movie trends with the Craig films including the connected cinematic universe thing, where each movie leads up to something bigger and better in the next. But instead of being pre-planned and mapped out in advance, they seemed to be just making it up as they go along so everything was so disjointed and unsatisfying.

Maybe in the next one, they will take their cue from the Barbie movie, where Bond enters the real world and questions his place in a world of toxic masculinity. That ought to wind a few people up

[koberulz]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

Maybe in the next one, they will take their cue from the Barbie movie, where Bond enters the real world and questions his place in a world of toxic masculinity. That ought to wind a few people up

I've been suggesting this (or rather, a slightly more realistic variation) for years. Lots of people want to recast Bond as a minority but the toxic masculinity and white privilege are so much an integral part of the character that I really don't think you can do that, and they're better off actually addressing how Bond impacts others - which NTtD actually did. Needless to say I enjoyed it more than most.

[Member-222782]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

Ya think?

I already admitted I made an error in the initials, what more do you need?

Relax. Go outside, take a deep breath. I'm not your enemy

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

Relax. Go outside, take a deep breath. I'm not your enemy

Are you sure?

Remember I have a giant guard dog.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

I have a feeling they will do that. Just like many Bond films of the past 50 years, they were trying to ape popular movie trends with the Craig films including the connected cinematic universe thing, where each movie leads up to something bigger and better in the next. But instead of being pre-planned and mapped out in advance, they seemed to be just making it up as they go along so everything was so disjointed and unsatisfying.

This is very true and I think will make the Craig era less popular as time goes by since it will inherently limit potential rewatchability. I had always hoped for a deadly serious take on the character similar to the novels, which I love, and for continuity as well, but the Craig films overdid it. Watching the Bond films used to always guarantee a good fun time, but the last ones just focused on one depressing theme after another and no longer even seemed like Bond movies to me. It was like the producers agreed to the old cliche that the only way to make art is to turn it all into a tragedy. I got tired of it and NO TIME TO DIE really wore me out. I mean, a sappy ass love story that reflected no reality whatsoever and child endangerment? In a Bond movie? Children never belong in a Bond movie! The whole debacle was embarrassing and played like a Lifetime Channel version of Bond.

[Member-222782]

The story continuity thing was new to the franchise, introduced in the Craig era. I'm not a fan of it. Imagine if they do that to each batch of films that feature the same actor going forward. Part of the fun of the older Bond films was anticipating a brand new adventure with each installment. I loved Casino Royale, it was a fantastic Bond film, but each successive film has been meh. Night of the Demo, er, No Time To Die was enjoyable but played out. Give us something new!

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

This is very true and I think will make the Craig era less popular as time goes by since it will inherently limit potential rewatchability. I had always hoped for a deadly serious take on the character similar to the novels, which I love, and for continuity as well, but the Craig films overdid it. Watching the Bond films used to always guarantee a good fun time, but the last ones just focused on one depressing theme after another and no longer even seemed like Bond movies to me. It was like the producers agreed to the old cliche that the only way to make art is to turn it all into a tragedy. I got tired of it and NO TIME TO DIE really wore me out. I mean, a sappy ass love story that reflected no reality whatsoever and child endangerment? In a Bond movie? Children never belong in a Bond movie! The whole debacle was embarrassing and played like a Lifetime Channel version of Bond.

I personally don't disagree because in retrospect, the Craig films don't inspire much interest in rewatching for me (apart from Casino Royale, which I though was the best film since the 80s for the franchise), but I can see younger viewers becoming more interested in the Craig films than the earlier ones in the series for a variety of reasons.

[RegressiveScan]

To me, Quantum is by far the most compelling, emotionally engaging and rewatchable of all the Craig entries. I guess I’m weird that way.

E.g., the scene with

[Show spoiler]the death of Rene Mathis

–that is so powerful. It really increases the emotional stakes for the whole film. There’s nothing else like that in any of the other Craig films, despite some attempts.

And I find Quantum’s action set pieces top-notch. Better ‘Bourne’-style editing and pacing than the Bourne films.

I’m surprised to see someone criticize No Time… for being too dark. It’s the only Craig film to introduce the trademark Bond lighthearted/humourous aspect to the franchise.

To me, the most disappointing Craig flicks are the two Mendes entries. Skyfall and Spectre both have their moments, but don’t quite do it for me. So judge my opinions accordingly.

[Stanis]

Originally Posted by Mushi Minion

I find QoS more rewatchable than Skyfall. The former I find more to like about it each time, and the latter holds together less with each subsequent viewing.

Gawd help me, I agree with this.
I think the opening car chase in QoS is actually pretty good.
I found Skyfall an unlikely bore from the get go

[lamphorn]

Not that anyone was asking, but just in case anyone enjoys reading the decision-making thought process-

I'm still toying with the idea of snagging a blu-ray box (I'm looking at a sealed copy of the Ultimate (black) set being sold second-hand for $100)... and while my roommate and I had compared a couple of the blu-rays to the Amazon 4K stream last year and in our judgment liked the Blu-Ray's quality more (I think we looked at one or two of the Connery ones)... having done more reading in earlier parts of this thread and in another forum, it seems a lot of people are finding the iTunes 4K editions to be at least as good and often better than the Blu-Rays...

So here goes more decision-wrangling. I'm considering now just keeping an eye on the iTunes bundles to grab them if/when they go on sale (assuming they rotate in and out of discounts like a lot of iTunes movies do) and letting go of the idea of the blu-rays. I like that the iTunes comes with the extra features though I might miss the option of the original mono/stereo audio tracks (assuming iTunes doesn't have audio options).

But then there's the wild card- if or when 4K disc sets start happening. I know no one knows, but if I do go for the iTunes versions I'd have to just mentally be ok with the fact that if 4K discs come, they would come with digital copies and I'd just have to decide whether it's worth buying the hard copies and just selling or giving away the digital codes to try to recover some of the amount I already spent on them.

That said, if 4K discs are still YEARS away... then who cares. Lol.

I know this is a lot of hand-wringing and my parsing over minutiae shouldn't be taken as real distress or anything. This is fun for me. I love my movies, and I like tinkering mentally with how to curate my collection.

[Markgway]

Because no one has done it this week--

1. Casino Royale
2. Quantum of Solace
3. Spectre
4. Skyfall
5. No Time to Diet

[vinncent]

Skyfall.
No Time to Die
Casino Royale
Spectre
Quantum of Solace

[Bourne1886]

Originally Posted by Markgway

Because no one has done it this week--

1. Casino Royale
2. Quantum of Solace
3. Spectre
4. Skyfall
5. No Time to Diet

😂 That’s definitely the correct order. No time to be woke hits rock bottom every time. Probably the worst Bond film ever.

[CreasyBear]

CR
NTTD
Spectre
Skyfall
QOS

[levcore]

I love Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall, i think all 3 are fantastic movies.

Spectre is OK but the villain is terrible and the second half and particularly the finale sucks.

No Time to Die is OK but the villain is terrible and the second half and particularly the finale sucks.

Before anyone tells me the villain in QoS sucks, i actually really like Dominic Greene as a villain, he's a real slimy douche.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by levcore

I love Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall, i think all 3 are fantastic movies.

Spectre is OK but the villain is terrible and the second half and particularly the finale sucks.

No Time to Die is OK but the villain is terrible and the second half and particularly the finale sucks.

Before anyone tells me the villain in QoS sucks, i actually really like Dominic Greene as a villain, he's a real slimy douche.

As Bond himself might be referred to by some of the women he's known.

[Member-222782]

Originally Posted by Stanis

Gawd help me, I agree with this.
I think the opening car chase in QoS is actually pretty good.
I found Skyfall an unlikely bore from the get go

The frantic editing in that scene gave me a headache. The editing was QoS's worst aspect. The bore comes from the recurring storylines/characters. I enjoy all of the Craig films, I just don't like repeating plots.

[dallywhitty]

Originally Posted by Bourne1886

No time to be woke hits rock bottom every time. Probably the worst Bond film ever.

Nah, it's great.

[Bourne1886]

Originally Posted by dallywhitty

Nah, it's great.

Whitty I just can’t bear to watch it again to be honest. I was so excited to see it at the cinema and after I walked out I never felt so disappointed at watching a Bond film. That’s why I don’t own it like I do all of the others. I did buy it on disc to be open minded and give it another chance. I tried to watch it again but I hated it even more. I sold it on.

Do you really like it that much? And my other question is why? There’s no denying it’s got good action in places and the section with Paloma was great but overall I can’t stand it.

[koberulz]

NTtD is maybe my favorite Bond, alongside OHMSS and TLD.