SPECTRE Review Thread

[Prince Junior]

Wow. There are some comments in this thread. Gaga/P!nk would have been better suited to perform Skyfall than Adele the Oscar-winner? Shirley Bassey should have sung less songs, not more? I'm glad no one here is in charge of the series.

Ah! But here's one opinion I agree with:

Originally Posted by Kamelot

BUT, if it's me who's calling the shots, I will most definitely ask Shirley Manson in person.

Absolutely! That woman is a goddess!

My favorite of David Arnold's scores was his first. If you listen to and/or watch his interviews from around that time, you'll find an unbridled enthusiasm and a sense that this guy just gets it. He especially wanted to go in the opposite direction of Eric Serra's abysmal electronic noise for Goldeneye. (It's telling that the traditional Bond music for the tank chase sequence was written by another composer and inserted into the movie after Serra's original track just wasn't cutting it.)

Arnold (indirectly criticizing Serra): "All I knew was, was when I was watching [Tomorrow Never Dies], I was thinking, 'If I'm watching this movie and I'm not scoring it, what would I want to hear at this point?' And I knew that, when James Bond comes out of somewhere and does something in a typical James Bond style or fashion, there's really only one thing you want to hear and that's James Bond music. And I think it's foolish to run away from that."

The following quote explains to an extent why I wasn't as enthusiastic about his next four Bond scores:

Arnold: "Tomorrow Never Dies for me was everything that I've ever wanted to do in a Bond movie, I did! Thinking that if I get run over by a bus when this is over, I don't want anything unsaid."

The World Is Not Enough was still a good score but for me, not as interesting or "joyful" as TND. Die Another Day was, like the movie itself, noisy trash, almost as bad as Serra's Goldeneye soundtrack.

For Casino Royale, I understood why Arnold chose to withhold the complete James Bond Theme until the end credits and was grateful that he scaled back on the techno/electronica. Vesper's theme was lovely and incorporating the title track (You Know My Name) into the score itself (as he had done for TND and TWINE) was a smart move. I'm still a bit lukewarm on the CR score overall, however. Not enough of it stands out from Arnold's other compositions.

Quantum of Solace seemed to stall the progress Daniel Craig's Bond had made in the previous movie and unfortunately Arnold's score followed suit: It was competent but unmemorable with no real themes. As with Madonna's song for DAD, QoS had a title track that Arnold wasn't consulted on and therefore didn't lend itself to be used in the score at all.

Thomas Newman's work on Skyfall was decent but most of the time it felt very unremarkable; how that score received an Oscar nomination is beyond my understanding.

[Buddy Ackerman]

Originally Posted by The Narrator

This thread will always disappoint me until the day when it's announced Roger Deakins is coming back.

Then it's probably going to keep disappointing you I'm afraid -

Roger Deakins not returning for Bond 24

A huge shame in my opinion - his work on the film was fantastic and often stunning, especially considering it's an action blockbuster where artful compositions and lighting aren't necessarily considered vital.

[spanky87]

It's time for Kylie Minogue to get a crack at the Bond theme.

[Bucky]

I was hoping Deakins would return since Mendes is directing the next one. Skyfall is such a beautiful movie. I cannot fault him for wanting to do something different though so I will accept this news with quiet dignity and grace.

[Show spoiler]Son of a *****! Bastard! I'll get you for this! What did you do to me? What did you do to me? I don't want to live! I do not want to live!

[Ben_UK]

No Deakins is a blow for the film for me. I'm sure the film will still be good, however RD added so much to Skyfall, its a shame.

[Bucky]

I suppose whoever they choose to replace Deakins could impact if the movie is shot digitally like Skyfall or on film.

[X400]

Deakins is great and it will suck if someone not as skilled as him isn't doing the next film because that's all that Skyfall had going for it (cinematography) makes me dread the next one

[Infernal King]

Originally Posted by X400

Deakins is great and it will suck if someone not as skilled as him isn't doing the next film because that's all that Skyfall had going for it (cinematography) makes me dread the next one

Now there's an unpopular opinion.

[Kamelot]

I wouldn't mind at all if the producers can find a fitting "film guy" to take over Deakins' seat. I'd love to see a Bond movie shot with IMAX cameras.

[The Narrator]

There are plenty of good cinematographers out there, and I'm sure Mendes will have no trouble finding a good replacement, given that all three of the cinematographers he's worked with are Oscar nominees and winners (Conrad Hall, Deakins, and Ellen Kuras). I'm hoping for Emmanuel Lubezki to step in, because he's tied with Deakins as the best cinematographer currently working.

[kemcha]

Bond 24, which remains untitled, is due to start filming this October (2014). With a release date set for November 15, 2015, that gives producers about a year for production. Screenrant posted this news several hours ago:

http://screenrant.com/james-bond-24-start-date/

[kristoffer]

Looking forward to this, but I am a little bummed out that Deakins isn't returning.

[Buddy Ackerman]

John Logan gives Bond 24 Update

Empire got the chance to sit down with Bond 24 screenwriter John Logan this morning, and as you would expect us to do, we strapped him to a table and aimed a laser at his nether regions in order to extract as much information as we could. He was, naturally, reticent to divulge too much information, but did confirm a couple of details about the film’s progress.

“Right now the first draft is almost done,” he told us. “I’m terrifically excited about it! I’ve been working very closely with Sam (Mendes), and it’s been joyous to pick up from our work on Skyfall and just continue on with the storytelling. The new movie continues the themes of Skyfall. Some of the characters and themes that we began to introduce in Skyfall will play out, I hope successfully, in the next movie.”

What many fans are wondering, though, is whether any themes or specific elements from Casino Royale or Quantum Of Solace might be present in the new film – particularly a certain nefarious organisation who remained absent from Skyfall...

“There might be! Honestly, not being evasive, but the great thing about Bond is that I have fifty years of movies – 23 movies and all the Ian Fleming novels and short stories, all of which are fodder. And when I’m working on the new Bond I’m constantly going back to Fleming and the other movies – what are the bits and pieces, what are the resonances? One of the things we learned in Skyfall is that the audience really enjoyed those, they enjoyed when they saw the Aston Martin, they enjoyed when we had references to things they grew up with, either from Ian Fleming or from the other movies, and that’s always been a part of my thinking about Bond.”

So expect a cameo from Moonraker’s double-taking pigeon, basically. Asked if Daniel Craig would still be as involved in the writing process as he was in his previous films, Logan confirmed that, “Daniel’s very involved. It behoves no-one to write a character that the lead actor doesn’t want to play, so having worked so closely on Skyfall, I have my own sense of what I think Dan responds to, as does Sam, (and producers) Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson of course.”

It’s occurred to Empire that Craig’s signing on for two more Bond films might just hint at a two-part story, so we asked if Logan also expected to be beavering away on Bond 25. “I’m just trying to get one done first! If I survive this one, we’ll see about the next one!” Yes John, but is it a two-parter? “Couldn’t comment!”

Evidently the laser needed to be shifted a few inches towards the Logan family jewels. A more direct line of questioning was required. Will we see the return of Quantum? “No comment.” Will we see Blofeld in Bond 24? “No comment.” Will there be any other Double-0 agents? A pause, which gave us a quantum of hope. “Ah... no comment!”

Logan did at least repeat Ralph Fiennes’ suggestion that filming on Bond 24 is due to start in October (“I think that’s the plan”), and was giddily effusive about the whole project.

“Working on Skyfall was the most enjoyable experience I’ve ever had on a movie, ever. And I’ve done a lot of movies! And this is shaping up in much the same way, because it’s a loving, sensitive director who loves the material as much as I do, it’s producers and a studio who believe entirely in the story we’re telling and it’s leading actors who are a joy to write for. Honestly, because I’ve been working on both Skyfall and the new Bond simultaneously it’s been a really, exuberantly happy time in my life because what I’m actually writing currently brings me incredible joy.”

With his palpable delight at working on Bond reaching epic proportions, we eased off on the laser and put one final question to him: with Skyfall being such a huge movie – and a massive event, given its place in the 50th anniversary celebrations – will Bond 24 be as big? John Logan smiled back at us like a maniacal Bond villain. “You ain’t seen nothing yet!”

So stand by for what promises to be the biggest Bond of all (again). Bond 24 is released in the UK on October 23, 2015, and in the US on November 6, 2015.

[Bourne1886]

Originally Posted by Prince Junior

Wow. There are some comments in this thread. Gaga/P!nk would have been better suited to perform Skyfall than Adele the Oscar-winner? Shirley Bassey should have sung less songs, not more? I'm glad no one here is in charge of the series.

Ah! But here's one opinion I agree with:



Absolutely! That woman is a goddess!

My favorite of David Arnold's scores was his first. If you listen to and/or watch his interviews from around that time, you'll find an unbridled enthusiasm and a sense that this guy just gets it. He especially wanted to go in the opposite direction of Eric Serra's abysmal electronic noise for Goldeneye. (It's telling that the traditional Bond music for the tank chase sequence was written by another composer and inserted into the movie after Serra's original track just wasn't cutting it.)

Arnold (indirectly criticizing Serra): "All I knew was, was when I was watching [Tomorrow Never Dies], I was thinking, 'If I'm watching this movie and I'm not scoring it, what would I want to hear at this point?' And I knew that, when James Bond comes out of somewhere and does something in a typical James Bond style or fashion, there's really only one thing you want to hear and that's James Bond music. And I think it's foolish to run away from that."

The following quote explains to an extent why I wasn't as enthusiastic about his next four Bond scores:

Arnold: "Tomorrow Never Dies for me was everything that I've ever wanted to do in a Bond movie, I did! Thinking that if I get run over by a bus when this is over, I don't want anything unsaid."

The World Is Not Enough was still a good score but for me, not as interesting or "joyful" as TND. Die Another Day was, like the movie itself, noisy trash, almost as bad as Serra's Goldeneye soundtrack.

For Casino Royale, I understood why Arnold chose to withhold the complete James Bond Theme until the end credits and was grateful that he scaled back on the techno/electronica. Vesper's theme was lovely and incorporating the title track (You Know My Name) into the score itself (as he had done for TND and TWINE) was a smart move. I'm still a bit lukewarm on the CR score overall, however. Not enough of it stands out from Arnold's other compositions.

Quantum of Solace seemed to stall the progress Daniel Craig's Bond had made in the previous movie and unfortunately Arnold's score followed suit: It was competent but unmemorable with no real themes. As with Madonna's song for DAD, QoS had a title track that Arnold wasn't consulted on and therefore didn't lend itself to be used in the score at all.

Thomas Newman's work on Skyfall was decent but most of the time it felt very unremarkable; how that score received an Oscar nomination is beyond my understanding.

I thought both Arnold's CR and QoS soundtracks were superb and had plenty of memorable themes and was a totally immersive Bond soundtrack. Every track sounded like a Bond theme to me, perfectly fitting the on screen action. Tracks like Time to get out, The names Bond...James Bond and Night at the Opera are just perfect to me and really capture that Bond feel and mood. I can't help it they just really hit the spot for me where Newman's Skyfall didn't. Although a good soundtrack it's not Bond enough for me. Every now and then you get a snippet of Bond but it's few and far between.

[GLaDOS]

Sucks Deakins opted not to return. Probably Wally Pfister might be a nice alternative if we ever want to see Bond 24 IMAX sequences.

[Infernal King]

I have faith in John Logan.

[duggie walker]

Originally Posted by Infernal King

I have faith in John Logan.

Why? The SKYFALL plot was idiotic.

Re cinematographers - Bond doesn't need arty photography.I thought Deakins's work was a little too beautiful. On a basic level, it didn't feel authentic. I thought Phil Mayheux's work on CASINO ROYALE was better - solid but unfussy.

Deakins deserves an Oscar but not for SKYFALL. He's far better suited to the Coen Brothers' universe.

[Todd Tomorrow]

When Deakins wasn't available for Inside Llewyn Davis, the Coens got Bruno Delbonnel and the film ended up as one of their most beautiful looking, so I'm not that worried.

[singhcr]

That's a shame about Deakins not returning. Skyfall was one of the most visually interesting films that I've ever seen. However, I think another suitable cinematographer can be found.

[singhcr]

Originally Posted by Kamelot

I wouldn't mind at all if the producers can find a fitting "film guy" to take over Deakins' seat. I'd love to see a Bond movie shot with IMAX cameras.

That would be amazing. Can you imagine the Shanghai sequence shot in IMAX, for example?