SPECTRE Review Thread

[toddly6666]

Originally Posted by Xenia

I think everyone is tired of delving into Bond's past now. At least I hope so. It's wearing a bit thin as an "automatic drama generator" device. That being said, a few shots in this were gorgeous, and seeing a SPECTRE meeting is like a fanboy's dream come true.

Not stoked that Waltz's backstory might be extremely contrived, but I"m keeping my expectations up nonetheless.

but I do agree with you about this. Ridiculous that they have to connect everyone to Bond's life. Next we'll find out that Felix is his brother, Jaws was his primary school janitor, etc.

The best connection twist was 006 in Goldeneye. Former trusted collegue goes bad. Campbell did it perfectly. No need for so many more.

Next we'll have the Blofeld spin-off and how he used to be good until he started losing hair and people started teasing him.

[partridge]

Originally Posted by Xenia

The ending of the film, back at a recreated MI6, with Moneypenny at the desk and M behind the table giving out a mission assignment in a folder, with the Bond theme playing over it?

That's as obvious a nod as towards "Classic Bond is back."

But the whole point of Craig's Bond is a retelling of the story, so of course at some point those "classic" elements would return and why not? It hardly means we're going to get Roger Moore slapstick and corny one liners.

I have total confidence in the direction this set of Bond films is going; what is going to be hard is replacing Craig with all of this set up; they can't do another "reboot" to the series when he calls it a day, whoever replaces him will almost certainly continue with the other existing cast members. Big shoes to fill. Amazing that there was a campaign set up to stop him taking the role!!

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by Infernal King

That was what I said.

Personally, I'm disappointed that Skyfall's epilogue seemed to make a promise the producers have chosen not to keep. I guess now we know it was just a little bit of fanservice, not a change in direction.

Yeah same here.

I've been waiting for Craig Bond to return to the more escapist styles of previous Bond movies since he started. I thought Skyfall's ending meant the producers were ready for that too. In contrast this teaser trailer looks like a sequel to Girl with a Dragon Tattoo more than it does a Bond movie.

Frustrating.

Still, I try not to judge movies based on their titles or franchises and instead judge them individually. I love Casino Royale as a spy movie and even Quantum of Solace is a decent little action flick if you take the Bond name off it. If this is a good spy movie then okay fine, but I really miss the Bond I grew up with.

[duggie walker]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Yeah same here.

I've been waiting for Craig Bond to return to the more escapist styles of previous Bond movies since he started. I thought Skyfall's ending meant the producers were ready for that too. In contrast this teaser trailer looks like a sequel to Girl with a Dragon Tattoo more than it does a Bond movie.

Frustrating.

Still, I try not to judge movies based on their titles or franchises and instead judge them individually. I love Casino Royale as a spy movie and even Quantum of Solace is a decent little action flick if you take the Bond name off it. If this is a good spy movie then okay fine, but I really miss the Bond I grew up with.

I get what you're saying - I'd love to see Craig do a "traditional" Bond; but only because we've had these other, somewhat more character-based Bonds. It'd soon become tedious.

I've been a life-long Bond fan but by the end of Brosnan's run, I realised I was just turning up for them, with no real expectation of enjoying them as complete films, only enjoying certain sequences. This wasn't just because they're not terribly good films: It was also because I knew going in that Bond would survive and that his character would remain completely unchanged at the end.

There's a certain comfort to that, of course, but without any character development, the Bond films are really just pantomime - a checklist of expected elements, one's enjoyment simply based on how inventive those moments were; and there's simply a limit to how many changes you can ring on those things.

The old Bond movies still exist. We can watch them any time we like. But whilst I'm extremely dubious about how, exactly, they're "deepening" the Bond films these days, I think there has to be some development for the character, from film to film, in order to ensure the continuance of the series.

We're far more sophisticated as audiences now and increasingly used to serialised television; and Bond is no longer (as it once was)the only game in town when it comes to action movies. They're up against series like MISSION IMPOSSIBLE and FAST AND FURIOUS. They have to capitalise on their long history: That's what they have that all the other spy movies coming out this year don't have.

[toddly6666]

It would be a hoot if one of the new James Bond films would win an Oscar for Best Film.

[Xenia]

Originally Posted by toddly6666

but I do agree with you about this. Ridiculous that they have to connect everyone to Bond's life. Next we'll find out that Felix is his brother, Jaws was his primary school janitor, etc.

The best connection twist was 006 in Goldeneye. Former trusted collegue goes bad. Campbell did it perfectly. No need for so many more.

Next we'll have the Blofeld spin-off and how he used to be good until he started losing hair and people started teasing him.

Yeah, I often joke around about the "Bond family" out on missions (M popping up everywhere acting as his mother, etc etc)

I also would like to see Craig get his Thunderball (thought Spectre might be it, for a while. Could still be, but looks a bit less promising).

[baheidstu]

Spectre looks very intriguing and if it's well written and made, it doesn't matter to me that it's not "traditional Bond" or whatever. If I want that, I can always pop an old Connery film in my blu-ray player, however, if I can make one request, possibly even a demand:

PLEASE PUT THE DAMN GUNBARREL SEQUENCE BACK AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FILM!

There's no better way to get psyched up for the next two hours than seeing that iconic white dot panning across the screen.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

Spectre looks very intriguing and if it's well written and made, it doesn't matter to me that it's not "traditional Bond" or whatever. If I want that, I can always pop an old Connery film in my blu-ray player, however, if I can make one request, possibly even a demand:

PLEASE PUT THE DAMN GUNBARREL SEQUENCE BACK AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FILM!

There's no better way to get psyched up for the next two hours than seeing that iconic white dot panning across the screen.

lol, I know, right?

I loved the way CR incorporated its gunbarrel sequence into the credits animation, and how QoS put it at the end, as if promising that the next ones would restore the sequence. Skyfall screwed it all up, but at least it had a cool opening shot.

I'm doubting SPECTRE will open with the gun barrel shot, but it won't be a deal-breaker for me; as long as the first scene looks great, I probably won't give it a second thought. It's still something that will be missed in the long run.

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by Terminated

Warning: Spoilers for the opening sequence of Spectre follow...

[Show spoiler]Spectre opens with a chase sequence, as one might expect. It begins by following 007 and the gorgeous Estrella (played by Mexican actress Stephanie Sigman), who are walking down the Day of the Dead parade. The pair weave their way through this crowd and make their way into a hotel. (The same hotel that we’ve been able to view the filming in the square, which also served as a location in previous Bond actioneer The Living Daylights.)

007 and Estrella head to the lady’s room – where Estrella thinks she may be taking Bond to bed. He’s more interested in gaining access to the view from her window, however. He sees two baddies across the way having a conversation and quickly prevents a catastrophe. He kills one while the other villain runs. Bond jumps out of the window and there’s a chase which causes a building to explode. After which they both end up—boom—on the ground…and the foot chase begins.

The baddie on the run is called Sciarra (played by Italian actor Alessandro Cremona). The production has spent the last several days shooting Bond chasing Sciarra through the Day of the Dead parade in the square.

Sciarra calls for backup…cue a helicopter coming down the street. The helicopter lands, Sciarra jumps on, Bond follows and the helicopter goes up. Thus begins a hand-to-hand fight sequence mid-flight on the helicopter.

http://http://www.ign.com/articles/2...s-new-picutres

Are you sure it's not Licence to Kill? That film was made in Mexico, not The Living Daylights.

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

lol, I know, right?

I loved the way CR incorporated its gunbarrel sequence into the credits animation, and how QoS put it at the end, as if promising that the next ones would restore the sequence. Skyfall screwed it all up, but at least it had a cool opening shot.

I'm doubting SPECTRE will open with the gun barrel shot, but it won't be a deal-breaker for me; as long as the first scene looks great, I probably won't give it a second thought. It's still something that will be missed in the long run.

Yeah, it made sense for CR as it was the beginning, and for QoS seeing as it picked up where CR left off, then fine. But you're right, they screwed it up for Skyfall. Apparently Mendes had planned to open with it but it looked awkward with the opening shot of the film which was sort of a tribute to the sequence. Maybe this time if they're promising to bring back classic Bond elements they will finally put it where it belongs, at the beginning!

P.S. - no stupid bullet flying at the screen ala Die Another Day though. Talk about starting a film off on the wrong foot!

[Xenia]

It will open with the gunbarrel.

[Himmel]

Listen to this...

Closure of streets and malls has meant losses for a large number of small businesses in the Mexican capital, thanks to epic opening sequence for Spectre

All this action has meant streets have had to be closed for a number of days. “The closure of streets and pedestrian malls (in the historic old town) is directly and indirectly affecting (for the worse) more than 6,627 businesses,” claims Canacope, the chamber of commerce for small businesses in the city.

Businesses were paid up to $130 a day for the inconvenience, but Canacope has said the sums are too small to properly compensate them.

There have already been a couple of controversies around the Mexico shoot. The film’s crew were accused of antisocial behaviour on the flight to the country, including smoking cigarettes, vomiting and urinating in the aisles, and tampering with the cabin doors – producers Eon said they were investigating the claims and couldn’t yet comment on them.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015...-shoot-spectre

[JJLong]

Originally Posted by toddly6666

but I do agree with you about this. Ridiculous that they have to connect everyone to Bond's life. Next we'll find out that Felix is his brother, Jaws was his primary school janitor, etc.

The best connection twist was 006 in Goldeneye. Former trusted collegue goes bad. Campbell did it perfectly. No need for so many more.

Next we'll have the Blofeld spin-off and how he used to be good until he started losing hair and people started teasing him.

Did you know that Christopher Lee is Ian Fleming's step-cousin?

[iank]

Originally Posted by duggie walker

We're far more sophisticated as audiences now.

I keep hearing this a lot, and then I look at the stuff that's actually being made, and being successful, and the two just don't compute. Strikes me more as a form of generational arrogance than anything to do with actual reality.

[Wireduck1]

Any word on who's singing the title song yet?

I'm thinking Adele singing "His name was Hector, a ticket inspector, who became a team selector, for an organisation called Spectre."

[duggie walker]

Originally Posted by iank

I keep hearing this a lot, and then I look at the stuff that's actually being made, and being successful, and the two just don't compute. Strikes me more as a form of generational arrogance than anything to do with actual reality.

Strikes me that you don't really understand what sophisticated means. It doesn't necessarily mean "smarter"; it certainly doesn't mean "better".

Audiences in the early 60s/70s had very little opportunity for foreign travel, so everyone was excited to see the exotic locations Bond would visit in each new film. Now, many of us have been to these places.

Until the dawn of home theatre, audiences had no way of seeing the other Bond films other than re-releases in the cinema, so their repetitive nature was somewhat less obvious.

Also, as I said, there were very few action films on the Bond scale. Audiences saw very little in the way of behind-the-scenes footage so there was still an element of mystery about how a lot of it was achieved.

These are all examples of the ways in which we are more sophisticated - not deeper or more perceptive - and why modern audiences are unlikely to keep returning to a series with no character or narrative development.

Sexual politics have changed. World politics have changed. Your average teenager is now more "sophisticated" than an adult was in the 1960s in that they have a more informed view of the world. They also have that much more cultural history behind them. That doesn't mean they're able to process that information in any worthwhile way; that much is fairly obvious from the level of debate on some of the threads here. Sophistication doesn't necessarily lead to wisdom.

So MAN OF STEEL is more "sophisticated" than SUPERMAN THE MOVIE. But personally, I wouldn't say it was better, or even smarter. Do you see the difference?

[BluraySe7en]

Originally Posted by Wireduck1

Any word on who's singing the title song yet?

I'm thinking Adele singing "His name was Hector, a ticket inspector, who became a team selector, for an organisation called Spectre."

A certain British band is apparently done the deal although this is purely a rumour but I'll say they definitely have the chops if it becomes a reality.

If it happens I'll be happy, much better than Adele returning or even worse Sam Smith.

[Eye Candy]

Originally Posted by Wireduck1

Any word on who's singing the title song yet?

I'm thinking Adele singing "His name was Hector, a ticket inspector, who became a team selector, for an organisation called Spectre."

Nooo, give that verbiage to Petula Clark..

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by BluraySe7en

A certain British band is apparently done the deal although this is purely a rumour but I'll say they definitely have the chops if it becomes a reality.

If it happens I'll be happy, much better than Adele returning or even worse Sam Smith.

Is it One Direction?

[WJWS Channel 13:Amity]

If they are smart, they will Bring Dame Shirley Bassy back one last time, To me they missed the boat not having her sing the title song for Skyfall.

I know she came really close to being used for Quantum, going so far as to actually record the song David Arnold created for her.

[Eye Candy]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Is it One Direction?

Pink Floyd