SPECTRE Review Thread

[laidbacklarkin]

Originally Posted by chris_sc77

This really could have been one of the best Bond films ever. So many elements in place.
And so many bungled opportunities . Every single action sequence is a failure and that is a damn shame . I just do not understand how they managed to make this so frustrating and with so many missed opportunities. Who cares if the cinematography is great and almost every other aspect of the story and film are failures . Lets get Mendes far away from Bond and bring Martin Campbell back one last time to give us one final great Bond film

totally agree on every thing you mention. and boy, what a letdown the action scenes are. absolutely devoid of tension, excitement, a sense of dread. just some soaring, overdone soundtrack to lend them a false sense of grandeur. and that overrated opening scene that goes nowhere but has everyone oohing and aahing because a few mins of it is a single take. just sizzle and no steak. And that last scene of shooting at a helicopter from a boat...Jeesus, someone please fire this entire team

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by chris_s

I'm going to see this later today. It's been awhile since I have seen Skyfall. Does Spectre do a recap or anything in the beginning?

It's not a television show.

[Vlad Draculi]

So I was watching a review of this and the critic made a perfectly good point. Why do we have to expect every Bond movie to be the best Bond ever? At this point, the only bad Bond movie is a down right boring one, which this is not. He said as long as it is entertaining who cares if it was better than the last installment. I have to agree. Hell, From Russia with Love is my favorite of the franchise, so if I required every Bond movie after it to be better than it, it would be a pretty short lived franchise.

[foxends]

I thought the film was immensely enjoyable... found myself smiling all throughout it. Like others, the only real beef I had was with Christoph Waltz... he had an amazing and beautiful introduction to his character but it made the missed opportunities with his character all the more devastating. Seriously, what was Mendes thinking? It's Christoph f-ing Waltz and he has almost no screen time or villianous moments. Only unique thing about him was he didn't wear socks.

I think a quick rewrite of the second half of the script would have made this on par with Skyfall or better.

[nashcameronn]

Originally Posted by LegacyCosts

Why is the song so important in evaluating bond films? I like post rock, black metal, and indie stuff. I'm never going to like a bond song, so I'm not sure why its so relevant in ranking the movies when it lasts about 3-4 minutes in an opening.

For me, I don't really care if I think a theme song is bad, but if a theme song is good it really adds to the movie.

[paperthin567]

I'm glad to find I'm not the only one disappointed with the action sequences. They just lacked "oomph." The way I described it to some family members was they didn't feel terribly "dangerous" and quite frankly, your jaw should hurt from clenching your teeth after watching a Bond film in 2015.

Waltz didn't have enough screen time and they built his reveal up only to be disappointed. Once again...he didn't feel particularly dangerous and there was no explaination as to why he had the great allegiance of followers that he did.

And finally: The score. It felt very recycled/reused from Skyfall. Literally. From measure to measure. It was quite disappointing. To me...use some of the same elements to feel like a Bond film...but keep the music fresh and original.

[StingingVelvet]

Was supposed to see this tonight but the wife pulled out due to some other commitment. I got her back by making her watch Star Wars for the first time when she got home. VENGEANCE IS MINE!

Anyway, rescheduled for Wednesday.

[spf781]

Originally Posted by paperthin567

And finally: The score. It felt very recycled/reused from Skyfall.

It was a correct feeling because a majority of it was from "Skyfall." Considering that it's been three years since that film came out, you would figure that Newman could come up with some new music.

[soarinsteven]

Hmmm I must say I tempered my expectations based on the mixed reviews the film has received, but I really, really liked this?! This franchise hasn't had a consistent run since the first four outings, but Craig's era is certainly the best run since then. His films continue to ruminate on the idea of Bond's relevance in a world of cyber warfare, drones etc, and loved the references to his previous installments.

[Show spoiler]I almost gasped and got teary eyed seeing Vesper in the opening credits

Loved the way Ralph Fiennes delivered the line "a license to kill is also license not to kill," which also sets up a major theme.

I mean it's not quite up there with Casino Royale or Skyfall both of which unusually for the franchise explored a real emotional depth, but it's still a damn good time. I liked the deliberate pacing of the film. It didn't feel like it had to rush from action scene to action scene. Dark. brooding, and no one expresses Bond vulnerability like Craig.

Dat cinematography. Roger Deakins' work on Skyfall is easily the best photography of any Bond feature, and it ranks high up there on Deakins' overall filmography, but Hoyte van Hoytema's work on this film is exceptional too. His use of shadow and light was STUNNING. Gorgeous score from Thomas Newman as well incorporating the signature themes, and Writing's On the Wall.

Spectre definitely plays as the most traditional Bond film of the Craig era. Much fun is had by this, but its also where its flaws are most apparent. Only a few of the attempts of humor stick, and the action sequences felt too much like retreads. Monica Bellucci was certainly wasted. I saw the Mockingjay Part 2, and Joy trailers in front of this, and I think JLaw had more screen time! Christoph Waltz was just ok. I feel like Tarantino is the only director who knows how to use him properly. I also appreciated that the hugely talented Fiennes, Whishaw, and Harris as M, Q, and Moneypenny, respectively were given more to do than their earlier incarnations. If they return for future installments I pray they continue to use them wisely. Then there's Lea Seydoux I would have liked more screen time and development, but that look she gives Craig at the very end Please have her return for Bond 25.

[toddly6666]

I wonder who 009 was?

[Cliff]

Originally Posted by Vlad Draculi

So I was watching a review of this and the critic made a perfectly good point. Why do we have to expect every Bond movie to be the best Bond ever? At this point, the only bad Bond movie is a down right boring one, which this is not. He said as long as it is entertaining who cares if it was better than the last installment. I have to agree. Hell, From Russia with Love is my favorite of the franchise, so if I required every Bond movie after it to be better than it, it would be a pretty short lived franchise.

It has nothing to do with SPECTRE not being the best Bond ever... it's about SPECTRE being (in my eyes) the WORST Bond ever. Even Moonraker, which is not a great movie by any measure, is a decent Bond movie. The opening with Bond falling out of the airplane without a parachute is more thrilling and Bond-like than anything in the entirety of SPECTRE.

[X400]

worst 007 movie I've ever watched in theatres, heck maybe worst 007 movie ever... we wanted to walk out part way through but held out... with 30mins left we just couldn't take it anymore with that explosion

1/5

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by chris_sc77

This really could have been one of the best Bond films ever. So many elements in place.
And so many bungled opportunities . Every single action sequence is a failure and that is a damn shame . I just do not understand how they managed to make this so frustrating and with so many missed opportunities. Who cares if the cinematography is great and almost every other aspect of the story and film are failures . Lets get Mendes far away from Bond and bring Martin Campbell back one last time to give us one final great Bond film

But...it's over two hours long?

[Jumpman]

Saw this a second time at a matinee yesterday and without hesitation, I think it's a better plotted film than SKYFALL. Frankly, I can't really choose between Craig's four films because they work together, at least for me, as one story with a pretty much perfect ending.

I kind of want Craig to walk away after this one but the "spectre" of Waltz there at the end does lead me to see those two go one and one, one more time.

[K1NG J0RDAN]

Originally Posted by X400

worst 007 movie I've ever watched in theatres, heck maybe worst 007 movie ever... we wanted to walk out part way through but held out... with 30mins left we just couldn't take it anymore with that explosion

1/5

Lol I don't understand how that is. I thought the movie was very entertaining and one of Craig's best. Funny how drastically different opinions can be.

[X400]

Originally Posted by K1NG J0RDAN

Lol I don't understand how that is. I thought the movie was very entertaining and one of Craig's best. Funny how drastically different opinions can be.

ill try and flesh out my reasoning in the am, dead tired atm

but ugggggggh

one of the main issues, is that everything felt so disconnected, and it's as if we didn't get to see the scenes/backstory to the scenes we just saw clips of it all, which made everything unbelievable and made me not care about what was going on

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by soarinsteven

Hmmm I must say I tempered my expectations based on the mixed reviews the film has received, but I really, really liked this?! This franchise hasn't had a consistent run since the first four outings, but Craig's era is certainly the best run since then.

I'm not sure what my second-favorite run of 4 Bond movies would be after the first four, but it certainly wouldn't be Craig's. Quantum is a super bad Bond movie IMO, and Skyfall has one of the dumbest plots ever. Even if Spectre is amazing when I finally see it there's no way these are 4 great Bond movies in a row.

I would take Living Daylights through Tomorrow Never Dies over these four, easily, and probably Spy Who Loved Me through Octopussy as well, even though Moonraker is pretty iffy.

[imsounoriginal]

Licence - TWINE was a good run.
TBH I could even go with Casino - SPECTRE. QoS has issues but I still enjoy it.

[Nightrunner]

I find that my movie experience is better if I am in a good mood and stress free. If I go into the theatre in a blah mood then I am sure I will not enjoy the movie at all. Now, add your own expectations to the mix. If the movie doesn't meet your expectations and it lacks the movie magic to pull you out of your 'real life' then chances are you will never like the movie.


if I rate a film less than 3 stars there has to be a very good reason why.

Spectre had the formula correct and added Action M, Action Moneypenny and Action Q into the mix. The usual side line crew was in the thick of the action the entire film.

And yes, the women. I did not feel any real chemistry between Daniel and Monica or Lea. NOW that being said, they are both very beautiful and talented actresses.

[Markgway]

Originally Posted by toddly6666

I wonder who 009 was?