Spectre (2015)

[NoWillToResist]

At least I understand M's impact on his life - they actually had some semblance of a relationship, and she's one who saw/accepted him as he is, and called him on his shit.  

 

Fuck, I loved him and Judi Dench's M. They sassed the everloving SHIT out of each other, but deep down, there was loyalty, trust and faith. I loved them. I really, really, REALLY miss(ed) their dynamic... :(

 

Like I said earlier, him keeping her fugly ceramic dog figurine made me smile. I was not expecting James Bond to demonstrate such sentimentality. :D

 

Has everyone seen this yet? It's weird to see "James Bond" laugh (though I suppose it's more DC not able to keep a straight face, but whatever...)

Edited November 12, 2015 by NoWillToResist

[NoWillToResist]

Craig's "No Fucks Given" press tour.

 

*snicker* :D

 

I remember awww'ing at pictures of Craig at a London screening of this movie. I believe he was meeting Prince Harry. Craig's wife, Rachel Weisz, is behind him and you see Craig with his hands behind his back, linking fingers with Rachel. It was so adorable, I couldn't stop grinning...

[Ohwell]

I never got all the fawning over Eva Green as Vesper either.

[ribboninthesky1]

Has everyone seen this yet? It's weird to see "James Bond" laugh (though I suppose it's more DC not able to keep a straight face, but whatever...)

 

I hadn't seen it - thanks for sharing.  Craig losing it in the middle of that skit while Colbert kept it together is priceless. Also, the skit was uncomfortably similar to experiences I've had while renting a car.  Watching that reminded me of this, another example of Craig's sense of humor. 

I remember awww'ing at pictures of Craig at a London screening of this movie. I believe he was meeting Prince Harry. Craig's wife, Rachel Weisz, is behind him and you see Craig with his hands behind his back, linking fingers with Rachel. It was so adorable, I couldn't stop grinning...

 

They were adorably affectionate.  I don't see that too often with celebrity couples on the red carpet. 

[Ariah]

I need to put my stray thought to paper and state what bothered me in this new Bond film (and, by extension, the whole Craig run). And I'm not talking about women and their abysmal treatement.

 

It's Bond's identity.

 

For me, Bond has always been a code name. James Bond is a name attached to 007. Like M and Q, there can be only one James Bond at a time, and there will always be a James Bond. In my mind, the agency took on lost souls and gave them purpose and name. So the first James Bond might have been a Sean, then a Roger, etc. When one was killed or retired, a different man step up to take his place.

 

A neverending procession of Jameses Bonds. Always a little reckless and always womanizing their way around the assignement. Cocky. That was probably a requirement for the 007 codename.

 

An unspoken rule for every M and Q would be never to mention the previous Bond to the new one. A Bond is a Bond, there's no point in making much fuss about it. One can always read about the predecesor in the files. One rarely does.

 

And this is why I cringed when the Craig's run introduced Bond as a real figure. A James Bond of birth name, who had parents that were killed and whose arch-enemy was connected to him from before little James even though of becoming an agent.

(Yes, I am aware the novel treates Bond as his real name. But the novel never anticipated several decades of franchise and changing faces).

 

By doing that, by rebooting the franchise, current run cuts itself further from the previous films in the series - and I detest that very much. This film will quote and allude to previous parts of the franchise, at the same time cutting the line.

 

I don't need Bond's enemy to be connected to his childhood, if it does nothing to make this Bond more human. It doesn't.

I don't need Bond's enemy to be obsessed with Bond outside the fact that he's an agent on her Majesty's Secret Service. It does not give him more depth.

 

This Blofeld didn't want to rule the world. It seemed the only reason he created a multi-national crime organization was to one day fight with his one-time semi-brother figure. World domination? An afterthought. Let's torment Bond. (How anticlimatic. How pathetic)

 

I need the Bond franchise rebooted again. A fresh start with minium personal baggage. Please?

[revbfc]

They were actually going to hint to that in Skyfall, but it was decided that confirming the popular fan theory was a bit much.

[nicepebbles]

This Blofeld didn't want to rule the world. It seemed the only reason he created a multi-national crime organization was to one day fight with his one-time semi-brother figure. World domination? An afterthought. Let's torment Bond. (How anticlimatic. How pathetic)

 

See I couldn't tell if they were really trying to go with this. I'm really hoping they were not because it's absolutely doesn't make a lick of sense. As I said before, I'm pretty sure at some point, Blofield could've killed Bond before he even got to be a 007. 

[SeanC]

The theory about Bond being a codename never made any sense; among other things, the post-Lazenby Bonds occasionally referenced his dead wife (most notably in License to Kill, where the returning Felix, who had previously interacted with Roger Moore, talks about Tracy's effect on Timothy Dalton's character).

[nicepebbles]

Accidental double post. 

Edited November 14, 2015 by nicepebbles

[stealinghome]

Just got back from the movie and agree with everyone else--it was somewhat competent, and maybe if the previous Daniel Craig movies hadn't raised the bar Spectre wouldn't seem so lacking, but this movie's just okay at best. Probably the weakest of the Daniel Craig Bonds--definitely the most normative Bond movie of the Craig Bonds. And maybe because of that, it was definitely missing a spark. You can tell Daniel Craig and Sam Mendes are both ready to be done with the franchise. You also can tell they really had no clue where to go after Skyfall's deep emotional resonance, hence the uber-contrived "Evilest Villain Ever is secretly Bond's Crazy Foster Brother!"

 

Definitely miss Judi Dench as M, Ralph Fiennes isn't nearly as good. Do enjoy Ben Whishaw as Q though, and Naomi Harris as Moneypenny is great.

 

Would've been much better if it was about 20-30 minutes shorter. The pacing was really odd and it sometimes dragged.

 

This movie never met a cliche it didn't like.

 

Also, I expect more from Waltz's character. He was supost to be the man behind every villain Bond met in the Craig era and he ended up rather underdeveloped and unimpressive.

Yeah, I'm not sure how I felt about the man behind the curtain stuff. I think it would have been unsatisfying either way--whether he was behind everything ever or whether he wasn't. Agree that the pseudo-family stuff was done much, much better in Skyfall with Bond/M/Silva.

 

My main issues is I felt like they had the goods to have an almost perfect Bond film, but they kind of squandered it.

You could SEE the moments where Mendes' more artistic sensibilities ran headlong into the need for this to be an Action Bond Movie.

 

Personally, I cringed at Bond hooking up with his nemesis' daughter. She just seemed so very young and since Bond was sent to PROTECT her, it kind of made me view them as a guardian/ward relationship, so it squicked me out to see him entering a sexual relationship with her.

Yeah, this was the one place I really wish they'd emulated Quantum of Solace and left it as more of a mentor/mentee relationship.

 

Equally we knew nothing about her character, maybe she was always hot to trot.

I find the sex implausible, don't get me wrong, but he did just save her life and she thought she was still going to die imminently. Maybe she was like, well, what a way to go?

 

Also you probably don't marry an assassin/terrorist if violence isn't on some level a turn-on.

Edited November 14, 2015 by stealinghome

[Rick Kitchen]

 

Blofield's dad takes care of Bond. (Why? I don't know. Shouldn't he have gone back to Skyfall?)

 

When Bond was going through the stuff retrieved from Skyfall, there was an official document naming somebody (we didn't see who) being named the formal, legal guardian of "Master Bond, James".  Presumably this was Blofeld's father.  So there was more than just they met each other skiing.

 

I kept wondering where all of those people wearing black suits working at all of those monitors in that crater in the middle of the desert slept, ate, and shopped.  And I guess they all died in the (rather strangely excessive) explosion.  I would love to see a film from the point of view of one of these minions.  Do they really think that these evil overlords are right in what they're doing?

 

I like Ben Whishaw and I'd love to see Q  turn out to be a badass who can take care of himself out in the field.

[katha]

I liked it for what it was LOL. Mendes and Craig probably realized they can't top Skyfall, so why not just do something totally different? The stylized, campy tone was unexpected, but I found it entertaining. I might be easily amused that way, but I found all the OTT shenanigans weirdly charming: That all the stunts and explosions were deliberately unrealistic and excessive, the campy villain, Craig's Bond having these wry, exasperated reactions to all the BS happening to him (I loved his face when he landed on that sofa after the whole building in Mexico exploded on him, or when he told the security guy at the clinic to stop fighting. Heh.), both Monica and Lea in these beautiful, but totally impractical get-ups. Or in the train when Bond and Madeline are all "what do we do now" before falling into bed together, as a nod to the fact that the movie knows what a bad cliché it all is as well. Or at the end Bond! On a Bridge! Deciding between Job! and Love! The opening credits were a hoot as well.

 

All the meta worked for me. But it is rather a peculiar choice after the last movie, which did a serious exploration of the various questionable thematic undercurrents driving the franchise. This was undercutting a lot of its own mythology as well, but in a half tribute/half parody kind of way. "Wacky hijinks with a sociopathic assassin" is understandably not everyone's cup of tea tone-wise LOL, and it was bound to fall flat for some. Particularly since they didn't soften Craig's Bond up at all, they just put him in this rather stylized, though still harsh, setting. I thought it a somewhat jarring, but interesting experiment.

Edited November 15, 2015 by katha

[NoWillToResist]

Also you probably don't marry an assassin/terrorist if violence isn't on some level a turn-on.

 

Well, do we know the specifics of their marriage? Maybe he was decent at the time of the wedding? Maybe she was coerced/blackmailed into the marriage?

 

I thought the whole 'M leaves Bond a message from beyond the grave' to be ludicrous though. How would she know that the widow would spill to Bond? And the Spectre gang almost never meets in person, but they just so happen to be having a meeting the next night (or whatever)? And their security system is "if you've got the ring, we don't worry about a thing"? Uh huh. That doesn't seem like the kind of system a global baddie organization would choose....

[SeanC]

And their security system is "if you've got the ring, we don't worry about a thing"?

Blofeld and his men knew Bond was coming, and deliberately let him in; hence, the security guy's reaction as soon as Bond heads inside.

[King of Birds]

I kept wondering where all of those people wearing black suits working at all of those monitors in that crater in the middle of the desert slept, ate, and shopped.  And I guess they all died in the (rather strangely excessive) explosion.  I would love to see a film from the point of view of one of these minions.  Do they really think that these evil overlords are right in what they're doing?

"The Expanded James Bond Universe."  Coming soon to a theme park near you.

[Ohwell]

What I've wondered all along is how does Bond buy stuff, like clothes?  And all over the world?  I mean, with all his escapades, he can't possible carry a wallet.  He's either fighting or being stripped naked as a prisoner.  Does he have a credit card chip under his skin?  Also, the new clothes fit him perfectly, no need for tailoring.  I think in one of the movies (was it Casino Royale?) M canceled his credit card and I realize he got it back in later movies, but I just don't see how he could have held on to it.

 

Of course, I know we're supposed to handwave stuff like this but it's food for thought when I'm in the theater chomping on the popcorn. :  )

Edited November 15, 2015 by Ohwell

[Ceindreadh]

Well, do we know the specifics of their marriage? Maybe he was decent at the time of the wedding? Maybe she was coerced/blackmailed into the marriage?

 

I thought the whole 'M leaves Bond a message from beyond the grave' to be ludicrous though. How would she know that the widow would spill to Bond? And the Spectre gang almost never meets in person, but they just so happen to be having a meeting the next night (or whatever)? And their security system is "if you've got the ring, we don't worry about a thing"? Uh huh. That doesn't seem like the kind of system a global baddie organization would choose....

 

M knew that if the guy who was a member of Spectre was killed that they'd have to meet in person to appoint his sucessor. 

[stealinghome]

For me, the bigger plot hole was that M apparently knew enough about Spectre to know who to send Bond after, yet she never seems to have used that knowledge to actually work against Spectre.

[Rick Kitchen]

Apparently nobody was concerned at all of the damage done inside the train.  The train just let Bond and Swann off at that strange depot in the middle of nowhere.  Did they ask for repayment before they let them off?

[Ohwell]

Maybe Bond just told them to bill the British government.

[stealinghome]

Would you want to demand money from the obviously very dangerous man with a gun when you yourself have zero police backup though? ;)

[Danny Franks]

Apparently nobody was concerned at all of the damage done inside the train.  The train just let Bond and Swann off at that strange depot in the middle of nowhere.  Did they ask for repayment before they let them off?

 

If he can destroy a whole block of Mexico City, killing however many innocent people, and all he gets is a snippy admonishment, then a train is small potatoes. I love it when movies play into Team America gags without even realising it. Just reinforces the cartoonish nature of Bond and his world.

Edited November 15, 2015 by Danny Franks

[ZoqFotPik]

 

We had recently re-watched Skyfall, figuring that we might need a refresher on the new faces, which ended up being great. The only downside is that I have to call a WORLD of bullshit on anything surviving the 20 billion megaton explosion that obliterated the place. So I'm to believe that, not only did PAPER survive the fireball, but paper which conveniently tells us the name of James's guardian and a photo which conveniently has a slight burn mark over the third person in a childhood photo? Oh my God, fuck off with that.

Maybe the papers were in a safe or something. 37 pages of Ilan Ramon's journal survived the breakup of Columbia. I agree about the convenient burn marks. 

[nicepebbles]

When Bond was going through the stuff retrieved from Skyfall, there was an official document naming somebody (we didn't see who) being named the formal, legal guardian of "Master Bond, James".  Presumably this was Blofeld's father.  So there was more than just they met each other skiing.

 

I didn't mean to imply they just met each other skiing. I presume they were friendly enough for Bond to have stayed there. Again, for that to be the case, Bond had no reaction that to me would imply he'd lived with/knew of Blofield for any period of time prior to the events of this movie. 

 

What I've wondered all along is how does Bond buy stuff, like clothes?  And all over the world?  I mean, with all his escapades, he can't possible carry a wallet.  He's either fighting or being stripped naked as a prisoner.  Does he have a credit card chip under his skin?  Also, the new clothes fit him perfectly, no need for tailoring.  I think in one of the movies (was it Casino Royale?) M canceled his credit card and I realize he got it back in later movies, but I just don't see how he could have held on to it.

 

I've wondered about this as well. I fanwank he just makes a phone call whatever he wants he gets because MI6 has connections everywhere. That's if he doesn't have his credit card. 

 

Along with being able to just get away with destroying the train, was that a deserted town they drove through when she Swann was kidnapped and Bond as going after her? Like no one leaned out a window, came running to see what was going on. Very strange. 

[TVSpectator]

I saw this yesterday and I thought that it went on way too  long. Overall the film was okay, but I feel that Skyfall had the best opening montage, had a better soundtrack, better stunts. had a better story, and had Judy Dench as M which was better than Fiennes' M. I do think that the main villain (not C) was better than the villain in Skyfall. 
 

 

Although, here is a question, if Waltz's character was supposed to know James Bond, as children then why didn't James Bond recongized the name in the beginning?

[King of Birds]

What I've wondered all along is how does Bond buy stuff, like clothes?  And all over the world?

Stephen Colbert and Craig had some fun with this about two weeks ago.

[Rick Kitchen]

 

Although, here is a question, if Waltz's character was supposed to know James Bond, as children then why didn't James Bond recongized the name in the beginning?

 

Can you clarify what you're saying here?  He didn't know the Blofeld name, because that's a new name Waltz's character was using, Bond was the first person to actually use the name Franz Oberhauser.

[nobodyyoucare]

Wish I had the spare cash to buy this. Yes this gun in the film is a real gun introduced in 2011. 

Bond has always been the real name as revealed in the books. The reason why Bond is a spy is because according to the logic in the books, films no one would believe a spy would do the things he does and get away with it. So the implausibility of the character is his cover and why he can do what he does.

 

Also if you read the books you realize that Bond is a PTSD sufferer who is borderline psycho. His relationships with women are just to ease pain hence why he moves onto the next once the current one no longer medicates him. 

Edited November 16, 2015 by nobodyyoucare

[Ariah]

Was it ever explain why the device Blofeld used on Bond didn't work and James didn't lose his face-recognition skills?

Or are we to assume that:

- either Blofeld made a mistake and didn't set the machine too precise (probable),

- or Bond is strong enough to counter mechanical injury to his brain (improbable).

 

Other explanation is that Bond does not use this part of his brain to recognize women... he uses the other one.

 

Of course I'd have loved a twist in the end where Bond calls Dr Swann "Vesper" and is sincere about it, meaning his brain indeed had been damaged.

[revbfc]

Was it ever explain why the device Blofeld used on Bond didn't work and James didn't lose his face-recognition skills?

Or are we to assume that:

- either Blofeld made a mistake and didn't set the machine too precise (probable),

- or Bond is strong enough to counter mechanical injury to his brain (improbable).

Other explanation is that Bond does not use this part of his brain to recognize women... he uses the other one.

Of course I'd have loved a twist in the end where Bond calls Dr Swann "Vesper" and is sincere about it, meaning his brain indeed had been damaged.

No it wasn't explained, and it's one of the great weak spots of the film.

Your Vesper suggestion would have been cool, even if it would be a series ender

[phantom]

No it wasn't explained, and it's one of the great weak spots of the film.

Your Vesper suggestion would have been cool, even if it would be a series ender

 

This is what I thought was happening (thinking Madeline was Vesper), as it seemed to echo the scene where Bond comes out of his stupor/coma from the torture by Le Chiffre in Casino Royale to see Vesper's face. Of course, in Bond world the lack of facial recognition would have been a temporary setback only.

[TVSpectator]

Can you clarify what you're saying here?  He didn't know the Blofeld name, because that's a new name Waltz's character was using, Bond was the first person to actually use the name Franz Oberhauser.

 

What I am asking is that Bond needed Moneypenny to look up a name called, "Franz Oberhauser". Now, at the end we know that Franz Oberhauser was supposedly dead years ago but is actually Blofeld (Blofeld being the name that he changed his name to). Now, it was also revealed that Oberhauser's father and mother were raising a young orphan Bond, when his parents died and that Franz got really piss because he felt that his parents loved Bond more than him. Which caused Franz to kill his parents, faked his own death, changed his name to Blofeld (which he states was his mother's name), and started to run Specter. 

 

Now, my question was why didn't Bond recognized the name "Oberhauser" before he asked Moneypenny to look up that name?

[nobodyyoucare]

Oberhauser is a German last name meaning someone from Overhaus  or someone from an upper house ie blueblooded. Also Blofield had faked his own death. So why would Bond believing him to be dead think it was his foster brother rather then someone with the same name?

 

Multiple people often dozens have the exact first and last name. Sometimes even the same middle name.

[TVSpectator]

Oberhauser is a German last name meaning someone from Overhaus  or someone from an upper house ie blueblooded. Also Blofield had faked his own death. So why would Bond believing him to be dead think it was his foster brother rather then someone with the same name?

 

Multiple people often dozens have the exact first and last name. Sometimes even the same middle name.

 

I was just wondering because as someone who knows very little about German names and how popular they are (and btw, my father is like 50% German and Austrian so, I have heard some stories about how names were form. Like how the word Von was added to people of nobility) it seemed like Bond should have mentioned that name sounded familiar. I know that it is possible to have people with the same combination of names (hey it once happened to my father when I was a kid), but I felt that maybe they should've just had Bond mentioned that the name sounded familiar to him. 

[stealinghome]

What I am asking is that Bond needed Moneypenny to look up a name called, "Franz Oberhauser". Now, at the end we know that Franz Oberhauser was supposedly dead years ago but is actually Blofeld (Blofeld being the name that he changed his name to). Now, it was also revealed that Oberhauser's father and mother were raising a young orphan Bond, when his parents died and that Franz got really piss because he felt that his parents loved Bond more than him. Which caused Franz to kill his parents, faked his own death, changed his name to Blofeld (which he states was his mother's name), and started to run Specter. 

 

Now, my question was why didn't Bond recognized the name "Oberhauser" before he asked Moneypenny to look up that name?

I thought he did. Wasn't that the point of the movie where he said something like "Look up what we have on Franz Oberhauser--before and after his death" to her? I thought he definitely recognized the name, hence the after death line.

[TVSpectator]

I thought he did. Wasn't that the point of the movie where he said something like "Look up what we have on Franz Oberhauser--before and after his death" to her? I thought he definitely recognized the name, hence the after death line.

Okay, thanks. I just didn't catch that part while I was watching it. 

[nobodyyoucare]

For me, the bigger plot hole was that M apparently knew enough about Spectre to know who to send Bond after, yet she never seems to have used that knowledge to actually work against Spectre.

Naw its just like the head of the CIA knowing about Daesh and what intel was gathered. Sending assets to attack those terrorists isn't done until the approval or means is available.   SPECTRE had been    behind a number of things that Bond had foiled and Bond had no idea that all of those things were connected, In Blofield mind Bond had been deliberately wrecking his plans when in reality it was just coincidence that Bond was doing so. Quantum was revealed to be a subsidiary of SPECTRE. Since M had been going after Quantum what intel had been gathered would have revealed their masters. 

[Joe]

So I saw this today. Better than expected. I'd even call it good. After the last two terrible movies, I was surprised. Sure the plot doesn't entirely make sense, but it was mostly a fun ride. However, I kept expecting Blofeld to die and Madeline to take over Spectre. Instead we got her tied up in a building about to explode. It felt old-fasioned, and not in a good way. Also, I would like to know Spectre's ultimate goal. As far as I can tell, they wanted the mass surveilance program so they could watch for and counteract threats to their evil schemes. Fair enough. But what do those evil schemes accomplish? Or did I miss something?

 

Another question, did we actually see the present Bond gave to Moneypenny? I thought M walked in before it was actually revealed.

 

On the pro side, I really liked the whole Mexico scene. Good fun and great music. Naomie Harris outshone both other Bond girls, despite her not being all glammed up. I've always preferred a little less polish anyway. The action was good, it seemed a little clearer than some uses of the shakycam. Is that trend finally dying?

 

A couple of funny moments. The gun Bond has at the start, it looked a lot like an SMG I had in Borderlands a few days ago. I remember notig the unusal side attachment. And there it was on screen! Also, C for careless. Uh huh. The word that sprang to my mind was

cunt

. Anyone else?

[nobodyyoucare]

Spectre is an organization made up of evil business people and organized crime syndicates along with govt operatives. Lots of money to be made in private intel agency nplus they can counteract threats to their business plans with ease since they are the ones providing intel service to nine countries.

The gun Bond carries in the opening is a real gun. It is a glock 17 in a carbine conversion kit with an attached silencer. 

 

This company makes the carbine kit and carbine kits for other hand gun models. http://www.fab-defense.com/en/category-pistol-to-carbine-conversion-kit/id-266/2nd-gen-pdw-conversion-kit-for-glock-9mm-models-.html

[NoWillToResist]

 It felt old-fasioned, and not in a good way.

 

It's funny you should mention 'old-fashioned'...while the husband and I were talking about the movie, he said that felt like Spectre was almost an homage to the older James Bond movies.

 

When I asked him what he meant, he cited the drawn-out and needlessly elaborate method(s) of punishing/killing James, the disposable woman, the villain with the fluffy cat, and the damsel in distress as quick examples.

[stealinghome]

It felt to me like it got stuck somewhere between a parody of and an homage to that "old-fashioned Bond" vibe.

[Rick Kitchen]

 

the villain with the fluffy cat

 

Blofeld was the original villain with a fluffy cat.

[Mars477]

Skyfall was an absolute dumpster fire of a movie, but somehow Sam Mendes managed to top his failure with Spectre.

Daddy issues. Fucking Daddy issues. The villain spends millions of dollars and hundreds of henchmen to develop insanely intricate plots within plots and bring the global intelligence community to its knees because of fucking daddy issues.

Also, the Surveillance is Bad Because Evil People can Covertly Usurp It angle was stupid in Winter Soldier, and that was still a vastly superior movie.

The crazy thing is: we've already had this movie. This year, even! It's called Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and it is so much better.

Edited November 21, 2015 by Mars477

[TVSpectator]

Skyfall was an absolute dumpster fire of a movie, but somehow Sam Mendes managed to top his failure with Spectre.

Daddy issues. Fucking Daddy issues. The villain spends millions of dollars and hundreds of henchmen to develop insanely intricate plots within plots and bring the global intelligence community to its knees because of fucking daddy issues.

Also, the Surveillance is Bad Because Evil People can Covertly Usurp It angle was stupid in Winter Soldier, and that was still a vastly superior movie.

The crazy thing is: we've already had this movie. This year, even! It's called Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and it is so much better.

 

I feel like Skyfall was a much better movie than this one. Only because the opening credits were amazing (and Adele's song was a perfect fit) and we had Judie Dench as M. Overall, the DC Bond films have been mostly a miss in my book, but Skyfall was the one that I liked the best. Although, I do have to say that DC's Bond wasn't the worst Bond; the worst Bond movies were the ones from the 1980s. 

 

That being said, the thing that I hate the most was that fact that they made DC's Bond into a crappy PSTD character while still trying to add that old whimsical Bond flair. I personally liked both the Roger Moore's and Sean Connery's versions much better. Even the Brosnan version was better than this one and I think that the film suffers from it. 

[benteen]

Skyfall was an absolute dumpster fire of a movie, but somehow Sam Mendes managed to top his failure with Spectre.

Daddy issues. Fucking Daddy issues. The villain spends millions of dollars and hundreds of henchmen to develop insanely intricate plots within plots and bring the global intelligence community to its knees because of fucking daddy issues.

Also, the Surveillance is Bad Because Evil People can Covertly Usurp It angle was stupid in Winter Soldier, and that was still a vastly superior movie.

The crazy thing is: we've already had this movie. This year, even! It's called Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and it is so much better.

 

Yes, this movie reminded me a lot of MI: Rogue Nation.  I wasn't crazy about that film but it was better than Spectre.

[ribboninthesky1]

After recently watching Quantam of Solace again, gotta admit it was a considerably more coherent film in comparison to Spectre.  It wasn't great, but at least TPTB actually tried.  I've always wondered if the film title worked against it as much as, if not more than, the plot.  

[Ohwell]

I'm watching Quantum of Solace right now and I think Spectre is much better.  

[TVSpectator]

I'm watching Quantum of Solace right now and I think Spectre is much better.  

 

I think that Quantum is the weakest out of the four Daniel Craig Bond films. 

[Traveller519]

Perhaps the most disappointing thing about this press tour, has been the basic admission that they wan't to return to the "classic" (read: by the numbers) Bond films and have been working to get there.

 

I get why they want that formulaic Bond back. You can run your franchise forever when it's the film equivalent of a police procedural, but with Spies(!!!!). But that sacrifices so much of the quality. People will always turn out to see, the caper, the villain, the girl, the car and the gadgets, but it just gets tiring.

 

Except for Goldeneye, all the Pierce Bronson films meld together, and I worry that's what Sony wants to bring this back to. A nice comfortable backbone franchise, which is unfortunate when they headed in such a clever direction with Casino Royale. I know I won't have much motivation to go see the films in theaters if the franchise concedes to procedural storytelling.

[blackwing]

Finally got around to seeing this over the holiday weekend.  I enjoyed it a lot.  I don't think it's as good as Skyfall or Casino Royale, but it was way better than Quantum of Solace.  I don't remember anything at all about QoS other than I think it was in a desert.

 

I really liked the homages to past movies that this one had.  I loved the varied locales.  One thing a Bond film always has is very interesting and amazing locales (except maybe for QoS, I can't even remember if they went anywhere else besides the desert).  Mexico City, Austria, Rome, Morocco, London.  All fantastic.

 

Some of the things in the movie didn't work for me.  I am not a Sam Smith fan.  I didn't particularly enjoy the song, but I think I might have enjoyed it if someone else sang it.  I don't care for his falsetto voice and screeching.  He's pretty much been a one or two hit wonder.  Hope he goes away soon.

 

With "Franz Oberhauser" in that Nehru jacket and his fluffy white cat, it was obvious he was Blofeld.  I have to wonder about Christoph Walcz's acting choices in this film.  Seems like he made Blofeld unnecessarily prissy, and I didn't get that at all.  None of the previous Blofelds were this particularly effeminate.  

 

Likewise, the same with C.  I hate this actor and his performance as Moriarty.  His voice is strange and unusually high pitched in Sherlock, and while the pitch wasn't as high here, it was still very strange to me.  I was afraid he would be around for a while and I cheered when he fell off his building.

 

I truly don't understand why Monica Bellucci was so overhyped.  There were countless articles about how "the age of the Bond girl is over, at 50 years old, Monica Bellucci is a Bond WOMAN".  They made it seem like she would be the main female love interest, and that she'd be with Bond throughout the movie.  Instead, she shows up for 5 minutes and then disappears.  What a waste.

 

Also wasted was Moneypenny.  I wanted to at least see her in the field again.  With all the talk of "Bond women" getting to do more than stereotypically be a damsel in distress, we see her as a secretary almost the entire time, walking two steps behind M.  She was able to give Bond information, but I want to see her in the field, with a gun, being his trusted sidekick.

 

I am confused as to why Bond and Madeline so willingly walked into Franz/Blofeld's lair in North Africa?  They basically went out there to surrender.  Why?

 

I still think Henry Cavill or Michael Fassbender would be a good choice to be the next Bond.  As long as it's not David Beckham.