The James Bond Thread: RIP Robbie Coltrane

[James Bond]

I am almost not interested in Bond after Daniel Craig. They can cast an Asian chick for all I care.

That's about how I feel right now, and this must be the feeling that Connery fans had back in the sixties. It's going to be very hard for me to accept the next Bond, even if it's a brilliant choice.

Why y'all want Madeline dead so much? Bond can't catch a break.

Because OHMSS reboot.

It's weird. Like, it's somehow pleasing to see a great Bond girls end up dead. There's been a few where Bond really thinks she might be the one, but then she's taken away from him. It's incredibly heart-wrenching every time, but also incredibly satisfying to watch somehow.

My worry is that if Madeline gets killed we end up with Bond being in the same place as QoS again, it would feel a bit repetitive

It'll be a totally different vibe if she gets killed at the beginning rather than the end. Bond has the whole movie after that event to hunt down and kill Blofeld and the audience is right along with him. Peter Hunt said in the OHMSS documentary that he felt like audiences might have accepted OHMSS better if it didn't have the downer ending and suggested that he should have ended it at the wedding and began the next film with Tracy's death. It seems like that idea is what they might be going for this time.

[Nosaj Thing]

63%

[Georgy Zhukov]

I am almost not interested in Bond after Daniel Craig. They can cast an Asian chick for all I care.

That's about how I feel right now, and this must be the feeling that Connery fans had back in the sixties. It's going to be very hard for me to accept the next Bond, even if it's a brilliant choice.

Why y'all want Madeline dead so much? Bond can't catch a break.

Because OHMSS reboot.

It's weird. Like, it's somehow pleasing to see a great Bond girls end up dead. There's been a few where Bond really thinks she might be the one, but then she's taken away from him. It's incredibly heart-wrenching every time, but also incredibly satisfying to watch somehow.

My worry is that if Madeline gets killed we end up with Bond being in the same place as QoS again, it would feel a bit repetitive

It'll be a totally different vibe if she gets killed at the beginning rather than the end. Bond has the whole movie after that event to hunt down and kill Blofeld and the audience is right along with him. Peter Hunt said in the OHMSS documentary that he felt like audiences might have accepted OHMSS better if it didn't have the downer ending and suggested that he should have ended it at the wedding and began the next film with Tracy's death. It seems like that idea is what they might be going for this time.

Except it wouldn't have worked if Lazenby wasn't coming back. Diamonds Are Forever was business as usual.

[Georgy Zhukov]

Hate to say it, but the Sam Smith song is growing on me. It is still better than Another Way To Die.

[Powerage5]

Nope, it fucking sucks. Only slightly above Die Another Day for me.

[Georgy Zhukov]

Nope, it fucking sucks. Only slightly above Die Another Day for me.

It is listenable at least. Another Way To Die was just nails on a chalkboard.

[Powerage5]

I like Another Way To Die musically, just not vocally. Same goes for Writing's On The Wall.

I'd put Die Another Day, Writing's On The Wall, Tomorrow Never Dies, For Your Eyes Only, and Man With The Golden Gun beneath Another Way To Die.

[Georgy Zhukov]

What was so bad about Tomorrow Never Dies? Is it just boring?

[Angelica]

Better than QoS, not as good as Skyfall and Royale. I was bored quite a bit. CR is probably my favorite of the franchise, but otherwise this era isn't my bag. And obviously Eva Green is a virtually impossible act to follow, but have they just given up trying to find an actress (and write a character) that registers entirely?

Edited November 12, 2015 by Angelica

[Powerage5]

What was so bad about Tomorrow Never Dies? Is it just boring?

Yup.

[Crazyman]

I like Another Way To Die musically, just not vocally. Same goes for Writing's On The Wall.

I'd put Die Another Day, Writing's On The Wall, Tomorrow Never Dies, For Your Eyes Only, and Man With The Golden Gun beneath Another Way To Die.

Amen. I've been listening to the instrumental more than the full version. Agree with those rankings as well.

[Powerage5]

I like Another Way To Die musically, just not vocally. Same goes for Writing's On The Wall.

I'd put Die Another Day, Writing's On The Wall, Tomorrow Never Dies, For Your Eyes Only, and Man With The Golden Gun beneath Another Way To Die.

Amen. I've been listening to the instrumental more than the full version. Agree with those rankings as well.

What do ya know, we agree on something to do with SPECTRE

Seeing it for the second time tonight.

[Crazyman]

Speaking of Spectre, I can't seem to remember the scene where Bond sees his name...written on a wall (lol). It has to be sometime when he goes to Rome and goes to the meeting, right?

[Powerage5]

It's when he walks into the old MI6 building near the end.

[Crazyman]

It's when he walks into the old MI6 building near the end.

Wow I missed that live (in the theater, at 2 am) and on a rewatch (on my computer...also at 2 am )

Edited November 12, 2015 by Crazyman

[Cosmo]

That scene's kinda silly... I mean... The bad guy KNOWS Bond is gonna free himself from the two bodyguards, off the bandcuffs, take off the bag in his head, so he takes the time to write and prepare evil shit to mess with JB's head. He goes "man... I'm gonna write his name here, and then put a picture of Le Chiffre here.. All the target heads will have his picture on it. He's gonna shit his pants!"

[Georgy Zhukov]

I've asked if anyone as seen SPECTRE and they go "What's that?" They weren't even aware. Did this film not get any promotion?

[James Bond]

It seems that way but at $90 million domestic and $310 million overall it's not doing all that bad. Expect the international gross to sky rocket this weekend when it opens in most other territories including much of Europe and China (which does big business for film these days). So far it seems that anybody I've talked to about the film has loved it so it's definitely more of a hit with audiences than critics. I think Star Wars talk is greatly overshadowing it in the promotion department but the numbers are decent.

According to Amazon my copy of the soundtrack should be in tomorrow so I can't wait to give the score a good listen (as well as the instrumental of the title theme - I'll see if that changes my opinion). I still think my biggest problem with the song is that it builds to nothing and it's very bare bones. I could forgive the awful falsetto section if there was more going on, so like I said, maybe I'll enjoy the instrumental. I also ordered the behind the scenes book so that should be in too.

Better than QoS, not as good as Skyfall and Royale. I was bored quite a bit. CR is probably my favorite of the franchise, but otherwise this era isn't my bag. And obviously Eva Green is a virtually impossible act to follow, but have they just given up trying to find an actress (and write a character) that registers entirely?

To each their own - I though Madeline Swann was a great character and easily the best since Vesper. Lea Seydoux was terrific. Severine had potential in Skyfall but she didn't last long enough (although she made a decent impression in her short screen time). I can agree with that notion for QOS though. I like Olga Kurylenko but Camille was as forgettable as most of the film.

[Powerage5]

It seems that way but at $90 million domestic and $310 million overall it's not doing all that bad. Expect the international gross to sky rocket this weekend when it opens in most other territories including much of Europe and China (which does big business for film these days). So far it seems that anybody I've talked to about the film has loved it so it's definitely more of a hit with audiences than critics. I think Star Wars talk is greatly overshadowing it in the promotion department but the numbers are decent.

According to Amazon my copy of the soundtrack should be in tomorrow so I can't wait to give the score a good listen (as well as the instrumental of the title theme - I'll see if that changes my opinion). I still think my biggest problem with the song is that it builds to nothing and it's very bare bones. I could forgive the awful falsetto section if there was more going on, so like I said, maybe I'll enjoy the instrumental. I also ordered the behind the scenes book so that should be in too.

Better than QoS, not as good as Skyfall and Royale. I was bored quite a bit. CR is probably my favorite of the franchise, but otherwise this era isn't my bag. And obviously Eva Green is a virtually impossible act to follow, but have they just given up trying to find an actress (and write a character) that registers entirely?

To each their own - I though Madeline Swann was a great character and easily the best since Vesper. Lea Seydoux was terrific. Severine had potential in Skyfall but she didn't last long enough (although she made a decent impression in her short screen time). I can agree with that notion for QOS though. I like Olga Kurylenko but Camille was as forgettable as most of the film.

I loved Swann also. To be fair though, she hasn't had much competition since Vesper - Camille was the only real Bond girl, since Severine was so minor in Skyfall.

Just got back from my second screening - I really do think it's my favorite, now that I could watch it without thinking about all the hype. Some scenes had less emotional impact, but others had more. First things first, the Blofeld reveal seems a lot more of a non-event when you're not like, eagerly anticipating it. And I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing, it's a very natural delivery; Waltz says the name almost casually. I don't see where people are saying Craig and Seydoux don't have chemistry - I think they were excellent together on the train. The problem is, they didn't have enough screen time together before being thrown into the action for it to really show. Another victim of trying to cram too much into one film (One of the criticisms I agree with - this very well could have been two films). You can count me in the camp that thinks Monica Bellucci was critically underused, but at the same time there wasn't any room nor reason to have any more of her.

On the other hand, I'm still stunned by the Mexico City sequence. I didn't realize the first time I saw it how stunning that opening tracking shot is - truly one of the best tracking shots I've ever seen in any film. And especially as the opening shot of a film, it gives you the entire exposure before even one line of dialogue is spoken. I was still gripping at my armrests watching the helicopter fight, so tense. The meeting in Rome is classic SPECTRE, feels like that scene is straight out of one of the 60's films. The scene with Mr. White is still possibly my favorite in the film, and one of my favorites in the franchise. The train fight is great - you can feel it when Hinx punches out the support beam on the bar. And you can put me in the camp that loves the entire sequence at Blofeld's base (Including the torture scene).

Speaking of the torture scene - I've seen two comments about that scene that I don't think are accurate. The first is that Bond just used his "superhuman strength" to break out of the chair, and the second is that we're led to believe a watch bomb blew up the entire compound. The first one is a little harder to see, but to me it looks like Bond's wrist restraints release themselves when the watch explodes, maybe due to a loss of power? But it's clear that Bond isn't straining at all and the restraints just fall open. The second is clearly not true - he shoots some sort of gas main once they get outside. While we're at it people are talking about how ridiculous it is that Bond walks through a literal storm of bullets and kills everyone without even aiming or taking cover. There's not that much shooting, and Bond absolutely takes aim and cover - it's like some people are just looking for things to complain about.

[Georgy Zhukov]

I loved that train fight scene, could not help but think of From Russia With Love. Hinx is the best henchman since Jaws. The sight of him his terrifying, even his gun is scary. He is physically superior to Bond in every way, he had to rely on his brains to bring him down.

I think Swan is a great Bond girl. Over the years they tried to develop the Bond girl, make her equal, but not too much. The way she came to his rescue, after Bond takes him out they immediately had sex. She definitely seems the kind of girl Bond would leave the service for. Their dialogue together doesn't seem as clunky as it was with Vesper in Casino Royale.

I think this film wasn't long enough, even though it is the longest in the series. They should have made it two films.

[bacardimayne]

. They should have made it two films.

That's the worst trend in Hollywood right now.

[Georgy Zhukov]

. They should have made it two films.

That's the worst trend in Hollywood right now.

The trend is to adapt a popular book into two or three films. SPECTRE is an original story. Well kinda. It follows the formula and borrows from other Fleming/EON sources, but it is an original film.

Some of the plot is out of left field. The Old M was on to the organization for sometime. Doesn't bother to tell Bond until after her death. Then again Bond has been on a bender in the begining of Skyfall. Also SPECRE alludes to Bond's substance abuse problem. Maybe Bond will find himself in some resort to cleanse himself. Like in Thunderball.

[bacardimayne]

The trend is to adapt a popular book into two or three films.

The trend is to split the final installment of a franchise into multiple parts to maximize profit. Assuming Spectre is the last Craig movie, this would just be another example of it.

Examples:

Harry Potter

Breaking Bad (Final season split in two)

The Hunger Games

The Avengers: Infinity War

I'm sure over the next few years we'll see Jurassic War - Part 1 and Part 2, Justice League - Batman vs Superman Part 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, Star Wars Episode 9.5, etc

[Powerage5]

I agree, but this really could have been two separate films. It was so ambitious for a two and a half hour film. It works well, but there's a ton that could have been fleshed out plenty further.

On the downside, people would be bitching that "wah, SPETRE was just another set-up to reveal Blofeld in Bond 25. All the Craig movies are are set-up after set-up".

[Georgy Zhukov]

To be fair, Connery's films had continuity until he temporary left the role. Then the continuity became more loose. Tracy was brought up at last twice during Moore's tenure and once during Dalton's.

This is a massive hit in the U.K. I guess the film was heavily promoted there.