Bond #24: SPECTRE

I remember there was a thread about the longest film series but can't find it : surely it's Bond, yes ?

well if the "same" production unit has to be involved (ie the Broccolis) i suppose so

So!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTDaET-JweU

I remember there was a thread about the longest film series but can't find it : surely it's Bond, yes ?

7 UP has been going 49 years with the same director and cast!

the secret key to longevity is michael apted

"It was me, James. The author of all your pain." That's a p good line.

you want Skyfall remake? we got Skyfall remake!

None of the Craig Bonds are very memorable, are they? Exciting in the theater, but then kind of a blur afterward, too many locales packed in, too many femme fatales per movie.

casino royale is vv memorable imo. I barely remember a thing about quantum of solace except that moment where bond makes all the bad guys feel awkward about using their cell phones or whatever during a theater performance. skyfall is super impressive dumb garbage.

xxpost -- yeah my girlfriend (a stone cold Bond fan in general, loves the Craig Bonds thoroughly) said similar. In that the series has never had quite this specific an arc, though, it's been interesting to see it play out over four films now, Skyfall itself being the most tangential.

Is this the last Craig Bond?

In that the series has never had quite this specific an arc

closest thing was probably you only live twice/ohmss/diamonds, shame about the bookends there

Casino Royale is the one I remember the most about, though not much, and it's been the one I haven't seen for the longest. QoS and Skyfall were exciting in the theater, but I remember almost nothing.

casino royale might as well be 'bullitt' considering how relatively stripped down it is, though the final act has a fair chunk of padding to say the least. Good padding imo but still...

is it worth seeing '.. Solace' if you loved the 2 slices of Bond-bread either side? it got such a kicking that i never bothered.

CR is still easily the best Bond i've ever seen.

QoS is the least essential of the Craig Bond films.

Is this the last Craig Bond?

I think he signed up for two more, so next to last. (Unless it's extended after that -- could be, Roger Moore's run remains the longest at 8 films/12 years and Craig's currently at 4 films/9 years with one more to come, so who knows?)

QoS is the least essential of the Craig Bond films.

And yet oddly Spectre is clearly playing on the fact that the escape of the Mr. White character in QoS is a key part of the whole thing; it's been an element of both trailers now. I wonder how much if any direct flashback/explanation they're going to put into the film.

QoS I just thought was bad in kind of a boring way, but Skyfall I really hated. My reflexive disgust for the Mendesian pomposity of it was a major contributing factor though I'll admit

i'd said it elsewhere but i think skyfall, for all its really impressive staging, really diminishes the more you think about it. not just for the gross sexual politics and the half-hearted winks at bond tropes but for the actual stupidity of the characters, and of course the blandness and unoriginality of silva as a villain (in terms of persona, motivation, and execution of his goals) that is only masked by bardem being an incredible actor.

I didn't mind QoS - it is pretty humourless and brutal, though, and not the traditional kind of crowd-pleasing Bond film. It's Craig's Licence to Kill or For Your Eyes Only, if you like - both of which I have a soft spot for, so. Personally, I thought it looked better than the over-praised Skyfall, too.

you want Skyfall remake? we got Skyfall remake!

pretty blatantly On Her Majesty's Secret Service remake, down to the quotes from the original score in this one

I've said it before, but the plot of Skyfall is completely nonsensical once you think about it, it's all just an excuse to show pretty locales and cool pictures. Which of course makes it the best Bond in a loooong time. QoS is pretty forgettable, but the scene at the opera is great as mentioned upthread. Especially because Mr White is the only one with the cool to simply stay and slip away with the rest of the audience. Mr White is so amazing, and I only partly say that because I'm such a big fan of Jesper Christensen.

I think I love the fact that nothing in Skyfall makes sense. Most action films just have plotholes. Skyfall really is one of those rare films that just don't care.

I bet you're a Prometheus fan

I've actually just dvr'ed it. But from what I've seen of it, clips and trailers and such, I think it's ugly. I mean, the point of Skyfall is that it discards plot to focus on imagery.

Well Sam Smith's done the theme tune and it's bloody awful.

I don't care for Sam Smith but a Bond 'I Will Survive' kinda works.

Really doesn't imo.

I'm not really into Sam Smith, but this seems very dull.

It's crap.

was lana del rey in a tunnel when they called

annoying to have this a spotify only release (for what, like a week?) end these stupid streaming service wars

shit song

I know Smith's voice is held in high regard but on this one it's plain annoying, maybe song could have been salvaged if George Michael sang it

i like this, i expected it to be awful after everyone's griping.

was lana del rey in a tunnel when they called

yeah seriously. using someone else for a bond song in a world where ldr exists is like shaving with a spoon.

can't believe they never used Goldfrapp at her peak either.

The answer for "What is the worst Bond theme?" will always be the Jack White and Alicia Keys one.

can't believe they never used Goldfrapp at her peak either.

^^^^^^ on this.

Listening to it again, the main hook ("how do i live, how do i etc.") is pretty good. Shame about the rest.

"can't believe they never used Goldfrapp at her peak either."

Only 3 movies released during that era, and they went with the charts on 2 of them.

I don't mind the White/Keys one but didn't it follow one by Chris Cornell of all people? Even if it was tolerable, why the hell would you call him?

for a gritty reboot.... of the theme song

UK tabloids running that Damian Lewis is likely next in line, which I reaaaalllly hope isn't the case.

I think he should die in this new one.

I never used to like the Cornell theme but I think it was bc I wasnt into the movie at first

I've warmed up to it now that I enjoy the movie more

I like the movie quite a bit and that theme is ok, but why is Chris Cornell singing it

I will always give a partial pass if the band/singer is from the UK, at least.

"And with your newest Bond theme song, Mumford and Sons."

you know my naaaaaaaaaaaaaame

special place in hell for you on that one, Ned

Skyfall I now appreciate purely because the villain has a clear objective, Bardem is amazing and it’s one of the rare times a villain is not thwarted!
Also skyscraper fight rules, Komodo dragon/Macau stuff is awesome… has a lot of great stuff!

Spectre has the Bautista car chase in Italy! with the parachute ejectorseat! the alpine stuff in Austria with the plane smashing down the mountain like a crazy sled! the fkn TRAIN FIGHT with Bautista! so many things i had forgotten. it has a lot of very good/excellent set pieces & great locations. Waltz is still frustrating as Blofeld, I would have preferred someone else more threatening w more gravitas

seriously everyone who has seen No Time To Die should rewatch Spectre and be pleasantly surprised at how it hold up and/or improves

imo

and i will give you $10

jk

$10K why thank you. That is what you meant to type, yes?

yes ned 10,000 will be wired to the account of your choosing just key in your 6 digit password on the keypad here but fyi VESPER as a password is not allowed due to a previous incident

"what do you mean I can't reuse previous passwords? It's my bloody password!"

Sir please stop choking me. SIR.

seriously everyone who has seen No Time To Die should rewatch Spectre and be pleasantly surprised at how it hold up and/or improves

imo

I rewatched it after seeing No Time To Die and all the bits I thought sucked still sucked (ie not Bautista)

:/

tbf I tuned out completely and started internetting before the end of the desert hideout torture scene stuff, maybe everything after “Bond and Blofeld are brothers” is rly good

btw if anyone’s in this thread bcz they’re working up to NTTD, the best parts are totally the imax scenes so it’s worth catching in that format if you have the choice

Thanks, Ned.

QoS is a mess but … underrated, even by me sometimes.

Tomorrow: NTTD!

huh just checked and it looks like craig is the longest-running bond thus far? (time-wise, not in total number of movies). fifteen years!

dude has definitely done his time
i wondered to mr veg if he’ll throw a party when his official post-release duties are completed.
i mean as we know from prev bonds, money-truck aside, it’s one hell of a gulag

He filmed TWO Benoit Blanc flicks in between making No Time To Die and having to promote it on release

Damn.

More later, but best since CR.

I would very much like a post-apocalyptic HBO show set in the, uh, island lair

yes plz

#onethread?

we are only allowed to talk about spectre in this thread, #spectrethoughtsonly

Radiohead got robbed

fukunaga did an amazing job, whole thing looked amazing and was super varied in terms of color lighting

rami malek was terrible. not remotely scary, idiotic accent, everything he said was so groanworthy pretentious and vacuous (even by Bond villain standards), also for some reason his skin condition improved throughout the movie? by the end it just looked like mild acne scars

léa seydoux is insanely beautiful and every moment she was on screen i was jaw agog. however daniel craig and ana de armas have the best chemistry, wish she was in it more. havana scene was so fun

plot was so dumb. when ralph fiennes is like “we didn’t mean for this bio chemical weapon capable of exterminating entire races of people to become a WMD” lol

overall i loved it. i think italy was my favourite action setpiece (i was hooting and hollering in the movie theatre when he started motorcycling up stairs and flying over bridges) but they were all very entertaining

Lol at his name being Lyutsifer Safin

i haven’t seen it since it was in theatres and was really high when i saw it so this might be totally inaccurate but i remember the action in quAntum being peak shaky cam era disorienting blurry close combat. and i am grateful of how far we are from that now. loved the scene at the end on the stairwell (the shadow!). felt kinda like a first person shooter

I just watched it and yes, it was def like that

quantum’s lone flaw for me is the action directing

everything else about that movie rules tho

fyi flopson there is a No Time To Die thread, you'll find more discussion there! which also, some of us are consciously avoiding until we've gotten to the film.

oh sorry i looked through SNA but didn’t see it so i figured ppl were just talking here. if a mod wants to delete it that’s ok. sorry for spoilers

you're all good! i pulled my eyes away once I registered the type of information the post contained, but before any of it actually reached my brain lol