SPECTRE - Press reviews and personal reviews (BEWARE! Spoiler reviews allowed)

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  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Bit of wishfull thinking there, me thinks. ;)
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    I'm out of here. If you criticise the film you immediately get raped by a few DC fan boys. Pathetic.

    Don't give up. The same happened to me. I was too negative at first and that's never a good entrance.
    And you have to accept that there are all kinds of people in a forum like this. Some are more receptive to criticism of their favourites, some are not.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    There are also nice ways to get a point across, not everthing
    has to be a confrontation. :)
  • ShardlakeShardlake Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 4,043
    U.S critic are really out for blood after the positive UK reception it seems most of them are tearing it a new one.

    Whether it will effect the BO who knows, most seem to be saying it's nowhere as good as SF, the way I like SP you'd think I was one of the SF haters but I'm a big admirer of Skyfall.

    I wonder what film they were expecting? Did they really think it was going to be emotional and Bond all conflicted again. It seems your damned if you do and your damned if you don't.

    Also yes respect the creator but lets just remember if it wasn't for the cinematic version the books would be nowhere near as known as they are. Continue to mine them for more please do but remember the mass public couldn't give two hoots about them. They watch Bond because they remember the screen version, it's only us fans that get wet about Bond eating scramble eggs or talking to his housekeeper.
  • edited November 2015 Posts: 4,622
    Quick review. Great Bond film. No complaints at all but one. I didn't like the score.
    Sometimes it created a great mood and did work well with the on-screen, but it didn't do this often enough. Too many flat spots.
    Barry, Martin, Hamlisch, Conti, all created great Bond soundtracks. Arnold did a good job too.
    Serra and Kamen were passable.They all caught the Bond sound.
    Newman though has been off on some other planet. His Bond movies don't really sound like Bond films, IMO.
    Otherwise I thought story held together real well
    But best part of movie is Craig.
    DC Is James Bond.Perfectly relaxed and convincing. Awesome performance.Looked real good. Delivered some great lines.
    Now that he has really found his stride, I'd try and get at least 3 more movies out of him.
    Waltz and Seydoux were both very good.
    Waltz as Blofeld. Loved the reveal. Introduction of cat was perfect.
    Blofeld back, manic as ever, AND with cat and scar. This is Bond nirvanna!!!
    I skipped out of cinema, I was so happy.

    And M meets Ernst too! This is gonna be great when Ernst comes back with future threats to the world.
    Can't wait for the Spectre moon base.Future Bond-Blofeld standoffs and verbal sparring.
    We are entering a glorious new era of Bond versus Blofeld and Spectre.!!!
    Craig has to stick around for lots more of this!!!
  • DesmondBoothroydDesmondBoothroyd New England, USA
    Posts: 16
    Just saw Spectre in IMAX this afternoon, and I really enjoyed it. Sure, there were plot points I could have done without, such as the Bond/Oberhauser familial connection, and my thinking the romantic connection between Bond and Swann had a lot to do with Bond's obligation to White more so than the way he fell for Vesper, but.....it was a great, entertaining Bond outing, and Craig was in fine form as Bond.
    While I've read many points people have made about things like what Q is able to do with his laptop and Sciarra's ring, I've always felt bringing a suspension of disbelief with me into a theater has allowed me to simply enjoy a film without worrying about the technical veracity of every detail.
    That said, it was a globe hopping romp, with Bond left to rely on his own wits to a great extent, as M was right when he said that with Nine Eyes watching, any attempt to help him would only draw unwanted attention to him.
    Was it perfect? No, of course not, but it doesn't need to be perfect to be enjoyable, and I'd rather focus on the positives than to highlight the negatives. I greatly enjoyed the obvious nods to the past, from laying out Swann's dress (Dr. No), to the train fight (From Russia With Love), Bond fitting the carnation to the lapel of his white tux jacket (Goldfinger), talking to the mouse in L'Americain (Diamonds Are Forever)....the list goes on, and I enjoyed them all. My wife is still wondering why I laughed out loud when I saw Hildebrand on the door of the safe house (a tip to Ian Fleming's Hildebrand Rarity). Mr. Hinx brought back memories of Oddjob, another seemingly indestructible individual who was unstoppable by conventional means. I thought Waltz brought a sense of restrained menace to his performance, similar to Joseph Wiseman as Dr. No, especially during the dinner scene with Connery and Andress, quite relaxed and assured of his impending success.
    I'll be planning to see it again soon, most likely in a conventional theater, as the sensory overload of IMAX made it a little hard to follow the more busy scenes, such as the PTS Day of the Dead sequence.
    Biggest shortfall for me? Easily the title sequence. Didn't care for the theme song at all, and the octopus based visuals, complete with images from the previous films, just didn't do it for me at all. Bring back Shirley Bassey and images projected on a gold painted woman, thank you. It was a pleasure, however, to see the white dot moving left to right to introduce the gun barrel scene at the start...you knew you were off to another Bond adventure.
  • MansfieldMansfield Where the hell have you been?
    Posts: 1,263
    @Birdleson You have my sympathy for not enjoying it. My hope is that you will warm up to parts of it, enough to bring it out of the basement of your rankings. I'm not sure it belongs there, but maybe I am overestimating it's positive traits.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Let's be clear, no one is allowed to ass-rape @Scaramanga12 .

    Unless they're cosplaying as Nick Nack.
  • brinkeguthriebrinkeguthrie Piz Gloria
    Posts: 1,400
    Loved it, favorite movie of the entire series. Loved that the DB5 came back. Loved the GB back where it should be. Weak point- Newman. Bland nondescript score, not enough Bond theme, etc.
  • Posts: 7,500
    =bg= wrote: »
    Loved it, favorite movie of the entire series. Loved that the DB5 came back. Loved the GB back where it should be. Weak point- Newman. Bland nondescript score, not enough Bond theme, etc.


    Not enough Bond theme?? Really? The Bond theme was all over the place from start to finish, some times in more subtle rearrangements, other times classic and bold! What film did you see?
  • ShardlakeShardlake Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 4,043
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Shardlake wrote: »
    U.S critic are really out for blood after the positive UK reception it seems most of them are tearing it a new one.

    Whether it will effect the BO who knows, most seem to be saying it's nowhere as good as SF, the way I like SP you'd think I was one of the SF haters but I'm a big admirer of Skyfall.

    I wonder what film they were expecting? Did they really think it was going to be emotional and Bond all conflicted again. It seems your damned if you do and your damned if you don't.

    Maybe, like me, they just found the film to be sub-par. I'm a lifelong fan, I wanted to love it, but it is near the bottom of my rankings.


    Maybe but I'm not actually a newbie myself, been a fan since 1977 when I saw SWLM at the cinema, what can I say I loved it, maybe I'm shallow but I prefer this to GF quite considerably, I know sacrilege.
  • edited November 2015 Posts: 12,271
    I gave a pretty enthusiastic review, but there are definitely things I'm iffy about. The romance, the foster brother idea, Newman's score, and how QoS is handled in retrospect are all a little eh for me. My biggest complaint could be how Mathis is completely forgotten; he really deserved at least a mention. Those few flaws in addition to more minor gripes hold it back a little for me, but the overall experience was still good IMO. There are definitely positive traits about it.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    There is a certain nostalgia to many Bond movies such as GF or TSWLM and even GE (I guess 20 years is enough).

    That doesn't mean they have necessarily to be the best for everybody.

    I have never complained when someone has GE in the lower half of his ranking nor do I find it strange if someone rates DAF as a Top 10 movie. Tastes are different.

    The same applies to the most successful movies.
    There is no rule saying because Thunderball and Skyfall were the most successful they have to be universally loved.

    My experience is that Spectre is at least liked by most. The reaction to the movie at the cinema I went to see it was clearly very, very positive with many saying that one was better than Skyfall.

    I went to see it yesterday with my army buddies. 10 men between 35 and 41.
    Not one disliked it with at least 6 (including me) being quite ecstatic about it.
    That surprised me, because the last time this exact group of men was agreeing that much was with Casino Royale.
  • Posts: 14,838
    cryptic47 wrote: »
    I would like to hear an official explanation from the producers as to why they copied Austin Powers Goldmember and made Bond and Blofeld essentially brothers when they curse what the Austin Powers movies did to Bond. It worked in a parody film but they've seriously reduced Blofeld to a baby with daddy issues. Which reminds me, I'd like to hear the producers explanation for why they copied what made Star Trek Into Darkness so stupid: the "seriously he's not Khan/Blofeld" crap and then the ridiculous reveal. If Star Wars The Force Awakens turns out well, I feel that creative control of the Bond franchise needs to be given to a completely different team. Broccoli and Wilson have become George Lucas.

    Here's the simple explanation: they didn't copy them.
  • edited November 2015 Posts: 389
    On second viewing I've come to the conclution that if you sit down as a real fan & be true to yourself, no excuses or blind faith, you can not forget the bad writing within the script, the slightly disjointed story, the ludicrous coincidences, but having said that there are still some excellent moments, that to me shows what could have been if they'd only reviewed the script & realised that a lot of it was incoherent.

    I hate to say it but, my first impression was not wrong, SP has as many issues as SF for me......Sorry guys :((
  • ShardlakeShardlake Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 4,043
    I think critics problems are it wasn't SF but fans are looking at this differently and possibly a little too much seriously Mathis? Do you really think they would include something about him?

    He's a great character and all but that is just fan service and I think we know these films are never made just for the fan base.

    I'm sorry I've said it before but if this forum were hired to write the script it would be the most horrendous fan wank you've ever seen.
  • Posts: 486
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Of course tastes differ, but my point is the lukewarm and negative reviews probably came from a sincere place.

    Some certainly, others are a little more disingenuous and just seem to be lambasting the Bond franchise in general.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    I actually was quite moved by the short clip of Vesper drowning in the title sequence. Along with the M flashback.

    It sort of brought home the hell DC's Bond has had to put up with and also smartly brought back memories (to the general audience) of those films, which were highly rated and well remembered.

    I didn't like the way Blofeld mentioned the Vesper thing to Swann however. That seemed a bit 'Landa'. "She was the big one" or something along those lines. I also didn't like the photos plastered in the MI6 building. Could have done without that (seemed like they were piling it on......we got the point...this guy is the 'author of all his pain').
  • brinkeguthriebrinkeguthrie Piz Gloria
    Posts: 1,400
    jobo wrote: »
    =bg= wrote: »
    Loved it, favorite movie of the entire series. Loved that the DB5 came back. Loved the GB back where it should be. Weak point- Newman. Bland nondescript score, not enough Bond theme, etc.


    Not enough Bond theme?? Really? The Bond theme was all over the place from start to finish, some times in more subtle rearrangements, other times classic and bold! What film did you see?

    I don't recall hearing the JB theme after some big stunt like they've done, nor the 007 theme. It was too subtle. David Arnold, please come back. Newman is a bore.

  • AntiLocqueBrakesAntiLocqueBrakes The edge
    edited November 2015 Posts: 538
    Will preface by saying that I love SP for the escapist, action packed vehicle that it is. Still, I was kind of hoping that SF would be the standalone Craig film much like GF was for Connery. Anticipated that SP would connect with CR and QOS, but was a little disappointed at the tenuous link with Silva, who made no mention of a greater organization than himself.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited November 2015 Posts: 23,883
    =bg= wrote: »
    jobo wrote: »
    =bg= wrote: »
    Loved it, favorite movie of the entire series. Loved that the DB5 came back. Loved the GB back where it should be. Weak point- Newman. Bland nondescript score, not enough Bond theme, etc.


    Not enough Bond theme?? Really? The Bond theme was all over the place from start to finish, some times in more subtle rearrangements, other times classic and bold! What film did you see?

    I don't recall hearing the JB theme after some big stunt like they've done, nor the 007 theme. It was too subtle. David Arnold, please come back. Newman is a bore.

    The Bond theme was there in sufficient quantity. It was nicely integrated into the score at the right moments, the way it should be, imho.
  • Posts: 14,838
    Will preface by saying that I love SP for the escapist, action packed vehicle that it is. Still, I was kind of hoping that SF would be the standalone Craig film much like GF was for Connery. Anticipated that SP would connect with CR and QOS, but was a little disappointed at the tenuous link with Silva, who made no mention of a greater organization than himself.

    I always understood Silva was more like a freelance on contract for Blofeld. Not a member per se.
  • Posts: 187
    bondjames wrote: »
    I actually was quite moved by the short clip of Vesper drowning in the title sequence. Along with the M flashback.

    It sort of brought home the hell DC's Bond has had to put up with and also smartly brought back memories (to the general audience) of those films, which were highly rated and well remembered.

    I didn't like the way Blofeld mentioned the Vesper thing to Swann however. That seemed a bit 'Landa'. "She was the big one" or something along those lines. I also didn't like the photos plastered in the MI6 building. Could have done without that (seemed like they were piling it on......we got the point...this guy is the 'author of all his pain').

    I agree, it got a bit too much but I loved the fact that Blofeld just got so much glee out of rubbing salt in Bond's wounds and re-opening them over and over again. He is such a malicious yet polite figure in this film and it intrigues me.

  • Posts: 187
    Will preface by saying that I love SP for the escapist, action packed vehicle that it is. Still, I was kind of hoping that SF would be the standalone Craig film much like GF was for Connery. Anticipated that SP would connect with CR and QOS, but was a little disappointed at the tenuous link with Silva, who made no mention of a greater organization than himself.

    It's also interesting to note that, for those who liked Blood Stone, the villain of that game fits in somewhat well with this whole thing given they're taken out by a drone of all things. I immediately thought of that while watching this flick when Blofeld was going on and on about gathering information.
  • brinkeguthriebrinkeguthrie Piz Gloria
    Posts: 1,400
    and I wish the DB10 hadn't gone into the drink. OK, done. Now---what's the ETA for the DVD? March/April?

  • edited November 2015 Posts: 117
    Alllllright, I just arrived from the theater and I want to let my feelings out.

    -THE GUNBARREL IN THE BEGGINING.
    -I love how they keep doing references to past movies. Also, just as I suspected, the movie got so much from From Russia With Love :x :x :x and it's probably the reason it became one of my favorites from DC's era.
    -Daniel Craig is James Bond, y'all. Sometimes I wonder why his take on the character is not my favorite of all time cuz he's just such a good actor. The right amount of Fleming's Bond. And he looked hot (finally)!
    -Craig was so good and sometimes I forgot how good the supporting cast was next to him. Léa, Christoph (being his old self but that was enough!), Monica (sadly underused, but still worth it), the MI6 crew (making things work out together!) and even the indestructible henchman were an amazing addiction.
    -The train fight. From Russia With Love. Yeah, I really love that movie, you guys.

    Now...

    -The score disappointed me a lot. Lazy effort. They didn't have to use the same score from Skyfall. I know, it's the same director, same actor, same composer but that never stopped John Barry from doing something different every time.
    -Sometimes it felt like James wasn't really in danger. I missed the thrill of being on the edge of my seat. The car chase was okay but when it was over I was like "Is that it?".
    -Spectre is the longest movie from the franchise but... It didn't have to be...
    -I still hate the opening song.

    I still can't make judgements on the plot because I didn't read the leaked scripts and for that reason I gotta watch it a few more times. I just know I don't love it as much as I love Casino. I plan on seeing it again this week.
  • AntiLocqueBrakesAntiLocqueBrakes The edge
    Posts: 538
    bondjames wrote: »
    I actually was quite moved by the short clip of Vesper drowning in the title sequence. Along with the M flashback.

    It sort of brought home the hell DC's Bond has had to put up with and also smartly brought back memories (to the general audience) of those films, which were highly rated and well remembered.

    I loved the title sequence flashbacks as well. Its one of the things I'd hope SP would do ala OHMSS.

    Not to beat a dead horse, but I was really disappointed in my audience last night, who didn't seem to know or respond to anything but the action sequences. I loved the connections with other recent movies (for the most part).

  • imranbecksimranbecks Singapore
    Posts: 972
    DVD? Blu ray baby!

    So anyway, now that they have permanently destroyed the modern MI6 building at Vauxhall, its pretty clear that they are going back to old school Bond as hinted at the end of Skyfall at M's office, now with Spectre, this just confirms it even further seeing as that building at Vauxhall is totally gone now, in the movie at least. A pity it had to take Craig four movies to finally reach a feel good 007 style/formulaic movie. And the sad part is it could possibly be his last. I hope not, but in all honesty, I can only see him do one last one after Spectre if he decides to stick around that is. The man is not getting any younger to continue playing Bond. Otherwise, if they do introduce us a new Bond after this, I hope to god its a "continuation" and not another reboot.
  • mcdonbbmcdonbb deep in the Heart of Texas
    Posts: 4,116
    bondjames wrote: »
    =bg= wrote: »
    jobo wrote: »
    =bg= wrote: »
    Loved it, favorite movie of the entire series. Loved that the DB5 came back. Loved the GB back where it should be. Weak point- Newman. Bland nondescript score, not enough Bond theme, etc.


    Not enough Bond theme?? Really? The Bond theme was all over the place from start to finish, some times in more subtle rearrangements, other times classic and bold! What film did you see?

    I don't recall hearing the JB theme after some big stunt like they've done, nor the 007 theme. It was too subtle. David Arnold, please come back. Newman is a bore.

    The Bond theme was there in sufficient quantity. It was nicely integrated into the score at the right moments, the way it should be, imho.

    Yes I agree ..and I thought of you when I heard it. Newman incorporated the theme very similar to the way the MI theme was done in RN.

  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    @imranbecks

    Yes, the reboot has gone overboard and out of control with QOS.

    If QOS had been a "proper" Bond movie, with gun-barrel at the beginning, and all the iconic Bond stuff that is the identity of the Bond franchise after all, this era could have been even better than the Connery era.
    As it played out we got a great action movie with QOS but not a Bond movie and we got a daytime soap opera drama with SF, at least with better production value.

    The opportunities missed with SF and QOS are a shame of gigantic proportions.

    Anyway, Spectre makes up for almost all of the mistakes. And it seems the Bond franchise that has gone off the rails (style and story wise) with QOS and SF is now back where it belongs.
    If that means SF will be the only Bond movie ever to attract the mainstream public and therefore make over a billion then I can live with that very well.
    But if that is the case we will see, I think SP can make a billion as well.

    CR and SP are the best and belong to the hall of fame in the franchise.
    QOS at least is a great action spectacle with high re-watchability.
    SF looks beautiful at least.
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