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Controversial opinions about Bond films

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  • Benjamin_Weekly69Benjamin_Weekly69 London
    Posts: 727
    And where did that get ‘em? A marginal improvement on the American box office while alienating everyone else. Craig’s films bounced back on the international and European box office appeal by not casting classless American women. Lessons to be learned.
  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,195
    Indeed, most American Bond girls are considered to be among the weaker ones...
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,985
    GBF wrote: »
    Indeed, most American Bond girls are considered to be among the weaker ones...

    I rather liked Carey Lowell's Pam Bouvier...my kind of dame 😁
  • Benjamin_Weekly69Benjamin_Weekly69 London
    Posts: 727
    Hans Zimmer’s score was boring. I guess his creative juices were spent after Dune.
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,112
    https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/roald-dahl-ruined-the-bond-series/

    I feel this article is right, but blame should be placed a bit more on Broccoli and Saltzman. One reason is that obviously they filmed a part 2 (or 3) first. Another reason is that Richard Maibaum and Peter Hunt weren’t around (at first). Other than that, I am happy with the film we got.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,025
    Yeah, by 1966, Cubby just wanted to make THE biggest Bond regardless of being faithful to the novel. It didn’t matter which film they made.

    Look at his comments regarding the MR novel in 1979 and the way he dismissed the plot of it “it’s just about a piddly rocket”, even though the plot is essentially about London getting nuked. But I guess that wasn’t big enough!

    That said, I love the MR film for what it is despite having zero relation to the novel.
  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,195
    One could maybe say that the level of continuity was underappreciated in the 1960s where it is overappreciated nowadays. It is difficult to find the right mix.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 14,830
    GBF wrote: »
    One could maybe say that the level of continuity was underappreciated in the 1960s where it is overappreciated nowadays. It is difficult to find the right mix.

    Personally I love the continuity of both the Craig era and the 60s. And I hope some sort of continuity will remain in the next era, instead of having a mere villain of the week approach.
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,112
    I hope they truly ditch Dame Judi Dench for good, after her portrait showing in NTTD. All she did was yell at Bond and make bad decisions and blame others for them. I know I’m beating a dead horse here, but I hope some of the higher ups at Amazon tell EON no Purvis and Wade. I know a lot of people don’t care about Double or Nothing by Kim Sherwood, but I’m happy that it doesn’t have P & W’s “professional” Bond influence and experience. I’d rather see another Bond novel by Jeffrey Deaver, William Boyd, Sebastian Faulks or Raymond Benson than see another Bond screenplay by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. At least they knew when to quit.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,025
    MaxCasino wrote: »
    I hope they truly ditch Dame Judi Dench for good, after her portrait showing in NTTD. All she did was yell at Bond and make bad decisions and blame others for them. I know I’m beating a dead horse here, but I hope some of the higher ups at Amazon tell EON no Purvis and Wade. I know a lot of people don’t care about Double or Nothing by Kim Sherwood, but I’m happy that it doesn’t have P & W’s “professional” Bond influence and experience. I’d rather see another Bond novel by Jeffrey Deaver, William Boyd, Sebastian Faulks or Raymond Benson than see another Bond screenplay by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. At least they knew when to quit.

    Why would Amazon want EON to get rid of the writers that were involved with the highest grossing films of the franchise?
  • BirdlesonBirdleson Moderator
    edited February 2022 Posts: 2,161
    Because the returns have been progressively smaller since SF. Not the trend they want to continue, I'm sure.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,025
    I’m not sure they’d see it that way with NTTD’s case. It would have needed to underperform as bad as LTK, as that’s what made Cubby diismiss Maibaum before ultimately passing.
  • LucknFateLucknFate 007 In New York
    edited February 2022 Posts: 1,430
    I'm sure it's been brought up before but upon review of TWINE I realized that SF is just a heavy retread of major aspects of its narrative.

    -Bond's shoulder injured, his viability in the field questioned in the first act.
    -MI6 staff assist Bond in forging documentation to approve him for field work.
    -MI6 retreats to a Scottish castle.
    -You could debate many similar physical and dramatic characteristics between Severine and Elektra.
    -Bond meets up with both characters in a Casino at one point.
    -The main (male) villain is portrayed as someone who has escaped an incredibly painful death once before and is now ghost-like.
    -A new quartermaster is introduced. R./Q. in TWINE; Q./Kincade in SF.
    -Bond travels to a major port city / trade center; Istanbul, Shanghai and Macau.
    -The Bond villain hangs out in some sort of old nuclear facility; submarine and Silva's island.
    -M. is captured and held in a small room that's part of an old castle/villa.
    -M. shimmies together contraptions to help her escape/take down bad guys (TWINE clock beacon, SF booby traps)
    -James Bond is underwater to escape in the finale.
    -Bond's car is demolished in front of him by baddies in a helicopter.
    -The callback to family motto of "The World Is Not Enough" is a loose connection to Bond visiting his childhood home in SF.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 14,830
    Not sure if it's the right place to post this, but as an opera lover I found it interesting:
    https://operawire.com/opera-meets-film-bonds-operatic-italy-adventure-in-spectre/
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    edited March 2022 Posts: 4,112
    https://hmssweblog.wordpress.com/hmss-archive-the-bond-too-big-for-007/

    This is why Tom Mackiewicz wasn’t the best screenplay writer for James Bond. He was a bit full of himself, with crude jokes more often than not.
  • Jordo007Jordo007 Merseyside
    Posts: 2,513
    OHMSS is slightly overrated
  • BirdlesonBirdleson Moderator
    Posts: 2,161
    Doesn't that just mean that other people like it more than you do? I never get the "overrated" "underrated" thing.
  • Jordo007Jordo007 Merseyside
    Posts: 2,513
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Doesn't that just mean that other people like it more than you do? I never get the "overrated" "underrated" thing.

    That's true, I should have put in my opinion.
    It's a great film no doubt but I've heard a lot of fans and critics call it the best film of the series, and I don't think it's that good.
  • BirdlesonBirdleson Moderator
    Posts: 2,161
    I need not to be so pedantic.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 14,956
    MaxCasino wrote: »
    https://hmssweblog.wordpress.com/hmss-archive-the-bond-too-big-for-007/

    This is why Tom Mackiewicz wasn’t the best screenplay writer for James Bond. He was a bit full of himself, with crude jokes more often than not.

    This is a fun read, thanks.
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,112
    mtm wrote: »
    MaxCasino wrote: »
    https://hmssweblog.wordpress.com/hmss-archive-the-bond-too-big-for-007/

    This is why Tom Mackiewicz wasn’t the best screenplay writer for James Bond. He was a bit full of himself, with crude jokes more often than not.

    This is a fun read, thanks.

    You’re welcome. It’s not that I dislike TM, but he maybe should have had a better director than Guy Hamilton.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 14,956
    I’d heard about the Acrostar and keelhauling scenes having been planned for MR for years but never seen the context. The jet pack bit is new to me though, that’s quite surprising. Much better than Thunderball’s version (in that they actually do something with it!) but I’m not sure how they ever would have shot that sequence.
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,112
    I’m surprised that Sam Mendes didn’t bring in Charmian Bond into Skyfall. Especially considering how much family is a big theme of his movies. I am still happy that we got Kincade, though. He was a highlight of the movie.
  • CharmianBondCharmianBond Pett Bottom, Kent
    Posts: 534
    A wee bit biased naturally I wouldn't say no to seeing Aunt Charmian in a greater capacity than as an Easter egg from Spectre's production designer. Skyfall Lodge does make for an amazing location and a great final act but I hate how in creating that backstory for Craig's Bond, absenting Charmian and emphasising the lonely orphan narrative spending his childhood in a Gothic mansion just adds more misery to the already considerable pile his Bond has.
  • Since62Since62
    Posts: 1,571
    MaxCasino wrote: »
    I’m surprised that Sam Mendes didn’t bring in Charmian Bond into Skyfall. Especially considering how much family is a big theme of his movies. I am still happy that we got Kincade, though. He was a highlight of the movie.

    Enjoyed greatly how Kincade understood Bond's boss's name to be "Emma" - but, of course !
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,025
    CharmianBond wrote: »
    A wee bit biased naturally I wouldn't say no to seeing Aunt Charmian in a greater capacity than as an Easter egg from Spectre's production designer. Skyfall Lodge does make for an amazing location and a great final act but I hate how in creating that backstory for Craig's Bond, absenting Charmian and emphasising the lonely orphan narrative spending his childhood in a Gothic mansion just adds more misery to the already considerable pile his Bond has.

    I could be wrong, but I think you see her name in the guardian documents Bond recovered in SP.
  • CharmianBondCharmianBond Pett Bottom, Kent
    Posts: 534
    MakeshiftPython wrote: »
    I could be wrong, but I think you see her name in the guardian documents Bond recovered in SP.

    That's what I was referring to, it's definitely a blink and you'll miss it thing.
  • 007HallY007HallY
    Posts: 2,897
    My controversial opinions: For Your Eyes Only is one of the worst Bond films of the series for me. I actually think Moonraker is a much stronger film.

    I also think The World Is Not Enough is a worse film than Die Another Day, and Brosnan's acting in the former is embarrassing at times. I think he's pretty good in Die Another Day (not as good as in his first two Bond films though).

    I also find Thunderball boring. If I were to rank my favourite Bond films it'd come nearer the bottom.

    I can't stand listening to Bassey's Goldfinger.
  • AstonLotusAstonLotus
    Posts: 1,394
    QOS looks more like an expensive TV movie than LTK does.
  • RemingtonRemington I'll do anything for a woman with a knife.
    Posts: 1,533
    I suggest you turn off the motion smoothing then lol
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