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Fun juice? .....
Fun juice?
Haha good one :))
More like a rather dull quartz, unfortunately.
That being said, it does have good dialogue, a fabulous Barry score (and a great title song), two hilarious henchmen and one fantastic scene right at the end: "Mouton Rothschild is a claret."
Re: DAF, I've long viewed DAF as a spiritual precursor to DAD, replete with space lasers and an illicit diamond trail leading the way to villains with surgically modified doubles or replacement faces courtesy of replacement gene therapy. And hovercrafts. I used to have DAF in bottom place. More recently, it's been fortuitously dislodged from that ignominy by one other. Even so, there's a lot to enjoy in DAF, too: prime Barry (au jus), devilishly good Mankiewiczian humor, all those retro-futuristic sets, and a Tiffany Case that in her better moments does Fleming's creation proud. But yes, it's in my Bottom 3.
I suppose that's typical of being a fan. For instance, I can appreciate the good Star Wars films, but the ones I don't like I don't plan to ever watch again. I'd gladly re-watch my least favourite Bond film though.
On to the next inevitable appearance:
STARRING
Daniel Craig as James Bond 007
WITH
Léa Seydoux, Christoph Waltz, Monica Bellucci & Dave Bautista
SPECTRE
MUSIC BY Thomas Newman
DIRECTED BY Sam Mendes
SP was ranked last by 3 members and ended in the bottom 5 on no less than 14 occasions.
That's not to say it doesn't have its fans. It received 3 top 10 spots, and another 4 top 15 spots. Its highest ranking was 6th place, which it reached on one occasion.
In total SP managed to collect 88 points.
Its at 14 in rankings for me, and it will probably move around that spot in time. But its not a bottom tier Bond. There is lots to enjoy in it, that pts is still a cracker, love the whole section in Italy, am a fan of Lea's Swann character, one of the best fight scenes in the series........., and its got Monica Belluci too!!!
Only consolation is that it finished ahead of DAD.
It certainly nowhere near as bad as that abomination!
Meanwhile, I felt deprived of more 'Quantum', of all the shadowy razmataz that Greene had hinted at. And with the S.P.E.C.T.R.E / Blofeld rights reverted back to EON, I would soon begin fantasizing about something even more sinister play out behind the cogs and wheels that were revealed in QOS. To save me from disappointment, I naturally assumed they'd never get there. But that SF left all of those things untouched (Mr White, Greene, who Guy Haines was working for, ...) was a small source of irritation too.
Then SP happened in 2015. And SP delivered. Too much perhaps (Silva never had to be involved) and not always that good (it really shouldn't have been a family feud), but at least I saw major improvements over SF in almost every department, except for the theme song and photography (which rocks in both films). Craig's in good shape in this one (I was never a fan of the "old man Bond" idea from SF); I really appreciate the Bond girls in this film; yes, the action is a lot better in my opinion; the score is definitely an improvement over SF's; the story makes more sense to me; and so on. I really dig the Bond - Madeleine romance, which feels genuine and warm. Not a single scene in SF comes even close to the atmospheric "L'Américain" scene, which always pulls me in, as if I'm there, in those dizzy hours, awake but not quite, cooking in the heat, cooling off when unearthing important secrets. I also appreciate the train scene, which, before Hinx' interruption, plays out like a callback to Vesper, almost to grant Bond permission to finally love again. Even the London climax, though just a simple save-the-girl-in-time device, doesn't nearly strike me as the dull or offensively stupid sequence some have called it.
My appreciation for SP isn't about me enthusiastically responding to the advent of a new Bond film--six years have passed!--nor a matter of remembering things better than they really are--I watch the film almost three times every year and continue to love it. Yes, it has flaws. Sure. But then, only CR is the truly flawless Craig Bond for me. On any given day, SP can be either my second or third favourite Craig Bond, interchangeable with QOS.
It is frustrating, for sure, to see films like TMWTGG, AVTAK and, in some people's rankings, even NSNA, score better than SP. These choices have been explained to me, and I certainly agree that a 2015 film need not be judged the same way we judge a 1974 or 1985 film, that expectations make a huge difference and that nostalgia can clear up a clouded sky. But it nevertheless remains difficult for me to accept that 'Brothergate' can push a competent film to a last place while Bond taking out a baddy with his own urine or racing a motorcycle with some annoying '60s TV jazz playing in the background can be so easily forgiven.
Terrific post. Spectre is so full of scenes I look forward to, and L'Americain is a great one that perfectly encapsulates the atmosphere of the film for me.
I'm sure I've been guilty of trying to explain people's views of SP, and I probably shouldn't do that!
The crux of it may be the fact that the film can scarcely be mentioned at all, in any context, without inviting a barrage of irrelevant moaning, rather unlike GF. And there's the inescapable sense that folks are being more than a little hyperbolic in discussing it. If someone says the PTS is bad, L'Americain is bad, the Hinx fight is bad, the Spectre meeting is bad, okay, I'll just have to take their word for it, but it's hard for me to relate to the idea that, for the first time, everything in a Bond film has been done badly.
Great choices of the posters @GoldenGun.
Enjoyed it a lot more on the last viewing. Got to see it at the cinema a couple weeks back.
But recently it has gained a few spots mainly thanks to the classy Bond girl duo Léa Seydoux-Monica Bellucci. The PTS, Altaussee, the Rome scenes and L'Américain are definitely parts that I like.
Not so much love for the stuff with C, Brothergate and the London finale though.
Still a bottom three for me in the end, but it did move past DAD and DAF recently.
Oh and thanks @goldenswissroyale :) I will try to keep them interesting ;)
My sentiments exactly, @ProfJoeButcher!
@Birdleson is, of course, correct. Someone else's opinion shouldn't upset me, nor should anyone feel pressured into apologizing for anything. I certainly know that Birdleson just leaves his opinion and then walks away, which is how I wish I could do things, but I'm weak. ;-)
It does, however, work both ways, and discussions about SP seemingly cannot be had without people telling us how everything stinks. That 'last place' can be an honest choice for some, but I'm willing to bet that it's more hyperbole than anything else for others. I adore SP, but I only had it at #9. I could've easily thrown it in the top 3, but then I wouldn't have been honest with myself; I'd have made a statement. And that's how I feel about that last place in many a ranking (not everyone's!) for SP. If the film bores you to death, @Birdleson, and other Bond films don't or to a lesser extent, then that last place seems nothing but fair. That said, I've also read complaints about SP that are, or course, subjective and therefore always "correct" from the POV of who has them, but cannot explain why SP deserves the last place in a series replete with imperfect films, some of them, at least in my opinion, suffering from many more and way worse issues than SP. Yes, it's all subjective, I know. ;-)
Of course, the quality of a film exists in isolation, not in comparison to other films. I love GF too, but where would I rank it against 2001: A Space Odyssey? Hold on, that's not a fair comparison. But GF is a Bond film, so comparing it to other Bond films comes naturally. And since this is a ranking thread, comparing films is not merely allowed, but in this instance, it's the very bread and butter of the game. And no, of course I'm not angry. ;-) This is all for fun, no? So when I conclude by saying that I think SP is unfairly maligned, I do so with a smile, not red-faced and ready to pump iron.
Pretty much how I feel about 'DAD'!
Wouldnt be bothered if I never watched it again! Gave it plenty of views, but has no redeeming features!
I get what Birdleson is saying, but I think it would be pretty dull around here if we all agreed!!
Anyhow, cant wait to see what's next in the list!