Christoph Waltz as Blofeld - Hit or miss?

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  • sunsanvilsunsanvil Somewhere in Canada....somewhere.
    Posts: 260
    ...a real sense of evil and insanity behind those eyes.

    For me it didn't come across like that. The character, once revealed, struck me as a suit without an agenda. Yea he setup a worldwide surveillance system...but he doesn't even really say what he will do with it. For heaven sake they didn't even bother to spell out SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion.

    Trite as the role was, they gave Jonathan Pryce more to work with.

    Honestly, I would have cut out an actor altogether for this film (a la Thunderball), REALLY build some tension through the reactions of others to the shadowy figure, and brought him out in the next one or something.



  • I feel like this was just a reintroduction to SPECTRE and Blofeld, which is why I think they kept him alive at the end to explore that fully in the next movie.

    I felt they had to play it safe after Austin Powers practically tarnished the character and organisation in the public eye thanks to the Dr. Evil shenanigans.
  • sunsanvilsunsanvil Somewhere in Canada....somewhere.
    edited November 2015 Posts: 260
    ...thanks to the Dr. Evil shenanigans.

    "One BILLION DOLLARS!!!!"

    (which ironically is probably what SPECTRE will bring in).
  • sunsanvil wrote: »
    ...thanks to the Dr. Evil shenanigans.

    "One BILLION DOLLARS!!!!"

    (which ironically is probably what SPECTRE will bring in).

    Ha Ha! Indeed! Funny that I read that exactly in Dr. Evil's voice LOL!!

  • blakewho wrote: »
    Based on one viewing only (always a bad moment to make a judgement) I would have preferred Oberhauser and Blofeld to be separate entities. And if they insisted on merging them, I can't help feeling it would have seemed less contrived had the identity reveal been the other way around; i.e. Bond spends the majority of the film hunting down the mysterious Ernst Stavro Blofeld, only to find out when they meet that he had a personal link with him all along.

    That said, I thought Waltz gave a very accomplished performance and the film on the whole was great fun. But enough of the Bond backstory now, I think.

    Yes! This is exactly what I would have wanted! I couldn't quite put my finger on what bothered me about the Blofeld reveal, but this is totally it. It's like they did it backwards.

    Imagine you're the average movie-goer with no background about who Blofeld is. Obenhauser referring to himself as a different name is meaningless! My husband had no clue why that had significance add even had to ask me, "Is that supposed to be important?" (He's only seems a handful of the films, mostly just the recent ones.)
  • It is a hit, but not a big one.
  • RC7 wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Waltz is not underused: Blofeld needs to stay in the shadows mostly, a presence that is difficult to perceive. He is, after all, a ghost. There was a risk of overusing him actually.

    Looking back at the previous three movies, it makes perfect sense than the shadowy organization that we had seen in CR and QOS (albeit with a different name) had a leader and was not merely run by a committee of villains. I suspect they wrote SP with a crypto-Blofeld in mind at first, then when they had the rights secured they decided to make him Blofeld.

    His up-front presence certainly didn't hurt OHMSS one bit. Then again, Telly's take was vastly superior.

    Blofeld was not upfront in OHMSS: he appears quite a while into the film (halfway?). He is referred to a long time before showing up. Same thing in the novel. It is early to tell which one I prefer over Savalas or Waltz, but Waltz is certainly a hit for me.

    I would wager Telly occupied a far higher percentage of OHMSS' running time than Waltz did SP's.

    Savalas benefitted from being in a seminal film. Objectively he's not really that close to Fleming's Blofeld. Waltz is.

    On the contrary, the grinning and simpering Nancy that is Waltz's Blofeld bears no resemblance whatsoever to Fleming's bulky, otherworldly, and ice cold monster. Rather, he looks like Bond's personal physician in Shrublands.

    A physician who drills dentist equipment in one's skull. A physician who coldly watches how the previous head of SPECTRE is being violently blinded (How would that feel actually...emptying eyeballs from its fluids?). A physician who takes pleasure in showing a video of Mr White's suicide to Madeleine Swann. A physician who takes pride in discovering when the soul actually leaves the body before death (Blofeld: "It was done after his eyes were popped out. He was physically perhaps still alive, but you felt that his soul already left.")

    You can call him a nancy now, but let me drill some holes in your skull instead >:)

    As I noted upstream, Waltz's Blofeld is utterly evil in his actions. That is not the issue. What is at issue is whether or not his physical appearance and demeanor accord with his evil mind and soul. IMO, the answer is no. Therefore, the casting of Waltz as Blofeld counts as one of SP's weaknesses.

  • sunsanvil wrote: »
    On the whole, for me it was something of a miss. When he first entered the meeting, we were shown the fear and tension of everyone else in the room. That was perfect. But then later in the film he somehow looses that gravity and is just another vanilla "boss" antagonist character.

    Agreed. Blofeld's introduction was excellent, and an obvious nod to a similar scene in TB. And the fact that Waltz/Blofeld's appearance/demeanor so strongly clash with what we were led to expect from the introduction produces a certain disappointment.

  • Posts: 372
    The problem is WALTZ don't give a toss about Bond movies or Blofeld. He's just laughing all his way to the bank. You can even clearly see him in the Jon Ross interview taking Ross from above, like Ross is somehow inferior to him. Watlz sucks. It's only partly masked by the Rome scene. He looks like Bond could snaps hip in two in one second. No threat, nothing, just a cynical actor thinking Bond ia beyond him and racking in the bucks.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    Stamper wrote: »
    The problem is WALTZ don't give a toss about Bond movies or Blofeld. He's just laughing all his way to the bank. You can even clearly see him in the Jon Ross interview taking Ross from above, like Ross is somehow inferior to him. Watlz sucks. It's only partly masked by the Rome scene. He looks like Bond could snaps hip in two in one second. No threat, nothing, just a cynical actor thinking Bond ia beyond him and racking in the bucks.

    Are you his ex agent?
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    RC7 wrote: »
    Stamper wrote: »
    The problem is WALTZ don't give a toss about Bond movies or Blofeld. He's just laughing all his way to the bank. You can even clearly see him in the Jon Ross interview taking Ross from above, like Ross is somehow inferior to him. Watlz sucks. It's only partly masked by the Rome scene. He looks like Bond could snaps hip in two in one second. No threat, nothing, just a cynical actor thinking Bond ia beyond him and racking in the bucks.

    Are you his ex agent?

    No, Stamper was that awesome henchman from...what was it?
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    RC7 wrote: »
    Stamper wrote: »
    The problem is WALTZ don't give a toss about Bond movies or Blofeld. He's just laughing all his way to the bank. You can even clearly see him in the Jon Ross interview taking Ross from above, like Ross is somehow inferior to him. Watlz sucks. It's only partly masked by the Rome scene. He looks like Bond could snaps hip in two in one second. No threat, nothing, just a cynical actor thinking Bond ia beyond him and racking in the bucks.

    Are you his ex agent?

    No, Stamper was that awesome henchman from...what was it?

    Ha ha
  • Posts: 14,797
    sunsanvil wrote: »
    ...a real sense of evil and insanity behind those eyes.

    For me it didn't come across like that. The character, once revealed, struck me as a suit without an agenda. Yea he setup a worldwide surveillance system...but he doesn't even really say what he will do with it. For heaven sake they didn't even bother to spell out SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion.

    Trite as the role was, they gave Jonathan Pryce more to work with.

    Honestly, I would have cut out an actor altogether for this film (a la Thunderball), REALLY build some tension through the reactions of others to the shadowy figure, and brought him out in the next one or something.



    Did we really need to know what exactly he was going to do with it? It is a MacGuffen. But in any case, we know what he can do with it: sell vital highly confidential information to rogue nations and terrorist organizations, blackmail political and government officials, create economic havoc for his own gain, the possibilities are endless.
  • Posts: 1,548
    Le Chiffre, Silva, Oberhauser/ESB = classic villains imo. Greene less so but still better than Gustav Graves
  • Posts: 7,500
    I have seen many complain that Waltz is physically inferior to Craig, and that Bond could easily beat him in a fight. So what? I honestly couldn't care less. I consider arguments like that invalid. His detractors need to come up with something better.
  • Posts: 1,680
    Oberhauser doesnt need to come across as a physical threat to Bond, when Bond does adavnce towards him when showing Swann the video he gets taken down quick. Oberhauser instills his fear a different way
  • Posts: 14,797
    jobo wrote: »
    I have seen many complain that Waltz is physically inferior to Craig, and that Bond could easily beat him in a fight. So what? I honestly couldn't care less. I consider arguments like that invalid. His detractors need to come up with something better.

    This is indeed a poor argument. Dr No was not a highly trained operative either and without his metal hands Bond would have beat him up easily. He was a great villain all the same. I guess Blofeld in the novel was a capable fighter. Still, who is to say this Blofeld does not have a few tricks up his sleeve, knows some martial art or something.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,328
    I think Blofeld could take on Bond...
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited November 2015 Posts: 23,883
    One of the greatest scenes in moviedom imho.

    The fear is palpable, as is the tension. Great work by Waltz & Kruger here.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,328
    Agreed, Craig's Bond isn't a unstoppable force as he was in CR and QOS, he's gotten older, not to mention that shrapnel in his shoulder messed him up a bit. He's a bit slower, plus maybe we'll see the effects of Blofeld's torture in the sequel, should everyone return. I'm really hoping Craig, Waltz, Sydoux, Bautista and company return for B25. Set up a YOLT esque story and ending with a one on one battle between Bond and Ernst in the garden of death. EON take my idea please! :D
  • Posts: 1,680
    I dont think B25 is gonna pick right up after SP, especially if Mendes is directing.
  • Thunderball007Thunderball007 United States
    edited November 2015 Posts: 306
    LOL! Christoph Waltz is awesome in this film!

    Anyone else think that it's hilarious to see his character crawling on the ground? :))
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,007
    Moment that stood out for me aside from the Rome meeting was just before Blofeld goes into his "Me......it was me, James" speech.

    That evil little half smile he gave sent shivers down my spine. The material could have been played so many ways but Waltz played it straight in the face in camp and it was delightful.

    I do agree that he lost his sinister feel towards the end and became a bit simple, though.

  • I gotta say, I called Waltz being Blofeld the second the title was announced. I'd been looking forward to his return for a while, and needless to say, he did not disappoint. The funny thing was that his silhouette kinda reminded me of Charles Gray in a way. Maybe that was my love for Rocky Horror showing, but all I could think was "I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey..."

    That aside, I'd love to see Waltz's Blofeld make a return. There's so much potential left in him.
  • AntiLocqueBrakesAntiLocqueBrakes The edge
    Posts: 538
    LOL! Christoph Waltz is awesome in this film!

    Anyone else think that it's hilarious to see his character crawling on the ground? :))

    I enjoyed it.

    Agree with @ModJohnTheMod as well. I don't want to see DC back if Waltz isn't back as well.
  • Posts: 7,500
    Murdock wrote: »
    Agreed, Craig's Bond isn't a unstoppable force as he was in CR and QOS, he's gotten older, not to mention that shrapnel in his shoulder messed him up a bit. He's a bit slower, plus maybe we'll see the effects of Blofeld's torture in the sequel, should everyone return. I'm really hoping Craig, Waltz, Sydoux, Bautista and company return for B25. Set up a YOLT esque story and ending with a one on one battle between Bond and Ernst in the garden of death. EON take my idea please! :D


    Oh yes! OH YES! [-O<
  • JohnHammond73JohnHammond73 Lancashire, UK
    edited November 2015 Posts: 4,151
    I thought he was ok in the role, I think there is a lot more to come from him. Not as menacing as he probably could be but this could be his beginning. He's captured, incarcerated, interrogated extensively and, ultimately escapes. Bond 25 could well be his revenge movie and his experience of being caught etc could well affect him in the way of turning him into the megalomaniacal Blofeld that we all know. Obviously, Bond has to go take him down. There are so many ways that Bond 25 could go I guess and I for one hope, not only Craig, but Waltz is back as well.
  • Thunderball007Thunderball007 United States
    Posts: 306
    Oberhauser crawling on the ground. LOL! =))
  • Having seen the movie twice now, I'm of the opinion that Christoph Waltz as Blofeld has HUGE potential. I hope to see him square off against Craig one or even two more times!
    He's a phenomenal actor but I would say that for his first go-round he seemed a little too much like another character he played... Hans Landa. Particularly near the end when he was about to hit the button for the 3 minute countdown, he broke out laughing and I could have sworn any second he was going to shout "Oooooooooh that's a bingo!!"

    large.gif

    His introduction in the film was strong however, when everything in the meeting went silent, and he just goes 'Don't let me interrupt'- now that was intimidating and scary-- and in the same scene when he looks directly at Bond (eeek)
    I certainly home they can bring that level of power to his future appearances!
  • Thunderball007Thunderball007 United States
    edited November 2015 Posts: 306
    Birdleson wrote: »
    With all my issues with SPECTRE, I will say that I thought Waltz makes a fine Blofeld. I hate the unnecessary Oberhauser connection, but, I must admit that I really enjoy the way, as Blofeld awaits the destruction of Bond and the MI6 Headquarters, he quietly say, "Good by James Bond." I love it because he sounds like a kid. And that kid has existed just below the surface and in reality has been carrying this chip on his shoulder for over 30 years, and is finally free of his burden.

    Yeah! Love that one! =))
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