SPECTRE - Your reviews. NO SPOILERS.

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  • Posts: 1,469
    I just watched it on DVD, only the second time I've seen it, the first being when it came out in the theater. I like it a lot! It is different, but then you can probably say that about every Bond movie. Two quibbles I have with it are 1) the ease and speed of Bond's escape from Blofeld's desert base and 2) the quizzical name-change from Franz Oberhauser to Ernst Stavro Blofeld, though of course it makes the Blofeld name a surprise in this movie. Other than that, while it still isn't in the top 10 of my favorite Bond films, it will move up from where I put it at #17 earlier this month (my first Bond film list), going on memory of what I thought when I first saw it about six months earlier. It kept my attention, was fun to watch, good to look at (cinematography, color schemes and sets), and good direction. I suppose the music didn't make a big impression, but it also didn't detract from the movie like it did for me in parts of Goldeneye, for instance (too maudlin in places). I found Lea Seydoux very appealing and attractive, Mr. Hinx formidable, and Blofeld a fun, slightly hammy megalomaniac, well-acted by Waltz. Bond didn't dominate the picture like Bonds have in other films, but he got the job done well...and I liked M's part. Q had some good moments too. Loved the scenery in Rome--a good car chase there.
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,586
    Glad you enjoyed it more this time around! It's certainly a gem.
  • Posts: 11,425
    Not sure it's a gem, but it's the better of Mendes two entries IMO and a big improvement in SF
  • edited July 2016 Posts: 229
    Not a bad movie, just not the best Craig one. To me it's a bit too serious. Don't get me wrong I do think Craig is one of the better actors just not on the same level as Sean Connery and Timothy Dalton. Previously, it was very over the top action but smeared with a touch of humor and self mockery a la Roger Moore. Bond should be back with it's former glory. The laser beams, the flying hats, the underwater vehicles, the one-liners and the classic music.
  • Posts: 2,594
    These "honest trailers" crack me up:



    This one made me laugh out loud:







  • Not a bad movie, just not the best Craig one. To me it's a bit too serious. Don't get me wrong I do think Craig is one of the better actors just not on the same level as Sean Connery and Timothy Dalton. Previously, it was very over the top action but smeared with a touch of humor and self mockery a la Roger Moore. Bond should be back with it's former glory. The laser beams, the flying hats, the underwater vehicles, the one-liners and the classic music.

    Good god, not a return to the Cluseau-like 70's and 80's. No thanks.
  • edited August 2016 Posts: 2,107
    Not going to copy paste my other post, nor do I know to use android that well, but like I wrote in the thread "Now that the dust has settled" , I really enjoy this movie. As good as CR or at least almost as good as that first movie. My favorite performance from Craig. Relaxed , yet still the harder edged from the previous three films. Combining the old and the new with a satisfactory manner. Better than, in my opinion the overpraised and gloom Skyfall.
  • Tired, convoluted, and simply a poor follow up to a masterpiece. Just when the towel had been rung out of all the water, they try and get out one more last squeeze...and end up with this dreck. Craig is exhausted, and as one reviewer called it perfectly exudes an "emotionally uninvolved" performance. But I don't blame him when this is what they give him to work with. Thin plotlines, cheap premises that were made up on the fly at an all night writer's deadline drinking binge...."it was all me, James!" I could have dealt with rogue agent crap once more, or even the underused and poorly written Seadoux character, but trying to pin everything I've watched over the 10 hours of Craig Bond films on SPECTRE is just horse sh*t. And as a Bond fan for many years, I take offense to the fact that this is what they came up with. I want Wade or Purvis to admit that this was planned when Quantum was developed in 2005. I bet my life savings on it that it wasn't. Nevertheless, its another QOS, another Moonraker, another VTAK. You need one to be mediocre to allow the other ones to shine. But what now? Craig #5 where he goes rogue...again? where the plot is directly related to everything from the past 4 films...again? Nonsense. Put this to rest. Blofeld went to trial and jail. Seadoux? He dropped her off at the train station after he pulled away. I don't want the last lick of he buffet plate been sitting out in the cold all day. I want the fresh platter thats waiting in the wings. I'd like Bond to take on Helen Mirren. I'd like an ingenue female love interest who is scared of the bullets and explosions, and screams "James!! oh James" once more. I feel like all these female characters have bigger sets of Balls then Bond these days. Who said they all have to? And finally, I'd like Bond not put in the same scenarios again. Guys, I know it's tough to come up with new ideas....but here's a few: hovercraft chase sequence/battle, cruise ship or military sized fleet boat, car carrier fight sequence, jungle sequence, main female older villain, Bond playing criquet, Bond playing tennis, Bond in a strip club, Bond and Leiter going after a bad guy together in the field I could go on for hours, but they haven't paid my yet : ) here's to a Bond 25 that is fresh and free of Omega watches, Aston Martins, and overused concepts.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    jbtwine84 wrote: »
    Tired, convoluted, and simply a poor follow up to a masterpiece. Just when the towel had been rung out of all the water, they try and get out one more last squeeze...and end up with this dreck. Craig is exhausted, and as one reviewer called it perfectly exudes an "emotionally uninvolved" performance. But I don't blame him when this is what they give him to work with. Thin plotlines, cheap premises that were made up on the fly at an all night writer's deadline drinking binge...."it was all me, James!" I could have dealt with rogue agent crap once more, or even the underused and poorly written Seadoux character, but trying to pin everything I've watched over the 10 hours of Craig Bond films on SPECTRE is just horse sh*t. And as a Bond fan for many years, I take offense to the fact that this is what they came up with. I want Wade or Purvis to admit that this was planned when Quantum was developed in 2005. I bet my life savings on it that it wasn't. Nevertheless, its another QOS, another Moonraker, another VTAK. You need one to be mediocre to allow the other ones to shine. But what now? Craig #5 where he goes rogue...again? where the plot is directly related to everything from the past 4 films...again? Nonsense. Put this to rest. Blofeld went to trial and jail. Seadoux? He dropped her off at the train station after he pulled away. I don't want the last lick of he buffet plate been sitting out in the cold all day. I want the fresh platter thats waiting in the wings. I'd like Bond to take on Helen Mirren. I'd like an ingenue female love interest who is scared of the bullets and explosions, and screams "James!! oh James" once more. I feel like all these female characters have bigger sets of Balls then Bond these days. Who said they all have to? And finally, I'd like Bond not put in the same scenarios again. Guys, I know it's tough to come up with new ideas....but here's a few: hovercraft chase sequence/battle, cruise ship or military sized fleet boat, car carrier fight sequence, jungle sequence, main female older villain, Bond playing criquet, Bond playing tennis, Bond in a strip club, Bond and Leiter going after a bad guy together in the field I could go on for hours, but they haven't paid my yet : ) here's to a Bond 25 that is fresh and free of Omega watches, Aston Martins, and overused concepts.
    I'm afraid I must agree with most of this, sad though it may be. I'm looking to be pleasantly surprised by the next outing as well. In the past 20 years, only GE, CR & SF have really impressed me in a positive way upon first viewing, and that's what I hope for with B25.

    As others have said numerous times here, it will really come down to the script and the director.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    jbtwine84 wrote: »
    Tired, convoluted, and simply a poor follow up to a masterpiece. Just when the towel had been rung out of all the water, they try and get out one more last squeeze...and end up with this dreck. Craig is exhausted, and as one reviewer called it perfectly exudes an "emotionally uninvolved" performance. But I don't blame him when this is what they give him to work with. Thin plotlines, cheap premises that were made up on the fly at an all night writer's deadline drinking binge...."it was all me, James!" I could have dealt with rogue agent crap once more, or even the underused and poorly written Seadoux character, but trying to pin everything I've watched over the 10 hours of Craig Bond films on SPECTRE is just horse sh*t. And as a Bond fan for many years, I take offense to the fact that this is what they came up with. I want Wade or Purvis to admit that this was planned when Quantum was developed in 2005. I bet my life savings on it that it wasn't. Nevertheless, its another QOS, another Moonraker, another VTAK. You need one to be mediocre to allow the other ones to shine. But what now? Craig #5 where he goes rogue...again? where the plot is directly related to everything from the past 4 films...again? Nonsense. Put this to rest. Blofeld went to trial and jail. Seadoux? He dropped her off at the train station after he pulled away. I don't want the last lick of he buffet plate been sitting out in the cold all day. I want the fresh platter thats waiting in the wings. I'd like Bond to take on Helen Mirren. I'd like an ingenue female love interest who is scared of the bullets and explosions, and screams "James!! oh James" once more. I feel like all these female characters have bigger sets of Balls then Bond these days. Who said they all have to? And finally, I'd like Bond not put in the same scenarios again. Guys, I know it's tough to come up with new ideas....but here's a few: hovercraft chase sequence/battle, cruise ship or military sized fleet boat, car carrier fight sequence, jungle sequence, main female older villain, Bond playing criquet, Bond playing tennis, Bond in a strip club, Bond and Leiter going after a bad guy together in the field I could go on for hours, but they haven't paid my yet : ) here's to a Bond 25 that is fresh and free of Omega watches, Aston Martins, and overused concepts.

    The hazards of posting after a night on the lash.

    Moments of inspiration and clear lucidity interspersed with utter gibberish.

    New ideas? 'Hovercraft chase'? Yep they've never done that before. 'Cruise ship'? Just throwing out random words constitutes an idea does it?

    Have to say I love the notion of Bond playing 'criquet' although I'm still trying to work out if that is where you try to hit a six with a huge mallet or try and hit balls through hoops with a cricket bat.

    This guy is one more shot of vodka from being inspired.
  • edited September 2016 Posts: 12,837
    jbtwine84 wrote: »
    here's to a Bond 25 that is fresh and free of Omega watches, Aston Martins, and overused concepts.

    This is something I agree with actually. Well it depends on whether Craig comes back or not. But if there's a new actor I'd like them to differentiate him from Craig in the same way that they differentiated Moore from Connery. The brands are a big part of that, imo. So no more Aston Martin, no more Tom Ford, no more Omega. He has to remain stylish but I want the next Bond to feel different.

    And while we're at it can we get rid of vodka martini shaken not stirred entirely? I liked how the Craig era played with it and how it came to its natural conclusion in SP (finally says the full catchphrase, and the bar doesn't even serve alcohol) but honestly it doesn't even give me the slightest sense of fanboy joy when Bond says it. It just feels like going through the motions, I'd rather Bond's drinking habits varied a bit like they do in the novels (although to be fair I do remember Fleming's Bond drinking bourbon more than anything else). Plus they actually moved away from it. Moore never said it and I'm not sure Lazenby did either. They went a good 20 years without it. So lets move on again please.

    And I think this goes without saying, but lets let the DB5 ride off into the sunset with Craig. Not sure why they keep using it but it has to stop. One of the reasons I loved the DB10 was that it was a genuine attempt at creating a new icon (a car developed just for the film). More of that please.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    The Aston Martins, Tom Ford and Omegas won't go away. That's valuable product placement and money the production needs, and featuring those items help them immensely. Those things have a function beyond just showing what Bond wears or drives, and impacts the making of the film itself with those companies subsidizing Bond.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    chrisisall wrote: »
    Birdleson wrote: »
    That's the beauty ( one of the beauties) of the '60 Bond films. Continuity was meaningless, only used when it served the story. Each film could exist independently. That was of primary concern, rather than pissing about film to film continuity. I thought that, with SKYFALL, maybe we had returned to that philosophy, but obviously, and sadly, I've been proven wrong.
    Okay, here's a long tirade.
    I was not the biggest fan of Casino Royale because I didn't buy a 40 year old Bond just becoming a Double-O...then the (IMO) botched Vesper death. But I've come to appreciate it for the high octane blast that it is.
    I initially disliked Quantum Of Solace for the dizzying film-making, and the fact that it was a direct (in terms of hours) sequel to CR. I have come to love it as a stand alone (in my mind).
    I initially quite disliked Skyfall for its rush to send Bond into his latter dislike of his profession and severe burn out, not to mention the 'hey we can use this flick to get rid of Dench & squeeze a tear out of audiences in the process' tripe. But, it WAS a stand alone, and for that I was grateful.
    That brings me to SPECTRE. Merely finding out early on that Jesper Christensen was in it made me feel all warm & fuzzy inside. I realized where they were taking it, and I approved. Yes, give me a stupid but FUN Bond again. If they couldn't maintain the QOS level of awesome, then at LEAST I can smile a bit. And that's what happened. They gave me a dopey, exciting retcon that made more sense of the previous (and as dopey) SF, and all is well now.
    In the end, Craig's tenure was a unique and interesting experiment. A worthy decade. But not God's gift. Just another fine chapter in cinematic Bond history.
    End tirade.

    My dear Chris.

    As usual you get it.
    Nominated for post of the year!
  • NicNacNicNac Administrator, Moderator
    Posts: 7,567
    jbtwine84 wrote: »
    Tired, convoluted, and simply a poor follow up to a masterpiece. Just when the towel had been rung out of all the water, they try and get out one more last squeeze...and end up with this dreck. Craig is exhausted, and as one reviewer called it perfectly exudes an "emotionally uninvolved" performance. But I don't blame him when this is what they give him to work with. Thin plotlines, cheap premises that were made up on the fly at an all night writer's deadline drinking binge...."it was all me, James!" I could have dealt with rogue agent crap once more, or even the underused and poorly written Seadoux character, but trying to pin everything I've watched over the 10 hours of Craig Bond films on SPECTRE is just horse sh*t. And as a Bond fan for many years, I take offense to the fact that this is what they came up with. I want Wade or Purvis to admit that this was planned when Quantum was developed in 2005. I bet my life savings on it that it wasn't. Nevertheless, its another QOS, another Moonraker, another VTAK. You need one to be mediocre to allow the other ones to shine. But what now? Craig #5 where he goes rogue...again? where the plot is directly related to everything from the past 4 films...again? Nonsense. Put this to rest. Blofeld went to trial and jail. Seadoux? He dropped her off at the train station after he pulled away. I don't want the last lick of he buffet plate been sitting out in the cold all day. I want the fresh platter thats waiting in the wings. I'd like Bond to take on Helen Mirren. I'd like an ingenue female love interest who is scared of the bullets and explosions, and screams "James!! oh James" once more. I feel like all these female characters have bigger sets of Balls then Bond these days. Who said they all have to? And finally, I'd like Bond not put in the same scenarios again. Guys, I know it's tough to come up with new ideas....but here's a few: hovercraft chase sequence/battle, cruise ship or military sized fleet boat, car carrier fight sequence, jungle sequence, main female older villain, Bond playing criquet, Bond playing tennis, Bond in a strip club, Bond and Leiter going after a bad guy together in the field I could go on for hours, but they haven't paid my yet : ) here's to a Bond 25 that is fresh and free of Omega watches, Aston Martins, and overused concepts.

    The hazards of posting after a night on the lash.

    Moments of inspiration and clear lucidity interspersed with utter gibberish.

    New ideas? 'Hovercraft chase'? Yep they've never done that before. 'Cruise ship'? Just throwing out random words constitutes an idea does it?

    Have to say I love the notion of Bond playing 'criquet' although I'm still trying to work out if that is where you try to hit a six with a huge mallet or try and hit balls through hoops with a cricket bat.

    This guy is one more shot of vodka from being inspired.

    NicNac picks himself off the floor and wipes the tears from his eyes.

    Also, what the hell is a car carrier fight sequence?
    jbtwine84 wrote:
    I feel like all these female characters have bigger sets of Balls then Bond these days. Who said they all have to?
    Old wives tale. Bond women have been strong and independent since like forever.
    Pussy, Tracy, Aki, Anya (supposedly), Holly Goodhead, even Honey was strong & independent to an extent. Into the 80s - only Stacey is totally wet, and even she is willing to stand up to Zorin.
  • w2bondw2bond is indeed a very rare breed
    Posts: 2,252
    True but a strong and independent character does not necessary mean the final product is convincing *cough*Jones*cough*
  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,195
    w2bond wrote: »
    True but a strong and independent character does not necessary mean the final product is convincing *cough*Jones*cough*

    "Indiana Jones" is a very convincing character for me :-) Or do you mean ... ah ... that is true...

  • MalloryMallory Do mosquitoes have friends?
    Posts: 2,032
    The more and more I watch Spectre I find myself thinking that the whole Nine Eyes sub plot should have been the focus of the entire film.

    The concept in itself is good. In order to counteract governments messing in their business, Spectre have managed, through fear, intimidation, bribery and terrorism, to get countries to join forces to build a highly sophisticated intelligence gathering network. Which they have a back door into.

    This really needed to be the driver of the film, with perhaps the Spectre element revealed towards the end of the movie. Also, calling the movie 'Spectre' doesn't help.

    Additionally Bond is never disadvantaged by the whole Nine Eyes angle. How does Nine Eyes impact Bond directly, as well as MI6. Perhaps if Bond were to go on a mission and the whole thing go belly up because Spectre have been listening in on the mission in progress.

    So much potential with this kind of story just not made best use of.
  • Posts: 154
    Have to admit i don't understand the hate this film is getting, especially in the states.Craig's first 2 Bond films were quite dark and a bit short on fun which is fine for a film or two but after Quantum Of Solace i found myself wanting the fun and spectacle back, we got a glimpse of it in Skyfall but in Spectre it's back properly .
    Granted it does go downhill a bit in the third act but it doesn't fall off a cliff like Die Another Day does.
    nitpicking aside It's a couple of hours of escapism and fun and i refuse to think that's a bad thing .

    The hate is coming from the establishment press under orders. Their owners don't like the anti-NWO, anti-surveillance angle of the movie. They want movies that condition us to accept such things. Never trust corporate media critics for a fair review. They always have an agenda and seldom give an honest review. Trust word of mouth -- but even then you have to be careful because peoples perceptions are affected by what they read in the press. SP was a great Bond movie.
  • Posts: 1,680
    Spectre was good, I think everyone agrees on that. but it needed more substance. They could have built up the plot if they wanted to
  • SuperintendentSuperintendent A separate pool. For sharks, no less.
    Posts: 870
    gklein wrote: »
    Have to admit i don't understand the hate this film is getting, especially in the states.Craig's first 2 Bond films were quite dark and a bit short on fun which is fine for a film or two but after Quantum Of Solace i found myself wanting the fun and spectacle back, we got a glimpse of it in Skyfall but in Spectre it's back properly .
    Granted it does go downhill a bit in the third act but it doesn't fall off a cliff like Die Another Day does.
    nitpicking aside It's a couple of hours of escapism and fun and i refuse to think that's a bad thing .

    The hate is coming from the establishment press under orders. Their owners don't like the anti-NWO, anti-surveillance angle of the movie. They want movies that condition us to accept such things. Never trust corporate media critics for a fair review. They always have an agenda and seldom give an honest review. Trust word of mouth -- but even then you have to be careful because peoples perceptions are affected by what they read in the press. SP was a great Bond movie.

    This actually could be true. That thought came to my mind as well after SP came out.

    The same thing could be the reason why Batman V Superman and Suicide Squad got extremely bad reviews from the media. Both films are highly subversive, and they present the system as corrupt and deceitful. In BVS, the government makes deals with criminals and creates a monster that causes death and destruction.

    That said, I dislike SP, but for different reasons. The Nine Eyes subplot is the part of the film I somewhat like.

  • Posts: 1,165
    Mallory wrote: »
    The more and more I watch Spectre I find myself thinking that the whole Nine Eyes sub plot should have been the focus of the entire film.

    The concept in itself is good. In order to counteract governments messing in their business, Spectre have managed, through fear, intimidation, bribery and terrorism, to get countries to join forces to build a highly sophisticated intelligence gathering network. Which they have a back door into.

    This really needed to be the driver of the film, with perhaps the Spectre element revealed towards the end of the movie. Also, calling the movie 'Spectre' doesn't help.

    Additionally Bond is never disadvantaged by the whole Nine Eyes angle. How does Nine Eyes impact Bond directly, as well as MI6. Perhaps if Bond were to go on a mission and the whole thing go belly up because Spectre have been listening in on the mission in progress.

    So much potential with this kind of story just not made best use of.

    I agree 100% with this post. That would have been a fantastic move. Especially introducting Spectre to the puppetmasters at the end of the movie. It's rare Bond movies have a surprising ending. Imagine the rush you'd get going into Bond 24 (it would need a different title to 'Spectre') thinking that the movie was solely focusing on Bond v Nine Eyes, only to have it revealed that Spectre and Blofeld are back!
  • Posts: 1,469
    Just finished it and enjoyed it again. A few things I enjoyed this time were Bond's marksmanship with the assault rifle during the escape from Blofeld's desert base, and seeing M in action and with his Glock.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    @Thrasos I watched a bit of the film today too, just because I was thinking of it. I watched from Bond meeting Q in the lab to around when Bond visits White. That stretch of the movie is one of my favorite string of scenes in Bond, great moment after great moment. From that point we get to see White's hotel, giving us more of an idea of Bond and Madeleine's dynamic, and get to see Bond react to the humanity in his old enemy while seeing how he cared for his daughter. Follow that with the Hinx train scene and you've got one of the best sections of a Bond film for me. It's moody, atmospheric, engrossing, all of it.

    I have some issues with the third act, but nothing that sinks the film. With the torture scene's aftermath fixed up a little bit (to show Bond struggling to escape) I'd have very little to complain about when it comes to this film. It's like QoS all over again for me, seeing the greatness in a movie that hasn't yet caught on to a lot of people. But I shall march on...
  • Posts: 1,469
    Yeah, I forgot to mention the fight scene on the train with Hinx, which I think is pretty powerful. I like the "plot devices" in the scene, like showing Hinx' reflection on the cocktail shaker, reminiscent of the scene in the Goldfinger PTS when Bond sees the reflection of a thug in the eyes of the woman he's kissing...and Bond grabs the bar on the ceiling of the train car and tries to kick Hinx (reminds me of Moore doing that to Jaws on the train in TSWLM), but it backfires on Bond and Hinx grabs and tosses him.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    It's also got some of the best sound design in the series. The Rome meeting is a masterpiece of sound design with all the anxious whispers and creaks, and I love how you can hear the blood dripping from White's wound in the silence following his suicide, and how the Hinx fight is left without a score so that you feel every hit that is landed between the men. It's all such wonderfully visceral stuff, great choices in filmmaking.
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,586
    Skyfall and Spectre are audio masterpieces.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    jake24 wrote: »
    Skyfall and Spectre are audio masterpieces.

    Both films, especially the latter, have really gotten me thinking consciously of how sound is used in films in a way few Bond films have. The way the team realized scenes like the Rome meeting, the Bond/White talk and Hinx fight in SP or the shooting competition or Scotland scenes in SF (with all the sounds of the moors and highlands) really give a whole new life to the films.
  • Posts: 2,491
    Seeing this thread again on the first page of the forum and as I recently saw the movie again..I have to rant a little bit.

    This movie wasn't good. I mean at start it was alright but after multiple viewings there are so many dumb things.

    Blofeld being 007 brother

    The whole "oh he's not blofeld! he's someone else!" thing they did before the movie

    Bond falling in love easily for no reason

    Bond's brain being electrified and still being able to know things and beat people

    Bond ending up in some pseudo happy ending with Swann was bad idea as well.

    Bond going rogue again 2nd movie in a row wasn't needed as well.

    Bond sleeping with Bellucci after her husband died..seemed weird even though I get it she didn't love him and bla bla

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