Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Nov 5, 2015 23:55:36 GMT -5
I'll be writing a full review later but I wanted to get some thoughts out asap:
Spectre is not a perfect movie, but from where I stand as a James Bond traditionalist it's a big step in the right direction. This is the first Daniel Craig Bond movie that felt comfortable in its own skin and didn't think it was on some kind of mission to save the series and make it "relevant." Do not misconstrue this to mean that the movie is a return to the series campy past or that it completely throws out the better ideas from Skyfall and Casino Royale, rather, I think it's a pretty nice fusion of old and new. I was weary about the film's decision to maintain continuity from the last couple of movies but was mostly okay with it by the end. I don't believe for a second that the writers had planned this out all along, but there was a certain amount of minimal continuity between the Spectre movies in the Connery/Lazenby era so I can't really complain too much. Now, remember that I said this wasn't perfect? Well, that's because the film's screenplay isn't exactly airtight. There are some silly contrivances here that would probably be a lot harder to forgive if this wasn't a Bond movie. The film also wants us to take the relationship between Bond and the Bond girl more seriously than usual, and that is kind of ridiculous given that they've only known each other for something like three stress filled days. Additionally, this is not the best Bond movie from an action perspective, it has its exciting moments to be sure but set-piece for set-piece it probably can't really hold up to some of the other big action movies that have come out this year like Mission Impossible: Rouge Nation, Furious 7, and Mad Max: Fury Road. Still I think the movie is better than the sum of its parts, and by "better" I mean it adds up to a motherfucking Bond movie and because of that I'm a lot more willing to forgive its flaws.
***1/2 out of Four
Couple other stray thoughts:
The gun barrel intro is in the correct place, Hallelujah!
The Sam Smith song has grown on me a little. It works on an instrumental level and there's nothing too wrong with the lyrics, it's just Smith's wailing voice that bugs me. Also the visuals that accompany it are really good.
Hoyte van Hoytema's cinematography here is really good, but not as showy and flashy as Deakin's work in Skyfall. Personally I think this fits better in a Bond film, but I don't think I'll have the easiest time talking anyone else into feeling the same way.
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Jibbs
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Post by Jibbs on Nov 6, 2015 9:20:09 GMT -5
I only skimmed it because I don't want to know yet, but, woo-hoo! "Step in the right direction!"
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Post by Neverending on Nov 6, 2015 9:53:38 GMT -5
All you need to know is that the gunbarrel is in the beginning. |
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SnoBorderZero
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Post by SnoBorderZero on Nov 6, 2015 11:01:30 GMT -5
Can't wait to see this over the weekend. I think the 63% on RT right now is absurd. That currently pits it lower than Quantum of Solace. I think critics are being unfair, but then again I haven't seen the film yet but if Dracula is giving it 3 1/2 stars then that's a good backing for that opinion.
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Post by Deexan on Nov 6, 2015 11:03:54 GMT -5
I think it's pretty obvious that Dracbot-3000 has malfunctioned and is in need of a good oiling!
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Post by Neverending on Nov 6, 2015 11:42:22 GMT -5
Can't wait to see this over the weekend. I think the 63% on RT right now is absurd. That currently pits it lower than Quantum of Solace. I think critics are being unfair, but then again I haven't seen the film yet but if Dracula is giving it 3 1/2 stars then that's a good backing for that opinion. Dracula hated Skyfall... and Sicario. So you guys might not be on the same page. |
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Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Nov 6, 2015 11:44:31 GMT -5
Can't wait to see this over the weekend. I think the 63% on RT right now is absurd. That currently pits it lower than Quantum of Solace. I think critics are being unfair, but then again I haven't seen the film yet but if Dracula is giving it 3 1/2 stars then that's a good backing for that opinion. Dracula hated Skyfall... and Sicario. So you guys might not be on the same page. I gave both of those movies three stars... |
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SnoBorderZero
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Post by SnoBorderZero on Nov 6, 2015 11:46:23 GMT -5
He didn't hate Sicario and even if he did it's one movie, we generally agree on film like 95% of the time.
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Post by Neverending on Nov 6, 2015 11:50:33 GMT -5
He didn't hate Sicario and even if he did it's one movie, we generally agree on film like 95% of the time. This might be one of those 5%. |
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Post by Neverending on Nov 6, 2015 23:41:21 GMT -5
  In Spectre, the gunbarrel is in the beginning. M, Q and Moneypenny are back. There's gadgets. There's humor. There's women for James Bond to just have sex with. There's a silent henchman who kicks ass. And a classic villain from the 1960's returns. This should all be great news, but it isn't for two key reasons. One, Spectre TRIES to end the story that began with Casino Royale. That's problematic because it's difficult to believe that the same James Bond who was chasing that parkour guy in Madagascar is the same one who's using a gadget-filled Aston Martin to escape a henchman in Rome. And two, Daniel Craig isn't the right actor for this type of James Bond film. He doesn't have the look. He doesn't have the charm. And most importantly, he doesn't have the aura of male fantasy. If rumors are to be believed, this is his last movie as James Bond. If that is the case, they should have given him an appropriate finale and saved this script for the actor who's going to launch the next era of 007. Now, before you attack my opinions, don't misunderstand me. From a purely technical standpoint, Spectre is entertaining from beginning to end. It just doesn't feel right. That's all I'm saying. B- |
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Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Nov 7, 2015 0:51:39 GMT -5
In Spectre, the gunbarrel is in the beginning. M, Q and Moneypenny are back. There's gadgets. There's humor. There's women for James Bond to just have sex with. There's a silent henchman who kicks ass. And a classic villain from the 1960's returns. This should all be great news, but it isn't for two key reasons. One, Spectre TRIES to end the story that began with Casino Royale. That's problematic because it's difficult to believe that the same James Bond who was chasing that parkour guy in Madagascar is the same one who's using a gadget-filled Aston Martin to escape a henchman in Rome. And two, Daniel Craig isn't the right actor for this type of James Bond film. He doesn't have the look. He doesn't have the charm. And most importantly, he doesn't have the aura of male fantasy. If rumors are to be believed, this is his last movie as James Bond. If that is the case, they should have given him an appropriate finale and saved this script for the actor who's going to launch the next era of 007. Now, before you attack my opinions, don't misunderstand me. From a purely technical standpoint, Spectre is entertaining from beginning to end. It just doesn't feel right. That's all I'm saying. B-There's some truth to that. I'd love it if they went even further in the direction of the traditional Bond feel, but I'll take what I can get. |
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Post by Neverending on Nov 7, 2015 1:22:57 GMT -5
In Spectre, the gunbarrel is in the beginning. M, Q and Moneypenny are back. There's gadgets. There's humor. There's women for James Bond to just have sex with. There's a silent henchman who kicks ass. And a classic villain from the 1960's returns. This should all be great news, but it isn't for two key reasons. One, Spectre TRIES to end the story that began with Casino Royale. That's problematic because it's difficult to believe that the same James Bond who was chasing that parkour guy in Madagascar is the same one who's using a gadget-filled Aston Martin to escape a henchman in Rome. And two, Daniel Craig isn't the right actor for this type of James Bond film. He doesn't have the look. He doesn't have the charm. And most importantly, he doesn't have the aura of male fantasy. If rumors are to be believed, this is his last movie as James Bond. If that is the case, they should have given him an appropriate finale and saved this script for the actor who's going to launch the next era of 007. Now, before you attack my opinions, don't misunderstand me. From a purely technical standpoint, Spectre is entertaining from beginning to end. It just doesn't feel right. That's all I'm saying. B-There's some truth to that. I'd love it if they went even further in the direction of the traditional Bond feel, but I'll take what I can get. Spectre didn't surprise me. At the end of Skyfall, I knew EXACTLY what direction the franchise was taking. It's the opposite this time. That ending was... interesting. Either two things are gonna happen. Either A) Daniel Craig returns and they'll do the dark version of Diamonds Are Forever. Or B) they "reboot" the series with a new actor. |
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Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Nov 7, 2015 1:48:17 GMT -5
There's some truth to that. I'd love it if they went even further in the direction of the traditional Bond feel, but I'll take what I can get. Spectre didn't surprise me. At the end of Skyfall, I knew EXACTLY what direction the franchise was taking. It's the opposite this time. That ending was... interesting. Either two things are gonna happen. Either A) Daniel Craig returns and they'll do the dark version of Diamonds Are Forever. Or B) they "reboot" the series with a new actor. I was surprised when Blofeld came back into the movie in the third act. I thought they were going to leave him "dead" for most of the rest of the movie, have C be the villain at the end, have bond take him down in climactic fashion and then return home to find Léa Seydoux murdered with some sort of Blofeld calling card on the scene setting up a fifth and final Daniel Craig movie where he gets his revenge. |
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Post by Neverending on Nov 7, 2015 9:22:30 GMT -5
Spectre didn't surprise me. At the end of Skyfall, I knew EXACTLY what direction the franchise was taking. It's the opposite this time. That ending was... interesting. Either two things are gonna happen. Either A) Daniel Craig returns and they'll do the dark version of Diamonds Are Forever. Or B) they "reboot" the series with a new actor. I was surprised when Blofeld came back into the movie in the third act. I thought they were going to leave him "dead" for most of the rest of the movie, have C be the villain at the end, have bond take him down in climactic fashion and then return home to find Léa Seydoux murdered with some sort of Blofeld calling card on the scene setting up a fifth and final Daniel Craig movie where he gets his revenge. That could still happen. That's what I meant by dark version of Diamonds Are Forever. We saw what Silva could do and he was in the bottom of the food chain. Contractually, Daniel Craig has one movie left. They probably should go ahead and do it. Wrapping up the story seemed very bizarre. They have no choice but to reboot the series if Daniel Craig voids his contract. They need him to unwrap things so another actor can seamlessly replace him. |
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Post by Neverending on Nov 7, 2015 16:33:29 GMT -5
www.avclub.com/review/spectre-most-traditionaland-uneven-recent-bond-fil-227886The AV Club is touching on some of the things that Dracula and I discussed, but I'm also surprised at how much critics are misinterpreting this movie. Daniel Craig's Bond was a lot angrier in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. He's a lot more mellow here and making jokes whenever he can. Which is why the movie doesn't feel right. Craig is A LOT better as the angry Bond who says "WHO CARES" when asked if he wants his Martini shaken or stirred. Every time I read or hear a critic say that Craig is too serious and sad in Spectre, I ask myself, what fucking movie were these critics watching? Sometimes I feel like critics write their reviews before even watching the damn movie. Skyfall didn't feel fresh either. It ripped-off other movies. How is that fresh? But I understand the argument and it goes back to what I was saying earlier. Craig is not the guy for this type of movie. If Michael Fassbender had played James Bond in this movie, with the references to the other movies removed, and a cinematography style similar to Casino Royale, people would have loved it.
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Nov 7, 2015 19:40:45 GMT -5
I'd be interested to see if Christoph Waltz comes back, even in minor scenes like Blofeld had in From Russia, With Love and Thunderball.
I'll do a paragraph or two later but Bond universe aside, I think this movie's main problem was that it was tonally all over the place. It never felt serious enough but was never playful enough and ultimately it was never that suspenseful up until the very end. The car chase in Rome when Bond is being chased by the Silent Henchman(TM) but is talking to Moneypenny and making jokes over the phone, what a weird scene. Many of these action scenes didn't really gel because the movie was just pulling itself in too many directions. Still, I had fun with Spectre. I understand where the criticisms are coming from but at the end of the day there's a lot to admire about this movie including the fact that it tried its best to tip its hat to Bond of yesteryear.
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Post by Neverending on Nov 7, 2015 19:55:05 GMT -5
I'd be interested to see if Christoph Waltz comes back. If Daniel Craig comes back, he DOES have one film left in his contract, Christoph Waltz will definitely come back. There's no way to do a proper follow-up to Spectre without involving Blofeld. Even weirder was James Bond chasing the Silent Henchman (TM) in a fucking plane. |
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Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Nov 7, 2015 20:02:00 GMT -5
I'd say the weirdest thing is Q somehow being able to identify an entire criminal organization by somehow sciencing the shit out of a ring.
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Post by Neverending on Nov 7, 2015 20:03:56 GMT -5
I'd say the weirdest thing is Q somehow being able to identify an entire criminal organization by somehow sciencing the shit out of a ring. Yeah, that was stupid, but I didn't think about it too much because I was too busy watching James Bond chase a car with an airplane. |
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Post by Doomsday on Nov 7, 2015 20:04:33 GMT -5
I was going to mention that in my longer post. He has a little drive that tells him DNA profiles of a bunch of people who...touched it? Wore it? Does they say exactly? It might be an instance of 'they'll never notice' on the part of the screenwriters.
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Post by Neverending on Nov 7, 2015 20:08:32 GMT -5
It might be an instance of 'they'll never notice' on the part of the screenwriters. It's 2015. That doesn't exist anymore. |
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Post by Doomsday on Nov 7, 2015 20:15:23 GMT -5
You don't have to tell me, it's those screenwriters you should probably remind.
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Post by Neverending on Nov 7, 2015 20:20:54 GMT -5
You don't have to tell me, it's those screenwriters you should probably remind. They knew. They just didn't care. Spectre had a troubled production. |
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Post by Fanible on Nov 7, 2015 22:30:01 GMT -5
Daniel Craig has weird lips.
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Post by Neverending on Nov 7, 2015 22:34:02 GMT -5
It only took you 9 years and 4 movies to realize that.
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