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007 SPECTRE |OT| It's me, Austin. It was me all along, Austin.

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Fancy Clown said:
Yeah, it was sitting pretty at like 90% on RT for the UK premiere, and then US critics dropped it to 65 or whatever it is now. Is it the campiness I hear about that does it? I may be talking out my ass but maybe the Brits enjoy that sort of thing in their spy fiction more than Americans, like I think Kingsman may have been more popular across the pond than it was here for that reason (based on totally anecdotal evidence).
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Eh? Wasn't Kingsman very popular (or at least tenacious at the box office) in America?

I think it's more that British critics fall for the brand power of Bond more than American ones. (YMMV on whether they did the same for Skyfall)
 
It's weird, I agree with a lot of Drew's issues with Spectre, but I still really enjoyed it, perhaps more so than Skyfall.

I think it brought back a sense of fun to the franchise, with some fantastic, dry humour, excellent action and chase scenes, and the best henchman since Xenia in Goldeneye. It certainly feels like the most "traditional" Bond film since at least The World is Not Enough, and I can see why it would be better received by UK critics than US ones.

Probably worth pointing out that Casino Royale is my favourite Bond film, tied with Goldeneye and FRWL.
 
tomtom94 said:
Eh? Wasn't Kingsman very popular (or at least tenacious at the box office) in America?

I think it's more that British critics fall for the brand power of Bond more than American ones. (YMMV on whether they did the same for Skyfall)
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It's definitely not a clear divide like Spectre, but from a lot of the opinions Ive heard (not critics) Brits tend to like it a lot more. But again, that's totally anecdotal and you're right it's more likely a brand/cultural icon thing.
 
Fancy Clown said:
Yeah, it was sitting pretty at like 90% on RT for the UK premiere, and then US critics dropped it to 65 or whatever it is now. Is it the campiness I hear about that does it? I may be talking out my ass but maybe the Brits enjoy that sort of thing in their spy fiction more than Americans, like I think Kingsman may have been more popular across the pond than it was here for that reason (based on totally anecdotal evidence).
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Mission Impossible is campy as hell though.
 
Stet said:
Mission Impossible is campy as hell though.
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The thing is, Mission Impossible sort of embraces it to a certain degree and has a certain tone accompany it.

Bond is still grimacing and brooding and dark - in acting and cinematography - but they're doing this weird tonal thing where the narratives themselves are ridiculous and corny.
 
Window said:
I think Bond's irrelevance has been in question ever since Goldeneye.

M: " I think you're a sexist, misogynist dinosaur. A relic of the Cold War"

It's never been adequately addressed outside of just acknowledging it (but why acknowledge it if it won't be addressed?).
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It definitely felt annoying in Skyfall not because they were saying he was obsolete, but because it was a cocky young computer hacker type telling him he was obsolete because "blah blah I can do more than you with just a few strokes of the keyboard lol". Actually I can't remember if it was Q or the bad guy saying that, I think it was both to varying degrees?

There has got to be a TV Tropes entry somewhere for lines of dialogue like that. I feel like I've seen a million movies where characters have said something like "woah amazing what you can do with an internet connection" as they blow up an oil pipeline remotely or hack the pentagon lawn sprinklers or whatever.
 
Blader said:
It does awkwardly lurch from the newly minted 007 of CR and QoS to Bond suddenly as an old, grizzled agent who may not be relevant or up to the job anymore.

I get why they did it -- it's a nice meta tie-in to the 50th anniversary -- but it would've been nice to have a movie in between QoS and Skyfall that had a Bond who wasn't too new or too old.
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Bond never acts like a new 00 in CR though. There is the opening scene and a line by M about promoting him too soon but otherwise he is never naive or haphazard. He is as much classic Bond as Connery was in Dr No. And that is why it was good, there was a nod to Craig being a true reboot so they could spin out a longer continuity and dispense with Brosnan (even though they kept M)

The rejection of Quantum was due to the plot being too complex. Compared to CR it is about the same but you can strip the CR plot down to a simple narrative, "Bond must beat the bad guy at cards" the stuff with Mr White, the African war lord, the whole first hour of the movie in fact is not needed to understand the clash at the end of the film. QoS needed the audience to pay attention and remember details from previous movies, apparently the Bond audience wasn't in that mind set. And to be fair it had never been necessary for other Bond movies.

Instead of seeing those issues the producers have decided the plot was too new and not Bond. Now they are in a nostalgia tailspin. Delving into Bond's history that needs no telling in the first place removes some of the sheen off the character. The conversation with Vesper was really everything you need to know about Bond. His house, his childhood. None of that has ever mattered to Bond he is completely unsentimental which is why at the end of Goldeneye there is the cathartic moment "For England James", "No, for me".

I expect even more nostalgia with Bond 25, it has become a franchise obsessed by itself.
 
loved the intro imagery, but the song is still bad.
by that i mean all of the casino royale stuff. if that hadn't been there, i doubt i would have given this film a like.
casino royale is so good that it elevated this film simply by the references to it. minimum as they were.
 
ThoseDeafMutes said:
It definitely felt annoying in Skyfall not because they were saying he was obsolete, but because it was a cocky young computer hacker type telling him he was obsolete because "blah blah I can do more than you with just a few strokes of the keyboard lol". Actually I can't remember if it was Q or the bad guy saying that, I think it was both to varying degrees?

There has got to be a TV Tropes entry somewhere for lines of dialogue like that. I feel like I've seen a million movies where characters have said something like "woah amazing what you can do with an internet connection" as they blow up an oil pipeline remotely or hack the pentagon lawn sprinklers or whatever.
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it was Q, using a Turner painting as a rather apt comparison

then Bond quickly demolishes him and his pc by tracing Silva's plan in a matter of seconds
 
Oh my days, What the fuck did I just watch? This has to be the worse Daniel Craig bond yet; can't believe they went from casino Royale and sky fall to this.
 
DMczaf said:
Y'all shitting on Nolan deserve QoS, Skyfall and SPECTRE

DESERVE IT! All of it!! This is on YOU.
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You want to know what a Nolan Bond would be like?
Where are those TDKR gifs.
Although there is no doubt Mendez took Pfister's imagery and aesthetics to the Bond franchise.
 
LucidMomentum said:
As people who enjoyed Skyfall and absolutely loves Casino Royale, would the missus and I be in for a good time if we saw it next week?
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I think you would. Obviously it depends on your own personal taste, but I see no reason why you wouldn't enjoy this at least to a certain degree.
 
Also, they completely wasted Monica Bellucci.

She looked damn fine in that lingerie though.
 
The RT is at 65% now man. Same as Quantum of Solace.
WTF happened.

Killing my hype. Collider gave it a C- too and I love that guy's reviews.
 
I dunno....Ghost Protocol has a 93% on RT loool, I'll take Quantum of Solace over it any day

Never know what reviews to trust for these spy franchises. Unless I hear talk of Brosnan-era cornball-camp then I'm not too worried.
 
The middling American reviews are really bumming me out!

My friend got us VIP tickets for Spectre on Monday, but my expectations have been lowered.

Well, at least we'll have Warren Ellis' James Bond comic coming out this week

JamesBond01CovDIncen20Mooney.jpg
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NotTheGuyYouKill said:
The middling American reviews are really bumming me out!

My friend got us VIP tickets for Spectre on Monday, but my expectations have been lowered.

Well, at least we'll have Warren Ellis' James Bond comic coming out this week
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Hyped as hell for it

Love Warren Ellis
 
Those reviews are rough... I'm a huge fan of Casino Royale and (to a lesser extent) Skyfall. Hoping for the best with this.

-Plasma Reus- said:
You want to know what a Nolan Bond would be like?
Where are those TDKR gifs.
Although there is no doubt Mendez took Pfister's imagery and aesthetics to the Bond franchise.
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Why would you pick the absolute worst moments from his career to characterize him as a filmmaker? He's inarguably acclaimed and well respected.
 
DMczaf said:
Y'all shitting on Nolan deserve QoS, Skyfall and SPECTRE

DESERVE IT! All of it!! This is on YOU.
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I mean if we want to get a director who doesn't respect the source material and ignores the established characterization of a character then yes, by all means get Chris Nolan.
 
Purple Cheeto said:
I mean if we want to get a director who doesn't respect the source material and ignores the established characterization of a character then yes, by all means get Chris Nolan.
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Oh my god, are we gonna do this whole "TDK AINT MUH BATMAN" shit again?

EDIT: And the funny thing is, people give Burton Batman a pass when he up and murders people
 
Went to an early screening.

The movie sort of resembles its theme song: it starts off somewhat interesting and promising, then gradually squanders that promise until you're left thinking, "That's it?"

Basically, the Sony leak's concerns - centered around the third act having no emotional stakes or heft - were correct. I'd even go as far to say that it was the least engaging Bond finale in some time; it felt like there were no stakes and the good guys win so easily that it almost comes across like a joke.
 
Bobby Roberts said:
Drew's full review came out and he's as close as I've seen him in awhile to the sort of fire he used on Abrams' old Superman script. Nowhere near that bad, of course - but he's definitely out to kick the picture in the shins pretty hard.

The review flat out spoils "the twist" as it were, and then he spends a couple paragraphs explaining why he thinks its so stupid, and why it retroactively kills the previous 3 movies for him.

Really does, so far, seem to be a clean split down the Atlantic as to how the movie's being received.
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Drew's review is exactly how I feel. The one hope I've got for one final Craig Bond is that there is a Damon Bourne on the way and that inspires the Bond screenwriters to once again write a script that is sharp as a knife and brings back CR Bond.
 
Bobby Roberts said:
Drew's full review came out and he's as close as I've seen him in awhile to the sort of fire he used on Abrams' old Superman script. Nowhere near that bad, of course - but he's definitely out to kick the picture in the shins pretty hard.

The review flat out spoils "the twist" as it were, and then he spends a couple paragraphs explaining why he thinks its so stupid, and why it retroactively kills the previous 3 movies for him.

Really does, so far, seem to be a clean split down the Atlantic as to how the movie's being received.
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I barely even realised there was a twist. Neither did the characters seem to. It was so stupid.
 
I watched it last weekend and I enjoyed it. Ranking the Craig movies:

1. Casino Royale
2. Skyfall
3. Spectre
4. Quantum of Solace
 
Bobby Roberts said:
Drew's full review came out and he's as close as I've seen him in awhile to the sort of fire he used on Abrams' old Superman script. Nowhere near that bad, of course - but he's definitely out to kick the picture in the shins pretty hard.

The review flat out spoils "the twist" as it were, and then he spends a couple paragraphs explaining why he thinks its so stupid, and why it retroactively kills the previous 3 movies for him.

Really does, so far, seem to be a clean split down the Atlantic as to how the movie's being received.
Click to expand...

This review encapsulates my feelings very nicely.
 
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