James Bond: Spectre

[SWoll]

Just got back from the 5:45 screening with the wife and 11 year old son. Got to say, I was totally underwhelmed and found myself checking my watch after about an hour (always a bad sign). Far too many eye roll moments, a lack of wow factor and the whole thing just felt rushed and lazy to me.

Not a patch on either Skyfall or Casino Royale and not much better than the woeful QOS IMHO.

6/10

[Ayahuasca]

6/10 very disappointing. Down there with the worst.

FFS tell an ORIGINAL story!

Far to many obvious references to previous Bond films.

The fight on the train with the giant baddie - Russian with Love and Spy who Loved Me. Even one of the fight moves - holding the ceiling and two footed kick was a reference. Half expecting Bond to grab a lamp and electrocute the baddies metal teeth.

Baddie lair in crater - You Only Live Twice

White cat - ditto

Hall of mirrors with images of Bond - Man with the Golden Gun

Mountaintop clinic - OHMSS

Skiing through an alpine barn during snow chase - For Your Eyes Only

Stapped to a high tech torture machine - Goldfinger

Aston ejection seat - Goldfinger

Probably lots more that I missed.


The best Bond in my humble is Casino Royale because it was a gritty, no gadgets, tough 007, believably menacing baddies. This one saw an unwelcome return to Gadget Bond and the baddie was as menacing as his cat.

[Halb]

I felt the fight was more, From Russia With Love, but that be because it is my favourite fight scene in a movie.
I'll have to watch all four again and compare.

[31mph]

I wasn't convinced by Blofeld, he just didn't come across as much of a villain, as my mate said as we left the cinema, he looked like a match of the day pundit.

And you could see the twist with 'C' coming a mile off, there's no way they'd cast Andrew Scott for a role and not have him turn out to be a baddie...

[MiniMan64]

31mph said:

I wasn't convinced by Blofeld, he just didn't come across as much of a villain, as my mate said as we left the cinema, he looked like a match of the day pundit.

And you could see the twist with 'C' coming a mile off, there's no way they'd cast Andrew Scott for a role and not have him turn out to be a baddie...

It would have been more of a twist to actually have him NOT be a baddie.

[killsta]

Pesty said:

There are a couple iirc but the main one has to be one of the most sadistic ever to hit a screen. And nobody remembers it.


zorin floods the mines killing hundreds of workers or a lot anyway. Him and his mate then sub machine gun the survivors smiling like loons. They don't even reload they just pick up more sub machine guns already prepared.

Ok it's not too graphic as it would be these days but off the top of my head I can't think of something as psychotic especially in a 'kids' film.

Wasn't there something similar in Tomorrow Never Dies? Not seen it for a while but seem to recall some very blonde German guy machine gunning some survivors after they've just sunk a ship.

[Quarterly]

Ayahuasca said:

6/10 very disappointing. Down there with the worst.

FFS tell an ORIGINAL story!

Far to many obvious references to previous Bond films.

The fight on the train with the giant baddie - Russian with Love and Spy who Loved Me. Even one of the fight moves - holding the ceiling and two footed kick was a reference. Half expecting Bond to grab a lamp and electrocute the baddies metal teeth.

Baddie lair in crater - You Only Live Twice

White cat - ditto

Hall of mirrors with images of Bond - Man with the Golden Gun

Mountaintop clinic - OHMSS

Skiing through an alpine barn during snow chase - For Your Eyes Only

Stapped to a high tech torture machine - Goldfinger

Aston ejection seat - Goldfinger

Probably lots more that I missed.


The best Bond in my humble is Casino Royale because it was a gritty, no gadgets, tough 007, believably menacing baddies. This one saw an unwelcome return to Gadget Bond and the baddie was as menacing as his cat.

Dam, you beat me to it. Considering the budget, you'd think they could have thought of some original ideas. I would love to see a Bond film where the women aren't always so feeble they can only sit in the back of a Range Rover, get rescued through a series of impossible coincidences and then say they didn't want to be rescued. Also, as you mentioned, why does the baddy always have to be based in a volcano or meteor crater and then get completely destroyed by a small explosive device. Come on Broccoli, this is just laziness!

5/10 from me.

[Pesty]

killsta said:

Wasn't there something similar in Tomorrow Never Dies? Not seen it for a while but seem to recall some very blonde German guy machine gunning some survivors after they've just sunk a ship.

Yes herr stamper ( think that was his name) machine guns British sailors with Chinese machine guns to start a war.

He's a nutter but a professional like his mentor. Walken is laughing and thoroughly enjoying it. It wasn't done for any reason other than pleasure the bomb would have killed any survivors anyway.

It's the shear joy on walkens face that makes the scene I to something else

[Quarterly]

Just one final thing from me (to get it off my chest ) In the final scenes 'C' fell over the edge of a glass screen to his death, but I felt this was too kind. I want him to be hanging on by his finger tips so that 'M' could stamp on them. : It needed to be more gritty and less PC.

[Halb]

Pesty said:

There are a couple iirc but the main one has to be one of the most sadistic ever to hit a screen. And nobody remembers it.
zorin floods the mines killing hundreds of workers or a lot anyway. Him and his mate then sub machine gun the survivors smiling like loons. They don't even reload they just pick up more sub machine guns already prepared.
Ok it's not too graphic as it would be these days but off the top of my head I can't think of something as psychotic especially in a 'kids' film.

Ah yes.
'But these men are loyal to you, Zorin!!'
Total loon, that baddie, one of the best. Gunning down his own men because it's simpler, and fun!!!

killsta said:

Wasn't there something similar in Tomorrow Never Dies? Not seen it for a while but seem to recall some very blonde German guy machine gunning some survivors after they've just sunk a ship.

Yeah, but that was a job. Zorin murdered his entire crew and number two just for the lolz. fking nutter!

[Pesty]

Found it. Not quite as I remembered he does as for some clips(tut) for his uzi, no new york re loads.

Nice touches are the electrocution and the kick to the face it's well established through the film that he's a psyco


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lj-FvdszohE

[BrabusMog]

Pesty said:

killsta said:

Wasn't there something similar in Tomorrow Never Dies? Not seen it for a while but seem to recall some very blonde German guy machine gunning some survivors after they've just sunk a ship.

Yes herr stamper ( think that was his name) machine guns British sailors with Chinese machine guns to start a war.

Yep, you're correct. And his boss could type really quickly with one hand.

[SpudLink]

I always thought Zorin was machine gunning his men to ensure none escaped the mine. No loose ends, as the movie bad guys say. His psychotic enjoyment was just a bonus.

[Civpilot]

Quarterly said:

Ayahuasca said:

6/10 very disappointing. Down there with the worst.

FFS tell an ORIGINAL story!

Far to many obvious references to previous Bond films.

The fight on the train with the giant baddie - Russian with Love and Spy who Loved Me. Even one of the fight moves - holding the ceiling and two footed kick was a reference. Half expecting Bond to grab a lamp and electrocute the baddies metal teeth.

Baddie lair in crater - You Only Live Twice

White cat - ditto

Hall of mirrors with images of Bond - Man with the Golden Gun

Mountaintop clinic - OHMSS

Skiing through an alpine barn during snow chase - For Your Eyes Only

Stapped to a high tech torture machine - Goldfinger

Aston ejection seat - Goldfinger

Probably lots more that I missed.


The best Bond in my humble is Casino Royale because it was a gritty, no gadgets, tough 007, believably menacing baddies. This one saw an unwelcome return to Gadget Bond and the baddie was as menacing as his cat.

Dam, you beat me to it. Considering the budget, you'd think they could have thought of some original ideas. I would love to see a Bond film where the women aren't always so feeble they can only sit in the back of a Range Rover, get rescued through a series of impossible coincidences and then say they didn't want to be rescued. Also, as you mentioned, why does the baddy always have to be based in a volcano or meteor crater and then get completely destroyed by a small explosive device. Come on Broccoli, this is just laziness!

5/10 from me.

Agree with both of you.

Saw it Friday night with a mate, and not withstanding the opening 5minute long single tracking shot I was just confused at how they have managed to go from the fantastic Casino Royale full circle back to this utterly lacking Roger Moore tribute movie. Casino proved that Bond doesn't need the Hollywood added gadgets, he doesn't need the generic baddies with secret bases. He just needs bloody good storytelling.

When it finished me and my mate both looked at each other with the same confused look on our face then compared how many times we had checked our watches. Enjoyable in a "better than what was on TV tonight" way, but not a patch on anything they have done with Daniel Craig so far. Enjoyed Quantum of Solace more (seriously! At least with Quantum you can double hit it with Casino and it makes perfect sense)

In fact the only thing that saved the trip was the trailer for Episode 7 before the movie.... and the way that the second the first frame of it appeared on screen the entire screening was totally silent. Not one word or one rustle of sweet packets. In fact we talked about that more on the way out than the Bond movie we just watched.

5/10 (but that is with two points added for the opening tracking shot)

[iSore]

After the tremendous Skyfall (in my top 5) I'm in two minds about Spectre. It was okay but no more than that. They keep dragging that sodding DB5 out (please, just bury the fking thing) as some cheesy nod to Connery etc when they really don't need to. Spectre was a cold war era storyline best left in the past, 50 years ago.

Having seen various Bond films at the pictures (The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, A view to a Kill, Goldeneye and Skyfall) this one is just a bit meh. It hasn't left a lasting impression on me and it won't be remembered as a classic the way Goldfinger is now.

[Justices]

Incredibly my good friend who I'd watched Skyfall with in Tokyo just happened to be in town for the Thursday night release in LA. I settled into the comfy automatic reclining seat with popcorn and milkduds at the ready. I was a bit underwhelmed by the opening scene. Then fell asleep, waking briefly during the louder moments of the film. No idea what happened or if I missed anything. The bits I didn't sleep through didn't seem very engaging though..

[blearyeyedboy]

Have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. A bit of cheese and not as good as Skyfall, but enjoyable.

Andrew Scott was a poor choice for C though. Typecast much? Far better to try to develop him into a good guy if you're going to use an actor like him rather than reprise a less-effective Moriarty.

[glazbagun]

I wonder if people want different things from the same film. I thought Skyfall was pretty rubbish- the ending was pure Home Alone, the master plan was dependent on the most impossible series of coincidences, his cringing "seduction" of the girl on the yacht with a history of sexual abuse (who he later shot) made even the Monica Bellucci "I just killed your husband, let's get it on!" scene seem plausible.

There are things I would have tweaked in Spectre to make a better film, but overall I thought it did a good job of rounding up the Craig era. I agree that Blofeld should have been given more depth or motivation. If he's an aloof supervillan then no problem, but why bother linking him with Bond at all? If I were a super-billionair evil mastermind, I'd have better things to worry about than my adopted brother from decades past who ended up joining the intelligence services.

Edited by glazbagun on Sunday 8th November 12:49

[GetCarter]

glazbagun said:

I thought it did a good job of rounding up the Craig era.

He has a contract to do another… though I understand why people feel this felt like an end.

It was very silly. Like all Bond films. I was waiting for a plane, so it was better than an airport lounge.

[rubystone]

GetCarter said:

He has a contract to do another… though I understand why people feel this felt like an end.

It was very silly. Like all Bond films. I was waiting for a plane, so it was better than an airport lounge.

The last Craig movie will have some great hooks...here's my suggestion for a plot. Bond comes out of retirement to do one more job for M to eradicate Blofeld who is using an oil rig to launch a laser to destroy targets in other countries. He despatches Blofeld and then retires, marries Swann and takes her off on honeymoon iin the Riviera. They stop by the side of the road, Blofeld and his cronies drive by and machine gun their Aston. Swann dies in Bond's arms.

I guess we have all the time in the world to see what happens though.