This was really great. I like how they made a concious effort to go away from gadgets and goofiness. That stand they made at the end was total Macguyver type stuff. Was the villian gay? He seemed to be coming on to Bond when he was tied up in the chair, and Bond seemed to indicate he has been with men in the past. Or maybe I misinterpreted that scene....
Anybody know if Daniel Craig is going to do another Bond? I'd love to see him stay in the role.
I was entertained but disappointed, but I haven't been keeping up to date so I was hoping for a conclusion to the pseudo-origin thing they had gone. For that reason, I was very excited because I liked the storyline they had going, I liked the way they were getting better at making Bond an interesting character study, and knowing who they'd cast as a villain, I thought that was perfect for "who can we get that will really bring this story to a great, edge-of-your-seat conclusion. Instead...
It was pretty much generic Bond villain, no reference to what happened before, a very hazy middle section, and a lot of missed opportunities.
I really liked the first half, in spite of the neck-breaking jump from "remember seeing Bond get shot twice and fall approximately ten thousand miles head first into rapids? Well, he's fine now and totally busy boning and drinking with scorpions and there's actually only one wound because fuck you." The visuals were awesome, the fights were incredibly well done, and a lot of the build-up story and dialog was strong. In fact, I was really into it right up until the helicopters showed up at Bardem's place. After that it got....dumb might be polite....and washed its hands of all that valuable lead-in. It seemed clear that they had a story leading up to this great island scene, and they had an idea for where and how they wanted to end it, but no idea how to bridge the two. So...hey presto, ten or eleven action movie cliches and don't ask any tough questions later, we're in Scotland.
I'm pointing out the stuff that bugged not because I think it was a bad movie...I'd call it average quality Bond, myself, and that's no bad thing. It wasn't like they sunk it to Good Day to Die Hard levels or anything. I'm pointing these things out because I can't believe how easily it could so have been better. Having M die as a part of this final confrontation with the creepy head honcho of this shadow organization (who could still be THE EXACT SAME CHARACTER! Finding out that M basically helped genesis this unstoppable terrorist network by abandoning one of her own would have been a far more badass 'consequences' reveal than the one we get...they even suggest that he does a lot of the same shit they had that group doing, manipulating the world through computers) that we spent multiple movies building up and adding weight to would have played out as a lot better than "accidental buttwound from Sean Bean Part II's henchman." Having him be the guy behind EVERYTHING in the last two movies would sell that whole "Do you know fear? Not like this you don't," bit that really was never earned later on. NOT going to Scotland to show Bond's parent's graves would have let this movie, with all its "remember this fucking car?" "you're getting old, you should retire," and "new M" stuff, be a total wink and nod toward the fan theory that Bond is a code name. And, frankly, I'm not clear on why tough broad M, who knows she's gonna die in the middle of rural Scotland with no way of getting to a hospital, continues to put people's lives at risk in her name (or isn't smart enough to turn off the flashlight). If nothing else, they should have had her pull the trigger when he put their heads together. Shit, why wouldn't she? She knows she's dead. Here's a chance to save everybody else. And to have Bond burst in a moment after, helpless, unable to do anything with his fury, and denied the chance for even a basic goodbye while also seeing that M was always ready to make the sacrifices that she demanded of others, would have actually made that scene emotional rather than just kind of something you had to do before introducing the new M. It would also have tied in well with the bit at the beginning of the movie, making that feel a little less like "oh, I don't know, we just needed an opening sequence and an excuse to mention his age or whatever later on."
I will say that, based on the going price of 50 year Macallan (real subtle guys), Bond appears to drink like $40,000 worth of good scotch in one movie. So there's that.
so he's a a step behind the entire time, doesnt manage to save anyone along the way (but does manage to kill a lot), and loses in the end? in a smarter movie that could be great, but this wasnt that bright. to make matters worse, Bond was only able to keep up like he did because of dumb moves by the bad guy.
the first half is pretty fun, but falls apart in the second. I dont know why im supposed to care about M or Bond's relationship with her. its all left unclear.
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