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"Steve in Manhattan" (blogenfreude01)
07/30/2016 at 15:26 • Filed to: james bond

SPECTRE is every bit as good as Casino Royale (and the helicopter sequence cold open is the best ever in a Bond film):

DISCUSSION (30)

Slant6 > Steve in Manhattan
07/30/2016 at 15:38

I feel like almost every recent bond film has just been about how computers are taking over the world. Like that’s the root cause of most of them.

I mean cyber threats are as real as ever, but can’t we just have a regular bad guy?

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Steve in Manhattan
07/30/2016 at 15:41

You can see the editing of Casino Royale wasn’t fully finished when the trailer was released. If you look closely at the Aston swerving around Vesper around 1:10, you can see a glimpse of some kind of rigging on the roof. I don’t want to spoil the stunt by this, I just noticed.

I agree they are both equally good, though must say I also find Skyfall a great movie.

Steve in Manhattan > Slant6
07/30/2016 at 15:41

I just let it wash over me. Craig is the most like the Bond in the books (cold killer) and he’s the best Bond. So far.

Slant6 > Steve in Manhattan
07/30/2016 at 15:44

The pre 2000s ones just look so silly now. Like did they look that campy when the came out?

Steve in Manhattan > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
07/30/2016 at 15:50

Skyfall isn’t quite what they were, but I love it nonetheless. Still, too much time futzing around at the mansion.

Editors who do trailers are generally not the editor(s) of the movie, so you make sense. And we demand multiple trailers now, so they have to kick ‘em out. Sometimes there’s something in a trailer that doesn’t make it into the movie.

tokyosexwheelie > Slant6
07/30/2016 at 15:55

They were accepted to be camp for the most part, Brosnan really pushed the envelope though. Die Another Day was so bad it lead us to a gritty reboot. Shame that success (and that of Batman Begins the previous year) have lead to it becoming a somewhat hackneyed pivot.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Steve in Manhattan
07/30/2016 at 15:55

I didn’t know that, I just expected the editors to be on the same team for both the trailers and the movie. Trailers featuring stuff that doesn’t make it to the movie indeed seems to be some kind of upward trend.

Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch > Steve in Manhattan
07/30/2016 at 16:34

SPECTRE was okay, but Skyfall and Casino Royale were better. Quantum of Solace is still terrible.

wiffleballtony > Steve in Manhattan
07/30/2016 at 16:37

I honestly forgot about Spectre until you just mentioned it. Personally I thought Skyfall was the best.

tokyosexwheelie > Steve in Manhattan
07/30/2016 at 16:47

the helicopter sequence cold open is the best ever in a Bond film

The Spy Who Loved Me is my #1 cold open, the bait and switch with Barbara Bach being TOP, TOP SECRET AGENT Triple X instead of the guy leading to a great (for the time) ski sequence with a BASE jump (According to Wiki, BASE jumping wasn’t even a burgeoning thing until the year after the films release) to finish.

Considering it’s about 4o years old I think it’s aged pretty well:

gin-san - shitpost specialist > Steve in Manhattan
07/30/2016 at 16:51

My order is Casino Royale, Skyfall, then Spectre.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed Spectre, I just didn’t love it like the other two. I know I’ve watched Quantum of Solace at some point but I’ve forgotten what it’s about.

BAM- Before Anything Melts > Slant6
07/30/2016 at 16:52

To be honest, the Craig movies make me appreciate the best of the older ones all the more. I feel that they lack that certain something that makes the best James Bond movies so fantastic. Maybe I’m just romanticizing.

Steve in Manhattan > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
07/30/2016 at 17:35

Then you have to purchase the director’s cut ... they have you either way. I have all 4 Craig movies on bluray.

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > Steve in Manhattan
07/30/2016 at 18:04

Unpopular opinion: I’m not a huge fan of Casino Royale at all, but I thought Spectre was great. However I do agree with you that Daniel Craig has probably been the best Bond so far. It’s tough watching the old movies now because he’s not in them.

Steve in Manhattan > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
07/30/2016 at 19:30

Here’s a top tip - Quantum of Solace picks up the day after Casino Royale ends. Watch them back-to-back, then the entire arc makes more sense.

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > Steve in Manhattan
07/30/2016 at 19:37

I've never watched Quantum of Solace all the way through, but if I have time I'll watch it. Also, I have Die Another Day recorded, so I'll watch that too when I get a chance (I watched the first scene and wasn't a big fan though).

Steve in Manhattan > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
07/30/2016 at 20:27

Die Another Day is a piece of shit - I would suggest you avoid it at all costs. Coming on the heels of her Oscar-winning performance in Monster’s Ball, it’s the worst Bond film Brosnan did and an embarrassment for Halle, and possibly in the top 5 worst Bond films ever. Goldeneye (Brosnan’s first) wasn’t bad, but then it went rapidly downhill. Watch Monster’s Ball again instead.

Agrajag > Steve in Manhattan
07/30/2016 at 20:55

If it weren’t for the skiing/plane sequence I’d agree with you. That bit seemed too silly to me.

Completely agree about the intro sequence.

Justin T. Westbrook > Steve in Manhattan
07/30/2016 at 21:51

I regret and wish to retcon some of my glowing SPECTRE review every time I watch it, unfortunately. Though it was a blast in the theater, and some may argue that’s what a Bond movie is for.

It’s nowhere near Casino Royale for me. I very much prefer the kinetic directing/editing style Martin Campbell brought with GoldenEye and Casino Royale than whatever melodrama Sam Mendes thinks he’s pulling off.

Still SPECTRE is fun, and I enjoyed it more on initial viewing than Skyfall. Maybe I rank it third on my personal list of Craig’s films, after Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace (shoot me).

Shour, Aloof and Obnoxious > Steve in Manhattan
07/30/2016 at 21:54

The real issue with Spectre is how they re-wrote the Bond/Blofeld relationship. If you had taken the overall plot of Spectre and completely left out the weird mystery that Bond is dancing around the whole time, and left their relationship as simple as “Blofeld is seeking to upend/usurp the balance of world powers, and Bond has to stop him,” the movie probably would have scored just fine amongst most critics. Even the silly idea that Bond had truly fallen for Dr. Swann in such a short time is permissible and dismissable (see: Teresa Di Vincenzo, also Tiffany Case in the novels).

But Blofeld and Bond have HISTORY...and more importantly, cinematic history. Not always the best, but memorable and nostalgic at the very least. And critics and film buffs who know their history, we tend to not like it when you start trying to screw with things (see: Star Trek Into Darkness) in ways that make NO sense whatsoever. (See also: most reboots.) I think that one terrible attempt to inject the Bond/Blofeld relationship with a different slant basically put a foul taste in EVERY long-standing Bond-flick fan’s mouth, and what ultimately sank it.

I, for one, enjoyed it mostly. I remember thinking, “That’s a good film, and maybe a fair Bond film. Should have just let Blofeld be Blofeld.”

Steve in Manhattan > Agrajag
07/30/2016 at 22:33

You know, Bond movies delve into the silly once in a while (Roger Moore and the pigeon double take (think that was Moonraker)) but I want my Bond dark and deadly ... like the books. Prancing around in a safari jacket is not Bond. Killing that bomb maker in Casino is ... that’s what I want.

Agrajag > Steve in Manhattan
07/30/2016 at 22:40

I’m with you there. And that’s the exact reason I didn’t like that particular scene.

Nauraushaun > Steve in Manhattan
07/31/2016 at 01:46

I enjoyed Spectre, but I think it was all a bit too convenient. A master villain that just happens to have schemed all of Daniel Craig’s previous Bond endeavours?

It sounds more like something the writers of the movies wanted, to tie up the Daniel Craig arc. Rather than a likely or even good plot for a movie. And even if it were for something standalone like Bourne, it’s a bit too super-villain.

I think in 10 years that’s what people will say about it retrospectively. But the isolated story of Bond’s poker match and the unexpected romance with Vespa is something that can stand the test of time.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Steve in Manhattan
07/31/2016 at 07:33

Agreed. Casino Royale is equal to Spectre (although they’re very different films), but Skyfall above all.

Steve in Manhattan > Agrajag
07/31/2016 at 07:34

As I said elsewhere - do Casino and Quantum back-to-back and the whole thing makes more sense.

C62030 > Steve in Manhattan
07/31/2016 at 14:02

The only thing I really didn’t like about Spectre was the year-long brouhaha over Aston building him a special car, then he skids about in it for six minutes and dumps it into a river.

C62030 > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
07/31/2016 at 14:04

Skyfall and Casino Royale are my favorites of the Craig era.

NJAnon > Steve in Manhattan
08/18/2016 at 19:46

Heres a shared opinion:

That lady in the casino royale clip I think is the same lady in Sin City and the 2nd 300 movie. Um yeah, I can tell you all right now she is Oppositelock approved! :P

Steve in Manhattan > NJAnon
08/18/2016 at 20:38

Eva Green - she’s good in most things and very good in some - Casino Royale was a real coup for her. She’s also on Penny Dreadful (with another Bond, Timothy Dalton) but I never warmed to the series.

NJAnon > Steve in Manhattan
08/18/2016 at 20:52

Right on! Thats called “puttin’ in work!”