No Time To Die: Bond 25 - Out Now

[BitterToad]

3 hours ago, Harsin said:

After posting that I thought I'd have a look at how the UK papers reacted to Spectre to see how they compare to this morning's hyperbolic reviews.

 

The Guardian: Daniel Craig has grown into the role of the British spy with flair and sang-froid and this inventive, intelligent and complex new outing showcases him brilliantly.

The Telegraph: A swaggering show of confidence.

 

The Daily Mail: Bond is back - and with a bang - in a movie that warrants ALL the hype with 007 returning to his murderous, glamorous best.

 

The Daily Express: Spectre is the best Bond ever.

 

The Independent: This is as good as Bond gets.

 

The Times: Cool, sleek, powerful: it’s Bond at his best.

 

The Mirror: Bond is back… with a blast. Stirring, soul-shaking stuff.

The Independent review by Clarissa Loughrey is pretty much on the money for me. 

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/no-time-to-die-review-bond-b1928442.html

[Vemsie]

37 minutes ago, Vimster said:

QoS had the spark of classic Bond, it had a megalomaniacal baddie, even if his motivation was a bit more subtle compared to the crazier villains of old, there were fights and not so much introspection, as I recall. The tone was still typical of the Craig-era Bond and there was considerably less camp, but at least it felt like a return to the old formula.  Oh and it was 1h 46m.

Yeah, I actually like QoS more and more as time goes by. Underrated flick. Olga Kurylenko's character has a believable arc and none of that creepy stuff that Mendes injected into both Skyfall (a fine Bond flick otherwise) and Spectre, the eco villain is pretty topical, the opera scene is superb, Mathis' death quite poignant and it's just a lean, mean Bond flick. Not perfect and the editing hurts it, but I'll watch it over most of Moore's and Brosnan's flicks. My favourite Bond flicks are the less campy ones: From Russia With Love, Casino Royale, For Your Eyes Only, License to Kill, OHMSS.

 

[Haribokart]

I don't place much value on Bond films, I think they are simple entertainment but don't take them seriously or expect anything other than set pieces from them.

 

Love Skyfall, it was just fun and looked pretty. Wouldn't marry it or anything for that exact reason but it was a nice fuck.

[Sidewaysbob]

6 minutes ago, GwiDan said:

You take that back, Dalton’s films are amazing. 

 

No, you're wrong. Let it go, you know how dull and joyless they are really

[Steven]

1 hour ago, Vimster said:

You like to think this is because they think it's going to be mega-popular, but it smacks of a desperate attempt to make as much money as possible before reality sets in. They've had to keep the hype up for 18 months or so, got to go in with a bang.

 

If they had any sense, they'd get Grant Shapps to casually drop a few lines about there being a possible shortage of screenings.

[Vimster]

‘Absolute beast’: critics go wild for No Time to Die, Daniel Craig’s last Bond film

 

Critics are generally positive, feel Craig's performance is good, the Hollywood Reporter described the plot “so convoluted and protracted you might find yourself zoning out through much of the villainy”. 

 

I've been critical of Craig's tenure as Bond, reading these reviews had mead me want to watch the film eventually, but I'm waiting for real people's opinions. 

[Sidewaysbob]

To be honest, I think I'm going to wait for a stream service to play it. 

If this is going to be the film that gets everyone back to the cinemas, I'm. Not sure I care enough to be one of the people in the seats. 

 

I was happy to see the marvel 10 rings movie because there were 6 other people in the room and that felt safe. This might have hundreds and I'm not ready for that yet. 

[Pob]

12 minutes ago, Vimster said:

Critics are generally positive, feel Craig's performance is good, the Hollywood Reporter described the plot “so convoluted and protracted you might find yourself zoning out through much of the villainy”. 

 

Ah, the blight of modern action films. Pretend that your film is sophisticated by making the plot so convoluted and nonsensical that you stop trying to work out why this person is shooting at that person or why this is blowing up, and just let it wash over you.

 

Just keep the plot simple FFS.

[Protocol Penguin]

2 hours ago, GwiDan said:

You take that back, Dalton’s films are amazing. 

Dalton wuz robbed. Living Daylights feels like it was written for Moore or a Moore-style Bond, and then only lightly rewritten. Would’ve been interesting to see the original plan for Dalton in Goldeneye would’ve been, or the abandoned Yakuza-themed third Dalton film. Or even the wacky script that was swarming with magic robot women.

[Clipper]

2 hours ago, Hexx said:

isn’t that Casino Royale when vesper dies?

 

Im talking about the worlds most explosive hotel 

 

 

well at least it proves I was right to post this!

 

Quote

the issue is they all merge into a turgid morass of film slurry. If you gave me parts of the plots or set pieces for any of the Craig bond films I doubt I could tell you which film they were in apart from a) home alone hilarity in skyfall and b) the casino bits which I would guess at casino royale

 

 

[The Boatman]

11 hours ago, Hexx said:

I’ll always remember QoS for the insanely dangerous ‘hotel’ that has highly explosive barrels  everywhere like a video game 

Believe it or not by Bond standards this isn’t that unrealistic - the real location, which isn’t a hotel but accomodation for astronomers in Chile’s Atacama desert, is so far from anywhere it has to truck in its own fuel for its on-site generators. Brian Cox went there in one of his series.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESO_Hotel

[GwiDan]

13 minutes ago, The Boatman said:

Believe it or not by Bond standards this isn’t that unrealistic - the real location, which isn’t a hotel but accomodation for astronomers in Chile’s Atacama desert, is so far from anywhere it has to truck in its own fuel for its on-site generators. Brian Cox went there in one of his series.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESO_Hotel

Do you have to pay extra for a room that isn’t next to a red barrel?

[Pete]

The reviewer in the FT makes it clear he didn't like Spectre and then is very positive about it, so I'm actually going to see it now I think.

[HarMGM]

For anybody interested in an analysis of the worst Bond film(according to some at least), Andrew Ellard has created a nice video about what QoS is trying to do and where it fails and why it actually has some real solid and great ideas.

 

 

[Nick R]

I was just about to post that! I've been looking forward to this video for a while. (Last year, I backed the Kickstarter he did, to do these video essays on each Craig Bond film. But then the Bond lawyers  spotted it and objected to it being a profit-making project, and Kickstarter were uncommunicative about implementing the requested changes to comply, which led to it getting shut down. Glad he was able to finish making this one, at least.)

 

It is a really fair and thorough assessment of the film, acknowledging people's valid issues with it (like the editing of the action scenes, and the way it relies heavily on you remembering minor details of Casino Royale like the necklace), but focusing on the thematic stuff that it does well - even if those aspects are buried and not given the focus they deserve. He gives some good counterexamples to the criticism that it's not a playful film - though he's right that it is a weird choice to put the movie's best joke in subtitles.

 

I didn't know about (or had forgotten...) the stuff in the Xbox 360/Nintendo DS games that seem to be remnants of the original ending! And his speculation about how the bizarre costume agent Fields wears in her introduction might have originally been intended to be relevant seems plausible.

[Chindie]

Quantum of Solace is a weird messy film. It was being made during the writers strike and you can tell with some of the rough edges on it. It being a sequel doesn't really work either, it feels like they made a Bond movie and then strapped a few bits of continuity stuff to it  It's also the first film I can recall where Bond is genuinely unlikeable - there's a scene were he just murders a guy for little reason beyond his own satisfaction - and a lot of the action is messy, IIRC, the from coming at the height of the reign of shaky cam. I can't say I'm a fan of it.

 

Skyfall is an awkward one. It's not a movie I hate - a lot of people seem to have turned on it over time - but there's problems with it that annoy me. I've an intense dislike of 'he wanted to be captured!' plots, it does lots of 'computers are magic' crap, it's particularly bad with it's contempt of women, the ending is daft (admittedly fun though), Bardem's villain is rubbish, it does the 'too old for this' shit too much and all of the stuff with M is completely unearned. On the other hand it's bloody gorgeous, it's brilliantly made and shot, everyone is on form (even if the script is wank) and the actions brilliant. It's a weird film because it is basically a tribute at all costs to a film series going back to the 60s, but wanting to make a modern action film, the result of which is a strange tonal mess where one minute we've got stylised choreographed fight scenes, followed by what is basically a home invasion rape, followed by a villain trying to threaten the antagonist through coming onto him, followed by an extended bizarre tribute to one of the iconic parts of the series that basically breaks the 4th wall. It's beautiful trash.

 

Spectre is a fucking mess on the other hand. A complete hatchet job of a movie that bizarrely tries to introduce an iconic villain and absolutely fluffs it, and then tries to revive the abandoned attempt at a 'Craig continuity universe' for Bond ('cos Marvel makes bank so if we make our movies tie together we also make bank, right?) when to film prior wisely ignored it. All made by a director that didn't want to do it, with a star who looks like he'd rather sand down his own cock than be on set... It's a fucking mess.

 

Craig's era hasn't been great. Like Brosnan he's had a single great movie (and similarly, it is a great movie) but then it's been a duff entry, a flawed curiosity, and a total turd. Hopefully he can go out on a high, although the talk that this has an overly complicated plot doesn't fill me with hope.

[Sabreman]

I'm sure I mention this every time a new Bond film comes out, and so the discussion over what's good and bad gears up again, but I genuinely consider QoS one of the very best in the series. In fact I impulsively watched it again last night. Yes the editing is hyperactive, but it moves like lightning and has some great sequences, very dry humour, and not only functions as a direct sequel to CR but also pushes an ongoing arc forwards (something only Craig's run has really attempted to do). Camille is a great and capable ally and I love the shadiness of the CIA.

[joemul]

Skyfall feels like it’s one long advert for something. I kept expecting a John Lewis logo to pop up before fading to credits. 

[Festoon]

37 minutes ago, Sabreman said:

I'm sure I mention this every time a new Bond film comes out, and so the discussion over what's good and bad gears up again, but I genuinely consider QoS one of the very best in the series. In fact I impulsively watched it again last night. Yes the editing is hyperactive, but it moves like lightning and has some great sequences, very dry humour, and not only functions as a direct sequel to CR but also pushes an ongoing arc forwards (something only Craig's run has really attempted to do). Camille is a great and capable ally and I love the shadiness of the CIA.

 

Camile is the one who keeps showing up in cars saying "Get in!" is she?

 

QoS really felt to me like all of the action was left to the 2nd unit and those scenes didn't mesh whatsoever with any character stuff. They Hydrogen hotel was just dull, too.

[scottcr]

I really like QoS… in fact, if I was going to choose to watch a Daniel Craig Jimmy Bond, it’s the one I’d likely pick because it’s not 5 hours long and has some great action in it.

[Broker]

13 hours ago, scottcr said:

I enjoyed Skyfall?  I dunno - is it cool to not like Bond films?

 

 

Why do people who disagree with an opinion that multiple people hold always insist on implying that there’s some desperation on the part of those people to seem “cool”. People like what they like, they dislike what they dislike. 
 

Skyfall is absolute shit by the way, and I certainly didn’t turn on it over time, I walked out of the cinema thinking it was a terrible film. I honestly don’t think Spectre is much worse, they’re both endless, boring movies with horrible cruel characters and very little to say for films that are so painfully pretentious. Obviously Casino Royale is the best of Craig’s movies, but I think QoS is second best, it’s weird but it’s vaguely enjoyable in places, and it’s not a five hour long festival of tedium that tries to pretend it’s some deep intelligent movie like the following two are. 
 

No way I’m wasting any money seeing this at the cinema. 

[Popo]

Casino Royale

Skyfall

Question of Sport

Spectre

 

TRUFAX

[lolly]

1 hour ago, Popo said:

Casino Royale

Skyfall

Question of Sport

Spectre

 

TRUFAX

This mad me LOL IRL, I watched QOS  massively hungover and couldn't understand what Aly McCoist  was up to for most of it.

[Hitcher]

Wow, that was a brilliant end to the Craig series. Never felt like it was too long and almost had an old Bond feel at times.

[GamesGamesGames]

Being dragged out for 163 minutes of this tonight. Can't say I've much hope for it but the set pieces should be great, and I'd expect it to be a looker.

[Waggo]

I would just like a Bond film again where they don’t have to spend the opening third reluctantly dragging him out of retirement yet again!!!!  
 

Suspect I am going to have to wait for the new Bond for that.

[CarloOos]

I really like QoS but it actually has too much action, you could easily take out the boat & plane chases (the two worst set-pieces incidentally), swap them with some low-key sleuthing instead, and it would still be a very action-heavy film. I know the real reason they’re there though, it’s because of Marc Foster’s mad elemental earth/water/air/fire idea. 

[OneDvBmbr]

Add me to the list of QoS apologists. 
 

As someone who is a fan of Bond films as their own thing, QoS is the most traditional of all the Craig films in terms of structure (despite it following on directly from Casino Royale). I like it has a short and zippy runtime unlike the other bloated Craig films. 
 

The action sequences do really hurt it with the quick cuts all over the place every half a second but it’s vastly underrated in my opinion. 
 

Skyfall is one I just cannot get on with as a Bond fan, but weirdly one that a lot of more general cinema-goers seemed to go nuts for. It just meanders all over the place and the final act is a big miss for me. Tried too hard to weave all these callbacks to the series and then obviously Spectre ramped it up to even more ridiculous levels although weirdly I still prefer it over Skyfall. 

[JohnC]

My expectations were low, but I thought it wasn’t as bad as I expected. It’s alright, but there were some weird things and some strange harking back to old stuff. 
 

As for the ending, 

Spoiler

this never happened to the other fellas.

 

[CarloOos]

Also everyone loves to rag on the exploding hotel in QoS, but it’s nowhere near as dumb as Blofeld’s base in Spectre. It’s the Guinness world record holder for the largest on-screen explosion ever, and yet the best idea they had to trigger it was having Daniel Craig just walk out of a room and shoot the first valve he sees. So unbelievably shit and pointless.

 

Actually I think that’s Spectre in a nutshell for me, just a total waste. It’s the most expensive Bond film by far, allegedly costing almost double what Skyfall did, and absolutely none of that is onscreen. Just two hours of boring meandering nonsense.