In fairness, it could be a mistranscription of the oral interview by the journalist, mistaking ‘and’ for ‘in’.
Take it up with Magnussen
I most certainly shall and administer unto him a most firmly smacked bottom.
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There’s a Fleming reference there… somewhere.
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I agree with this assessment of the Skyfall scene. I never saw it as rape, but that doesn’t make it less uncomfortable. Going from talking about being a sex slave (and basically still a slave to Silva), to having sex like 15 minutes later is not a good look and entirely out of place in the Craig films. Likewise, the scene with Lucia in Spectre is equally cringe-worthy and also has that element of a transaction. I’ll bang this woman who is fearing for her life in exchange for information. It’s shades of the worst parts of the Paris Carver storyline. Not to mention, both Marlohe and Bellucci could have had much more substantial roles and the fact that they were both reduced to sex objects and plot devices was a disservice to both of them.
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Thank you!
It was a poor conclusion to an otherwise beautiful scene. The worst part is that the writers could easily have done a better job. Lucia is on edge, she has had a very tough day and just escaped an expected execution, it was quite possible that she might have been seeking some release of all those tensions through sex. But Bond making the first move, in a rather menacing way, felt wrong.
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Yes, there’s a very menacing vibe to the way Bond throws the glasses down and marches towards her. Perhaps they intended it to be unsettling given the context.
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Thanks! I knew that it was from OHMSS, but it didn’t read that way, so I made an edit to clarify.
Agreed! Especially Bellucci. I still dream of an alternate torture scene where Bellucci steps in, scoops up the white cat and reveals herself to be Oberhauser’s boss, who has reverted to her maiden name, Blofeld…
Ahem.
Yeah, I’m still not entirely sure what Mendes was going for. Is it a deliberate attempt to echo Bond’s reputation for sexual aggression in the 60s and 70s? Does he think it’s sexy? Or is it just trying to be dark for the sake of it?
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Trying to get back on topic here…what did people think of the ‘gunbarrel’ within the film itself, when Bond is in Safin’s lair and is about to go up the staircase?
He turns and shoots an enemy at the other end of the corridor. The Bond music flairs, hairs on my arm stand on end. I loved it!
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It was marvelous.
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I was surprised to see it in the film. I thought it was just going to be a trailer shot. But it works perfectly in the film. I also liked the Connery-style firing from the hip.
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I love it for what it is - a laughably of-its-time John Woo-esque cheesefest with wonderfully silly Neo-Moore action sequences let down by atrocious CGI, an unfathomable script and a lead actor who can’t pull off that kind of dialogue the way Connery or Moore could.
It’s rubbish, but it’s wonderfully fun rubbish. Gun to my head, I’d sooner watch it than the bafflingly overrated Goldeneye.
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I can have fun with Die Another Day. It’s loud, absurd, and dumb, but it’s still fun…and I love Rosamund Pike. I agree with the Goldeneye sentiment. I’ve never been as high on it as others. I still don’t like that it relies on a very big coincidence: Bond being on the boat when the Tyger helicopter is stolen. It’s unbelievable and immersion breaking especially when it’s connected to Trevelyan, whom Bond, at this point, believes is dead. I’ve always held that Tomorrow Never Dies is the best Brosnan film and I will defend that position every day of the week.
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I assumed he was wearing a bullet-proof vest. That’s the only way he could have survived that gunshot.
As for why he saved Madeleine, he explained to her that seeing her eyes peering up at him through the ice got to him, and he felt he had no choice but to rescue her. But then, having saved her, from that point on they were inextricably linked … at least in his mind.
As for the mask, I assumed it was meant to hide Safin’s scarred face so that he could not be recognized, in the event that someone escaped and could identify him. Once the mask was broken, it lost much of its usefulness as a disguise. Yet Safin continued wearing it in that scene, almost as if he still wanted to hide his disfigurement from Madeleine. Or from himself.
And, of course, he did use the broken mask later on, as a chilling message to Madeleine.
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I’m in emphatic agreement re: Tomorrow Never Dies. Its goals are not as lofty as GoldenEye but it’s an endlessly fun film that makes the best use of Brosnan. David Arnold’s score is scene-stealing.
I always find it amusing how for years people decried TND as being ‘dated’ because Carver’s scheme wouldn’t work in an Internet world. But now it’s clearly proven to be wildly prescient!
Wonderful film.
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It was bizarrely way ahead of its time. I also love Jonathan Pryce as Carver. He hams it up in the best way and is clearly reveling so much in playing the villain. It makes the film better.
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Saw NTTD for a second time on Sunday and as many have said, it is a better film on the second watch and I suspect it will continue to grow in my estimation. The emotional weight of key scenes were far more effective on this go around (now that I had wrapped my head around the plot and the stakes which I still feel could have been more effectively communicated).
I left the first viewing believing that this was firmly in the #3 spot after Casino and Skyfall, but I left this second screening wondering what it was I liked so much more about Skyfall that put it ahead of this film. For all its flaws, No Time to Die has the most enjoyable dialogue and action sequences since Casino Royale and much of the film feels more effectively like Classic Bond than any of the other Craig films. And while it’s not always popular to lay praise at Hans Zimmer these days, this is my favourite Bond score since 2006.
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Saw the film during a U.S. Federal holiday Monday 11 AM showing. Here are a few random thoughts after my initial viewing:
-Gun barrel sequence back where it belongs, yay! Though the lack of the dripping blood was a bit jarring.
-I guess when Mr. White said his wife left long ago in SPECTRE, he meant she left her mortal coil?
-Haven’t gone through all the reviews, so I don’t know if anyone else caught the Dr. No dots at the beginning of the credits. Hope I’m not the first to notice this.
-Loved the score, though hearing ‘We Have All the Time in the World’ I should have known something bad was going to happen.
-As a guy with a SPECTRE tattoo on his arm, happy to see their return as brief as it was.
-Nomi, okay. Lots of room for improvement in that character. Still, she does have good taste in automobiles.
-Loved the Cuba fight!
-Killed Felix, really?
-I’ll have to go frame-by-frame when Bond pulls the cover off the V8 Vantage to catch all the Easter Eggs in the storage shed.
-V8 Vantage, yay!!!
-Music for the meeting between M and Bond on the Thames gave me chills. Would have liked to have seen the arrangement of that meeting, seemed a bit random.
-Bond with his daughter in the kitchen, priceless! Reminds me of me with children (my wife and I don’t have any).
-The final assault on Safin’s HQ had that ‘first person shooter’ video game feel about it with Q’s narration acting like the little updates in a video game. Bond’s fight with Cyclops, boss fight anyone?
-Royal Navy Type 45 destroyers do not carry TOMAHAWK missiles in their Vertical Launching System cells, just Aster 15 or 30 Surface to Air missiles, but I’ll allow it.
-Bond’s passing, a kick in the gut. Rendered a hand salute upon the passing of a fellow naval officer.
-Nice to see Mathilde enjoying the ride in the Aston. Hopefully she’ll inherit her dad’s love of fine automobiles.
That’s all for now. Out.
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I mean, he could have had multiple wives…
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