A bit of a let down. I knew it couldn't be as good as Casino Royale, but this movie was so lacking it can't even be put in the same category.
1. Action sequences sucked. Most were completely incoherent. The cinematography was so erratic you often couldn't tell what was going on. The first on-foot chase scene could have been SO good, but fell flat when you could barely tell which man was Bond at any given moment because the characters were costumed nearly identically and the camera was going nuts.
2. Plot and pacing sucked. Bond is off to fight environmentalists? Is this the best they could come up with? The movie meandered from one incoherent action sequence to another with very little development in between.
3. Villain sucked. I believe they were trying to make this guy mysterious. What actually happened, though, was that we really didn't know or care about who the villain was. Some greasy "environmentalist" who wants oil...or does he? If my memory serves me he was only in 3 scenes. How does he tie into the Vesper problem? Contrast with Casino Royale where you spend so much time getting to know what a bastard LeChifre is and REALLY hate him. No good.
4. Sequel aspects sucked. The story is a poorly conceived continuation of Casino Royale. Bond basically wants revenge but doesn't care about seeking revenge... but does. But doesn't. He swears. Villains abounded, but just exactly how they were connected to Vesper was never really clear.
5. Characters and relationships? I didn't care about the main characters. If Bond weren't so dreamy and if you didn't see Casino Royale you would think Bond is merely an emo thug who does very little sleuthing and a lot of seemingly senseless killing. There was no solid connection with any of the Bond girls and, try as you might, you didn't really care about their stories. The ONLY relationship that worked in this film was between Bond and M.
6. No fun. No twists. Bond is supposed to be fun. Yeah, I guess he's on a mission for revenge and isn't too keen on life, but that's no reason not to have a little fun. An ensy bit of fun? Please??? No classic plot twists. Yeah there was a little "mystery" but it wasn't mysterious so much as confusing. You basically knew the plot from the first 20 minutes of the film.
Things that worked:
1. Daniel Craig. Still my all time favorite Bond, and he did the best he could with this sucky story.
2. The opera scene. If every scene were as good as the opera scene this movie would have won at least one more star.
3. Judi Dench as M. But she's always brilliant. No surprises there.
4. Title sequence. Cool retro very reminiscent of earlier Bonds, but with sleek digital effects. I loved the girls in the sand. So cool! Best music by far thanks to Jack White...and whatserface.
All in all, though, this will be an utterly forgettable Bond movie.
2 comments:
While I did like the film and thought the action films were actually quite bad ass (most of them, anyway), I do agree that there was a definite lack of the humor involved in all other Bond films. One reason I LOVE the Roger Moore films is they are chock full of hilarious, tongue-in-cheek momnts. That was definitely missing here.
And yes, the ladies in this movie were not memorable st all (although, on the positive side, they weren't Christmas Jones either).
I will admit though... I think it's funny that Daniel Craig is your all-time favorite Bond when you liked exactly 50% of the movies he's done so far (though, it's clear you liked what he did with a script you didn't thoroughly enjoy... so that holds merit... er, Maret.)
I still don't see how he's "dreamy," but I guess that's what I get for being a bloke! :)
Craig is my all-time favorite because he's incredibly manly which makes him more believable as a Bond. Brosnan was FAR too pretty, practically sissy. Moore was too swaggering, and though I've no complaints about Connery of course, the others are...meh. I've never been a fan of overly pretty boys.
Craig's bond is not immune to injury. He is so gritty and scrapes look so good on him, he's got a dangerousness about him that the others lack. Yet, as we can see from both films there's a tender sweetness in his blue blue eyes. Ahhhh.....And he's dreamy. And he can get wacked in the balls several times and get back on the horse *wink wink* immediately after he wakes up from recovery. THAT'S a man.
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