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That opening statement sounds definitely Newmanesque to me. Those strings voicings, man (particularly at 0:18). Definitely.

Karol

What are you talking about? It's just an arrangement of Arnold's CR theme.

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Saw the film a second time

Croc, in answer to one of your questions:

Dialogue early in the film states the MI6 building is rigged for demolition in about a week, which explains the presence of explosive chords in the final act. Also, Bond encounters Blofeld in what appears to be a holding cell facility, which would explain the bullet resistant glass.

This is really an excellent Bond film. The most traditional one they made since Craig took the role. With several typical Bond chase scenes, a typical Bond fight with a henchmen. It's the longest one ever, but it actually feels less long then Casino Royale and Skyfall, both which rather a somewhat unwieldy final act.

Regarding Franz Oberhausen:

In my first review I wrote that the big reveal reminded me of Star Trek Into Darkness, but that was actually unfair, and not accurate. Throughout the film there really is never any question as to who Oberhausen really is. Simply because there is no one else he van be. The film doesnt try to hide this, or obfuscate in any way. When Bond and Madeleine meet Oberhausen in his secret complex he's wearing a grey nehru jacket, which is a variation on the one Donald Pleasance wore in YOLT. Before he finally divulges his name, we have already seen the white cat...

Christoph Waltz makes for a creepy villain. He has a very dry, matter of fact way of speaking. Making his death treats seem like casual conversation. Like a host who's slightly put about by unexpected guests. The odd cadence of his Austrian accent gives him a rather creepy edge though. And he's got quite the piercing stare.

SPECTRE is a better balanced film then Skyfall. It doesnt have a nail biting scene where M recites Tennyson just before it really does seem Silva will shoot her. (the only really suspenseful scene in a Bond film in decades), But it's internal logic seems far more sound.

Naturally I will watch this again soon.

The film, contains more then a few callbacks to previous films, in particular Casino Royale:

The conversation in the train between Madeleine and Bond reminds me of the one he and Vesper once had. In fact the film contains several references to Vesper.

The scene between M and C is very similar to the teaser from Casino Royale. A man returning to his office and held under gunshot. In both instances the man grabs a gun, which has the bullets removed. 007 then shoots the guy, M merely calls him "careless".

Actually the title sequence and several scenes in the film show characters from the previous Craig films. LeChiffre, Vesper, Judi Dench's M, Silva, but no one of shown from Quantum Of Solace. Greene and Quantum are mentioned exactly once.

The film doesnt seem to have the plot issues that Skyfall had, though I wondered about a few things:

Apart from sentimental reasons, why did Mr. White have a secret room with loads of secret documents in a hotel room? It makes for some lovely mis-en-scene, but it does put all that material out of reach, with the risk of being easily discovered by accident.

There feels like there's a scene missing between the one where 007 beats up the security guards in the health clinic and where he appears outside ready to chase Hinx and his henchmen. I think he's wearing a ski-jacket he didnt have on before, and those round show goggles came from nowhere. (he only wears those for one shot I think)

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A key and glaring plot issue that no one (here) has mentioned is this:

In a harrowing and surreal sequence adapted from Kingsley Amis's Colonel Sun (his estate receives thanks in the credits), Blofeld performs a lobotomy on Bond, strapped to a chair. Controlled by Blower's laptop, a small drill bores into Bond's skull twice (we see how deep the entry is on a computer display), leaving just a small trail of blood upon exit (unrealistic when you consider the number of blood vessels in that area, but it's forgiveable when you consider the censors). Before one of the surgical procedures, Blofeld tells us he's going to destroy Bond's fusiform gyrus (a part of the brain involved in face recognition) so he'll no longer know remember Madeleine's face. The is completed and yet Bond still recognises. Is he going by sent or her voice or has Blofeld's drill not worked (could it be an elaborate bluff)?

After Bond has escapes with the help of his explosive watch (just before two drills are about to plunge into his eyes) he runs with Madeiline through the crater base FPS style. No brain damage, seizures or subdural haematomas. Perfect vision too--he's able to take out red shirts from around 100 metres.

We hear nothing of any operations or brain scans or back in the London to treat the wounds. This torture having some kind of effect on Bond in the final act would go a long in giving us a sense of jeopardy for Bond, that's otherwise missing in the film. If you remember, Casino Royale had Bond recovering at the Italian clinic by the lake and Skyfall had Bond trembling when aiming a gun and failing his physical.

If you're prepared to do something this extreme to a character (operate on his brain), there better be satisfying consequences. Otherwise you're basically cheating the audience.

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So, did Thomas Newman pull a John Barry with the way he scored the chopper doing a 360?

Those flutes reminded me if the slide whistle of Man With The Golden Gun, but far less silly.

Yeah great part. If only SPECTRE also had J.W. Pepper....

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The RT rating dropped to 65% based on only 69 reviews. Not good. So it's Quantum of Solace level now and it will surely drop even lower.

EDIT: Oh wait, it's 64% now.

Karol

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Late to the party here on JWF, but I saw it last Thursday after trawling through the Bond saga until now and as much as I liked Skyfall, I did enjoy Spectre. It's not the best but it's far from the worse. Yes, the personal stuff is there and

some Blofeld was behind them all -Le Chiffre, Greene and Silva

but I don't know, I quite liked it. And Christoph Waltz wasn't too bad.

The score I need to listen to by itself. I was waiting until I saw the film and though it's effectively Skyfall spliced and whatnot just need a proper go at it.

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I've spent plenty of time avoiding forum threads and other places on the Internet because a movie had already opened in the US and wasn't due here for another week. Now it's our turn, dammit!

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I loved how they managed to get Bond in to space again, but make it totally realistic

I think they were consulting Christopher Nolan when shooting those sequences. Model work is superb in those.

Karol

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