Here we go again: MGM Looking to Sell Entire Film Library and Studio

[Jay 37,326]

I love love love Casino Royale so much, every time I re-watch it (which is shortly before a new Craig Bond film comes out when I re-watch all prior Craig entries), I am amazed all over again again how freaking great it is, and how no matter how many years go by it hasn't aged at all.

 

All his follow-up films are disappointing in different ways. 

 

Quantum's script was clearly not ready when the writer's strike started, yet they filmed it anyway - they should have waited.  And the imitation Bourne style action scene editing was poorly done (and was a bad idea to begin with). 

 

Skyfall has some great scenes (love that sequence in the building where you see the fight in silhouette, and the whole cold open) and a cool overall idea for the story, but the plot holes are annoying and the long finale at Bond's old home doesn't work as well as it should have (or as well as they think it did, I think). 

 

SPECTRE is the one I've only seen one time, but I just remember feeling kinda Blaise about it, like no one's heart was really in it, or something.  I'm actually looking forward to revisiting it just to see what I think about it after two viewings (separated by SIX YEARS!? dear god).  One positive of SPECTRE is for sure the casting of Monica Belluci, who frankly could have been cast in any Bond film from the Brosnan era to present, and even more frankly should have been playing a cool recurring character throughout Craig's run.  I remember thinking the big "reveal" that Christoph Waltz was really behind everything that happened in the entire Craig run was soooooo silly and forced in, we'll see if I still think that the second time.  I think I remember really liking the opening Mexico City bit, and Lea Seydoux is always great

[Nick1Ø66 4,689]

Monica Belluci was criminally under-utilised in SPECTRE. She’s fantastic.

[Jay 37,326]

I agree with Nick1066

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I've yet to see a Sam Mendes movie I love (Road to Perdition comes closest).  He just doesn't do it for me.

[Jay 37,326]

I like American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Jarhead, and 1917

 

I haven't seen Revolutionary Road or Away We go.

 

His Bond films are meh, and he probably wasn't the director Eon should have hired post-Quantum

[Edmilson 7,398]

I thought I was the only one who thinks Skyfall is a little overrated. A good movie for sure, but it's not the masterpiece many people said it was.

 

Also, Skyfall was one of the few times I took a nap in the movie theater. It was just for a few minutes when Bond is arriving in Shanghai, but yeah, my first and only time sleeping in the theater. In my defense I had go to the swimming pool on the previous day so I was tired 

[Goldfinger 59]

I thought Skyfall is a masterpiece and a great film, personally.  It definitely copies heavily from The Dark Knight in its second half (not to mention a Home Alone inspired finale) but it all works for me.  Mendes really nailed Craig's Bond here and amplified what worked in the previous films while adding a dash of classic flavor to the character. The score by Newman was also really good, and even though I missed Arnold, I liked the change of pace and felt it helped add some freshness to the film.  Add in Roger Deakins and some gorgeous visuals and top rate action scenes, the film really works for me.

 

SPECTRE on the other hand comes off as a pale imitation of the previous film, despite being made by nearly the entirely same crew (no Deakins was obviously a huge loss). The opening scene is thrilling and a great opening to set up the mystery of the film.  Unfortunately, it all goes downhill as even the titles show the film is going to be a lackluster effort trying to replicate Skyfall's success.  The whole film just has no energy at all, with quite possibly the most boring car chase ever through the streets of Rome and a plane chasing after cars that seems completely blah.

 

Craig unfortunately is a big problem in the film, as he's trying to play it cool and confident (think Steve McQueen) but he just comes off as bored the entire film, and it doesn't help that Mendes doesn't seem too interested either.  The whole film just kind of happens, until the third act where it completely falls off the rails.  The whole subplot with C really goes nowhere and not nearly well done enough to dedicate so much screen time to for a film that is already far too long.  The third act is just laughably bad and from the Sony leaks we know they basically began filming without an ending (did they learn nothing from Quantum of Solace)? 

 

At its core, SPECTRE is sort of a return to the old Bond formula in many ways, and it really could have worked with more lively direction and emphasis on tension and suspense.  Instead, everyone seems bored and inconvenienced by everything (including Newman who reused a lot of cues from Skyfall for the action sequences) no better highlighted by Bond's PPK now capable of downing a helicopter simply for no other reason that it was time for the movie to end.

 

Hopefully No Time to Die can deliver a better end to this incarnation of the character, as its clear that Craig took the criticism to heart with the last film and came back if only to leave on a high note.

[Nick1Ø66 4,689]

Rankings.

 

Connery

1. The one with spiked shoe
2. The one with the golden girl
3. The underwater one
4. The one in Japan
5. The First one
6. The one with the gay henchmen

The other guy

1. The one with all the time in the world

Moore

1. The first one with Jaws
2. The one where Bond is chased in a VW bug
3. The other one with Jaws aka Bond in space
4. The one with the eight octopi aka Bond the circus clown
5. The one where Roger Moore is way too old
6. The voodoo one
7. The one with the golden gun.

Dalton

1. The one with the cello
2. The one without the cello

Brosnan

1. The one with the golden eye
2. The one with the Rupert Murdoch villain
3. The one where Bond is tortured by having Sophie Marceau sit on him
4. The one where Bond is tortured by that hot Korean dominatrix & drives an invisible car. Bonus: Iceberg surfing

Craig

1. The one from the Scottish tourism board
2. The one where Bond gets his balls tickled
3. The one where Monica Belluci is wasted (literally and figuratively)
4. The Bourne One

 

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,429]

I don't really agree with this rankings but you surely succeed to define them perfectly!

[Jay 37,326]

Amazon Closes $8.5 Billion Acquisition of MGM

[Anthony 572]

Too bad James Bond is dead. After 60 years, they missed out by thiiiiiiis much.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Will they own distro rights for the Bond back catalog with this purchase?

[Edmilson 7,398]

I hope so. I want the old Bond movies on a streaming service I actually pay for.