I saw it last night with my daughter, really enjoyed it.
When it's rebooted I'd like a few changes though:
- get rid of the Walther PPK. A pre-WW2 concealed carry pistol in .32 ACP makes no sense. If Bond needs a compact / subcompact pistol there are lots of better, modern 9mm alternatives. At least he had something more modern when assaulting the bunker.
- give the bad guys appropriate guns. Using submachine guns fired full auto all the time is lazy. At least 007 fired aimed bursts in this film, and Bond had a sensible rifle for the assault on the bunker.
- stop making the bad guys disabled in some way. Most people are not disabled so I'd expect most evil super villains to be not disabled. It's lazy and insulting to equate a visible disability with evilness.
Things I'd like to keep:
- violence looking painful. If a character is shot / kicked / blown up they shouldn't just drop and lie still or get up and keep running. It was mostly done well in this film.
- Bond not being a (perhaps borderline) rapist. If he has to seduce some for the job (e.g. From Russia With Love), so be it but we're beyond him getting off with the new girl who then gets killed in every film.
- Great locations. Bond has always been a travelogue with sex and violence. Seeing beautiful places for the first time is an enduring part of the franchise.
A bit late to the show but got to watch it last night. I'm still surprised that they've killed Bond but it does seem a tricky situation to come back from without seeming utterly ridiculous.
I thought it was very touching and kinda liked the way that he got to [sort of] choose when to die and at who's hands - an adversary never got the better of him - (right up til the end he was asking if there was a way to rid himself of the nanobots - if there was then he'd have clearly tried to escape/survive.)
End of an era for me. Always thought that DC has been [probably] the best Bond, but I'm biased as I met him a few times pre-Bond (fixed his Mac a couple of times as I looked after the IT at his dad's recruitment business in Chester - all the females in the office went gooey when he came in.... and that was before he 'bulked up'!).
His dad even told me about a year before it was announced that they'd asked him to play Bond..... should have put a bet on that!!
Great way to sign off - not sure how/if they can better that.
(right up til the end he was asking if there was a way to rid himself of the nanobots
And of course there would have been a way to disable the nanobots. He just needed to be isolated until they'd had enough time to do some research. Even his reasoning for dying was logically crap and purely designed to make a big bang at the end. (Would you really believe the supervillain who said there was no cure for the thing he's just infected you with? )
Plus, there's no reason that the missile explosions wouldn't have blown all of those nanobots into the atmosphere causing more of a problem than not blowing up the island in the first place.
Why didn't his EMP watch disable the nonobots?
It occurred to me the whole thing would make much more sense if instead of nanobots the threat was a targeted virus that circulated through contact pandemic style. How are the nanobots powered, how do they replicate etc would be much simpler and more believable to use a virus - which leads me to think that it was originally a virus but with Covid they decided to change it, maybe even re-shot those scenes.
As for the EMP Bond blew an electronic eyeball up without it blowing the in-ear radio out of his own head. So a very selective EMP anyway.
which leads me to think that it was originally a virus but with Covid they decided to change it, maybe even re-shot those scenes.
Interesting theory. I got talking to someone who works at Double Negative* and he said they were still fiddling with the film long after the original release date. I assumed it was stuff like updating the phones for product placement reasons, but perhaps not.
*What I really wanted to ask was whether anyone got fired for the Die Another Die surfing scene, but I managed to stop myself.
The nanobots made no sense at all, and a lot of reviewers believe that this was added after the fact due to COVID, as all mentions of nanobots are off screen style adds, should've just kept it as a virus, as nanobots made absolutely no sense, if we had that technology you'd be doing a lot more than just targeting 'terrorists' or the likes.
I get the feeling they calmed down the rivalry between 007s as well due to the feedback after the trailers, which worked in its favour, don't think many would enjoy Bond being minimised in his own film. The Cuban agent also seemed to be a bit of a weird one, one huge scene, then that's it, i think everyone wanted a bit more of her on the screen, she did seem like a very Phoebe Waller-Bridge style character.
Watched it last night at an IMAX. Enjoyed it. I'll confess to not being a Daniel Craig fan, and whilst I've seen one of his Bond efforts, I've not seen them all. This movie was good though (for a Bond).
I enjoyed the nods to older films, although it maybe milked IHMSS a bit hard... It felt like a blunt hit the 5th or 6th time it was referenced. There were so many references tp other movies that there must be dozens that I missed... If you spotted some I'd love to know.
IHMSS is actually my favorite of all Bond movies... That was a very uncool preference before, but maybe that will change now. Same goes for my preference of the AM V8V (not IHMSS DBS) too.
The road at the end of NTTD is the same as the road in the beginning. Which I think is Italy, possibly near Sapri (I don't think it could be Matera, but happy to be proven wrong). The internet suggests Tracy (Dianna Rigg) was shot on a road in Portugal in IHMSS. Perhaps a missed opportunity, but maybe they'd milked it enough already anyway. The parallels are enough.
I also liked the Archer reference(s)... Archer is obviously heavily Bond influenced, so to have Bond reference Archer (M named Mallory) was, I thought, quite a hat tip. And it's so obvious it can not have been unintentional. I actually thought the script was quite Archer like at times... But maybe that is because I've watched more Archer than Bond recently.
I thought it was average; really didn’t rate with the new 007, far too cheesy, and Remi didn’t have enough screen time to seem menacing. Nice to be back in the cinema mind having last been very disappointed with Tenet.
Same goes for my preference of the AM V8V (not IHMSS DBS) too.
That's my favourite car too although it's only appearance in the Bond films was The Living Daylights and then got blown up at the end of the car/ski chase.
Same number plate though. The previous DB5 has the same number plate as the original one in Goldfinger too. Homage or mind-stretching continuity matter?
Anyway, I thought it was a good film although Safin's death was a bit too simple/uncomplicated. Something that referenced the opening sequence would have been better.
There were so many references to other movies that there must be dozens that I missed… If you spotted some I’d love to know.
The dots in the title graphics sequence was a direct copy of Dr No. There must have been loads in there that I missed as well.
I thought it was great. I thought Craig was very much at his best. Comfortable with the character and his take on it. The plot was good (more so at the start than the end) but I really didn’t get much menace from Safrin. Paloma was bloody excellent. Somewhat reminiscent of Rebecca Ferguson in Mission Impossible, but with more fun. I don’t think they made enough of the new 007. I very much enjoyed the character interplay between Bond and Mallory.
Don't buy the idea that you can continually reboot it with different people. The reason they killed him off is so they can mix up the main character and are not limited to a white male - the white male name was problematic. But will get a bit tedious to have to explain a new and fresh backstory for every new 007...people wont care, they wont be as invested as they were in Bond. By killing the character all they've done is turned any future films into yet another generic spy movie like Bourne, Mission Impossible and all the plethora of other generic spy and espionage movies which were all inspired by and based on Bond. They've lost the USP and now just another turn of the handle generic Hollywood movie.
We'll see, but not sure I would be too fussed sitting though a 007 movie that wasn't Bond. I'm very choosy about movies I watch at the cinema now and going to the cinema now its a rare event for me as the quality of movies being churned out has dropped off a cliff these days.
The general chitter chatter of people around me when I left the theatre last night was "how are they going to bring him back for the next Bond movie" rather than ...cant wait to see who they pick for the next 007. I'm sure people will change and get used to the new direction the franchise takes.
The nanobots made no sense at all
Why didn’t his EMP watch disable the nonobots?
I’m still surprised that they’ve killed Bond but it does seem a tricky situation to come back from
– get rid of the Walther PPK. A pre-WW2 concealed carry pistol in .32 ACP makes no sense.
You all seem to labouring under the misunderstanding that Bond movies operate in any sort of known reality...
Saw it last night, thought it was superb. Pacing was excellent, didn't feel long at all, never felt it was too slow or needed to hurry up. Had tears streaming down my face at the ending.
Didn't have anything to touch the opening scene of Spectre with the festival of the dead, that was probably as good as it gets visually.
'She' has been assigned 007 and taunts him with the fact, then later relinquishes the 007 moniker to Bond...
I made it through the film and I have a ridiculously sensitive bladder, just restricted the amount I drank earlier in the day a bit and paid my last visit at the end of the 20-30 mins of adverts. Also ate a pizza during the adverts which probably helped soak up the coffee I had at the same time.
Also unbuttoned my top trouser button just in case...
I had contemplated using one of those thermacare heat patches on my lower abdomen to mask any sensation of wanting to go, but didn't in the end.
Ahh, the good old days of the interlude. I used to look forward to a mid-movie Cornetto.
Don’t buy the idea that you can continually reboot it with different people. The reason they killed him off is so they can mix up the main character and are not limited to a white male – the white male name was problematic. But will get a bit tedious to have to explain a new and fresh backstory for every new 007…people wont care, they wont be as invested as they were in Bond.
Why are you worrying about future films with 007 being different characters? That may or may not happen...but what will happen is there will be future James Bond films. It literally says "JAMES BOND WILL RETURN" at the end of the credits! Unless they totally screw the thing, he'll have the same backstory, just as the Craig reboot did, no need for a new one.
Well I didn't hang around for till the end of the credits to see the 'James Bond will return'. At 11:30 at night and after 3hrs I was kind of eager to get home just like everyone else in the theatre. And after killing him off so decisively leaving no doubt about it then they're going to have to pull the Dallas script writers out of retirement to come up with some ridiculous and implausible plan to resurrect him.
some ridiculous and implausible plan
I know, he'll start to go backwards in time and we'll realise that he's actually some of the baddies that he's bumped into in earlier films.
I had to pee 🙁
The nanobots made no sense at all
Why didn’t his EMP watch disable the nonobots?
How come it blew up the bad guys eyeball but did nothing to the earpiece?
Speaking of earpieces, come come they could scan for the bad guys frequency, listen in, but then transmit without being heard on that frequency?
Did enjoy it though.
As for what comes next, Skyfall introduced us to Bond's parents so we know Bond isn't a cover ID. But after killing him off, surely playing the "Bond is just a cover ID" would have been the best option.
So all seemed to enjoy it then ?. Worth the wait for it to appear on BBC one next Xmas ?. I cant see the point in getting a dvd when it is more often released for tv viewing.
That said, dvd allows for pee/coffee/dinner making breaks.
For us, going was an event, just like the good old days, and a return to normality. Meal before hand, a full cinema (not packed, we went to a posh one) kids talking about it to their friends. Last film we saw was 1917 just before lockdown in an empty theater, so it was a joy to be back - not that we go frequently, but next stop will be Top Gun: Maverick on IMAX!
Saw it last night. Didn't find it particularly gripping and not a patch on Skyfall for instance. Too gimmicky for me.
The ending is a bit weird: The bit where he goes thru the transition to ladyboy and back to get access to the dodgy club was pushing it a bit.😲
Nice to be back in the cinema tho.
How come onye he'd killed the bad guy Bond didn't just say "divert the missiles" or self-destruct them or something. Once Freddie Mercury was out the picture, there was no urgency to destroy the stock pile?
How come onye he’d killed the bad guy Bond didn’t just say “divert the missiles” or self-destruct them or something. Once Freddie Mercury was out the picture, there was no urgency to destroy the stock pile?
You missed the bit with other nation states rushing to the island to get the nanobot technology?
Ah yeah, the silo doors stuff was fun as well, fully functional for some reason, and not sure what missiles HMS Dragon used to cause the mass damage that occurred, the destroyers aren't exactly there for land targets
You missed the bit with other nation states rushing to the island to get the nanobot technology?
Yep, thought they were just on their way to see what was going on, not that they actually knew what it was.
Bond still could've said cancel that first lot, gimme 5 mins and have another crack. There were a few extra launch bays on that boat they didn't use.
Yes, it's not real and I am over thinking it
Bond still could’ve said cancel that first lot, gimme 5 mins and have another crack.
I thought the whole point was that he'd never have been able to see Madeleine and Mathilde again due to being infected with the nanobots that would kill them so he effectively chose his own death.
To people saying you can't just reboot from the start with another actor:
superman, spiderman and batman all disagree. Give it a few years, a new actor and some hype and you can go back to the start with a slightly different take.
Yeah, but they all rebooted after failure, Superman didn't have much to improve on, Batman certainly didn't have to do much to improve on the last outing, Spiderman is just weird with the reboots, but the last one was more for the MCU rather than rebooting spiderman.
Even this Bond iteration didn't have to do a huge amount to beat Die another day, it had gone silly and a reboot had to happen after that last outing, thankfully it worked, but the reality is whoever comes in now, both actor and director will have to face being put up against Daniel Craig and a lot of fond memories of this series of films, as they say, it'll be a hard act to follow.
Watched it last night. I am with the Times review, it was pants. It was just dull. I kept leaving and going for little walks. Nothing really happened, and the various plot lines were obvious and full of holes. Bond also had a crap dress sense - massive cotton peasant / Fred Dibnah jackets. Craig obv hated the role, that was clear.
Not a fan of the Craig films at all, they’ve all been poor IMO except CR which was ok. I actually think he’s been a good Bond, just the films have been messy & let him down. Anyway, thoroughly enjoyed this one, despite the epic length it didn’t drag for me at all! Felt more like a “proper” bond… they even stormed the baddies island lair at the end 😀 If you squint, old man Craig could almost be Roger Moore 😂
The plot is absolute bobbins though and makes no sense. Rami Malek was wasted on a poor character with no real development or motivation. It kind of reminded me of the new Star Wars trilogy (also terribly written) where there’s a bad guy controlling everything in the background right through the story-arc, only just at the end they do away with him and bring someone else in?!
I’d avoided all spoilers but read up a bit afterwards… agree with the theory that they quickly jettisoned an organic virus in favour of nanobots due to COVID! What robot factory involves swirling around in water?! Very clunky & didn’t help with the nonsensical plot! The film also looked very dated with 2019 plates on the cars 😀 (also didn’t he realise all was not lost as he could’ve just Zoomed with his mrs/kid?)
Bond dying at the end was just a cheap attempt to stir up a bit of emotion (apparently successfully!) but is completely meaningless because of course he’ll be back in one form or another for the next film. Bet they regret letting go of Danny Boyle now, I’m sure he could’ve crafted a better end to the series than that!
Regardless I did enjoy it as a brainless blockbuster and look forward to watching it again when it comes on telly!
I kept leaving and going for little walks.
Regardless of whether you enjoyed the film or not, I can't imagine this behavior endeared you to the rest of the audience. What a selfish thing to do.
As a massive Bond mark this one left me feeling totally confused.
There was so much to love - massive sets (just like Spy who loved me) a great soundtrack, a love letter to OHMSS (albeit a poorly written, scrawled on the back of a fag packet one), some humour, some great throwbacks to previous films in the Delectado cigar and Robert Brown picture in MI6, a beautiful DBS, and a "proper" megalomaniac villain.
On the other hand they managed to F it all up by killing off Blofeld, having Nanobots (the same nanobots that rebuilt Red Dwarf?) shoe horned in as a "this film is definitely not about a pandemic from plants like OHMSS / Moonraker" and then going completely off-piste by killing off Craig in some Marvel esque Ironman style dramatic finale.
I still dont quite know what to make of it. The only thing I'm sure of is that I'm slightly in love with Ana De Armas.
I appreciate that times have changed, that you cant really make a From Russia with Love, or Man with the Golden gun anymore, but this one defo left me feeling a bit cold. Hopefully the next one can be a fun, slightly campy romp without too much naval gazing and bollocks about his dad / brother / girl friend / house he grew up in etc.
Oh, and no more ****ing nanobots. You could almost hear Q groan as he had to explain the plot.
yup. $300M spent on the film, almost 2 years for doing reshoots/tweaks, and [I]that[/I] is the best they come up with? "There is no way to get rid of these things, and despite the fact I spent all day every day coming up with whizzy technical innovations, I am 100% sure there will never be a way in the future either 🤣 Oh that thing on your wrist which we went to great pains to explain is very effective at disrupting electrical systems - indeed, you literally just used it very successfully - no, forget that." 😂😂😂You could almost hear Q groan as he had to explain the plot.
Cheers Nick, for the insight into your superior social skills. Point noted. I will seek out all the others who were far more mobile than me on the night, and shall have a word with the cinema to close the bar during a screening so as to discourage this sort of frankly normal public behaviour!
Oh gosh! The neighbouring cinema brings actual meals to the seats during a screening! Could you deal with them please, as I am busy castigating 30 recalcitrant crisp eaters here!
Thank you for taking the time to put me right.
Daniel Craig is a co-producer in this...has he been that involved with the others as well?
I enjoyed it but not sure the ending was the right one...
His fancy watch managed to disabled a whole level of security systems without affecting earpieces, took out a baddie and still didn't damage the earpiece...
If that is all I'm complaining about then the disengage-brain-and-enjoy part of the film clearly worked on me.
No idea what they'll do next but this could be the last Bond film I watch as a Bond fan as anything else isn't going to be quite right.
Looks like he also did some production stuff on Spectre as well...
Craig. What a tripe of a movie. The living daylights was better.
Right, just back from the cinema.
this one defo left me feeling a bit cold. Hopefully the next one can be a fun, slightly campy romp without too much naval gazing and bollocks about his dad / brother / girl friend / house he grew up in etc.
This.
Why do they have to be soooo effing serious and self-referential, and indeed self-reverential?
I like serious films.
I like stupid films.
Bond films are stupid films. Stop trying to make them something they're not.
Enjoyed it in a ^ IHN sort of way ("I like stupid films") but it was pretty weak overall - villain needed a much better/fuller back story
The watch vs bots thing so obviously "needed" to happen as his big "escape" but then the bots was daft anyway (as said, I bet they're right with the virus theory)
Seemed to be trying to embed a few potential new threads for future films, like the lass in Cuba and the new 00whatever as well as a massive power vaccuum in the area of world-domination supervillains. No way in hell that ol' Blofeld doesn't have a kid somewhere, too.
Yeah, also always wonder why if there's potentially 9, maybe even 10 00's, why is it only one being used on what is a potentially world changing plot, i know in the past they had some killed off as a premise to the plot, or to kill off Sean Bean again, but you never see more than 2 of them, where's 000 or 001 when you need them!
As for the serious stuff, the whole start was a bit weird, big action stuff, then Bond binning his girl because a bad guy made an accusation, honestly, everyone seems to know where Bond is for the rest of the film, but he thinks nobody would find him running around in Greece in a classic Aston Martin whilst wandering around place in full view of everyone, that was really part of the plot?!
Thought it was an entertaining and engaging enough that it didn't drag, and had some lovely scenery and references. However, the moment you start to think about the plot it is even holier than normal. On the topic of succession, I haven't seen anyone else suggest James Bond Jr - given Mathilde popped up, why not a new sproglet with Madeline to give future options as well as reboots?
argee Full Member
Yeah, also always wonder why if there’s potentially 9, maybe even 10 00’s, why is it only one being used on what is a potentially world changing plot, i know in the past they had some killed off as a premise to the plot, or to kill off Sean Bean again, but you never see more than 2 of them, where’s 000 or 001 when you need them!
Maybe it's like Seal Team Six, MI6 gave Bond the codename 007 in order to make villains worry that there's at least 7 of these psychopaths on the UK's payroll.
