James Bond Franchise (1962-∞)

[Anhedionisiac]

Gahdammit, why didn't they just hire Tellier instead of Alicia Keys

[Richard--W]

That cover art looks like a shot out of Masamura's Blind Beast (1969).
The title sequence is thin on visual ideas, and so dimly lit and indistinct it looks as if it were done on analog video. The only thing that's clear is Craig's big face, as if we don't see enough of him in the film. Showing silhouettes of Bond tumbling over guns is a motif that became so over-familiar in the 1970s and 1980s I don't welcome it back. The "nude dirt" motif is welcome but too shy to celebrate female beauty, and shows how prudish Bond films have become under Barbara Broccoli. Compared to the late Maurice Binder's nudes of the 1970s and 1980s, this title sequence fails to deliver. Why didn't they stick with Daniel Kleinman, who did the title sequences in the last 5 Bond films? He really knows what he's doing.

I haven't heard Tellier but he couldn't be worse than the duo the film is stuck with.

Richard

[ArchCarrier]

Did anyone else look at Mathieu Amalric's villain and think Roman Polanski?

Yes. (5th paragraph)

[Adam]

I saw it last night and also found it to be a mediocre Bond with a few good moments and troublesome editing.
One horrible edit I have just a practical question on.

SpoilerShow

At the end of the boat chase, Bond throws a hook on the other boat, and it somehow pulls the other boat of of his. But in order for that to work, the other end of the hook's line would have had to be attached to something else. There is no shot of Bond attaching it to some external object. At least, neither I nor my brother saw one. Did any of you? This is just bad & sloppy.

After the boat chase, there is a nice shot of Bond just piloting the boat in open water. This reminded me very much of the shot of Joker sticking his head out thw window of the car after that bit of mayhem. A nice addition to character moments in these action films.

I think the intercutting of Bond being chased at the end of the Tosca sequence (which shows virtually nothing of him evading his chasers; he just does so) with the payoff of Tosca is what Forster & his editors why trying to achieve. An alternative poetics of action of some sort. We know that Bond will evade them, and it hardly matters how. However, I think that was their only successful example. I think the earlier attempt, intercutting the horse race and the fight in the church, was just too programmatic, blocky, and ineffective.

Overall, I thought the main flaw was that for me the emotional life and turmoil of Bond didn't really affect me in any way.

But I did think the idea of setting up a second person also out for revenge, and using that to draw out parallels in Bond's development, and his growing understanding of what he is going through, was a good idea. Just not realized well enough.

[Anhedionisiac]

Did anyone else look at Mathieu Amalric's villain and think Roman Polanski?

Yes. (5th paragraph)

I thought the slight resemblance was public knowledge since he became famous sometime between the first Desplechins and Munich.
Plus, isn't it, like, real uncool to mention it?

[dx23]

It seems that more Bonds on blu-ray are coming in March.

[dx23]

FYI, Amazon.com will be having the Steelbook exclusives for the next three Blu-ray releases.

[Antoine Doinel]

Suck on Daniel Craig.

[flyonthewall2983]

James Bond 23 movie title confirmed as Skyfall

The name was revealed today (November 3) at the launch press conference for Daniel Craig's third outing as Ian Fleming's secret agent.

The new 007 movie will see Craig star alongside a returning Judi Dench and franchise newcomers Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes and Albert Finney. The film will not relate to an original Fleming story.

Craig said that the film will be "Bond with a capital 'B', adding: "It's all in the script and we've got a great script."

Bérénice Marlohe will play a character called Severin in the film, who she described as
"glamourous" and "enigmatic". Naomie Harris will play a field agent called Eve.

Oscar-winning American Beauty director Sam Mendes will direct Skyfall from a script by John Logan, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade.

"I thought the story was fantastic," Mendes said. "I love Daniel and Judi. This is an enormous challenge."

Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson will again serve as producers.

Despite various rumors of who might record the Skyfall theme - including Kings of Leon and Adele, it was revealed that various artists are being considered but none were confirmed.

Craig's previous James Bond films - Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace - have grossed more than $1 billion (£625 million) at the worldwide box office.

Skyfall will be released in cinemas on October 26, 2012.

Better title than the last aside, this sounds pretty good. Hopefully it can regain more of what made Casino Royale good.

[Brian C]

Craig said that the film will be "Bond with a capital 'B'...

This is convention in the English language, isn't it, to capitalize proper nouns?

Otherwise, I didn't know Ralph Fiennes had been cast. That's cool.

[aox]

I pray that the script is strong and worthy enough for that cast. Because, the cast alone adds a ton of potential for this to be the best of the series.

[cdnchris]

I remember reading a rumour that Bardem and Fiennes were both being considered as the villain but heard that role went to Bardem. I'm curious as to who Fiennes is playing. Great cast overall. Solace was pretty bad but seeing the cast list has me anticipating this one a little more.

[Finch]

I'm hoping Dench gets as little screentime as possible in the pic. I found her performances as M more and more insufferable as the films went on.

[Professor Wagstaff]

Despite the cast, I can't move beyond my mistrust of anything Sam Mendes makes, though I'd still consider him less problematic than Marc Forster.

[Jeff]

You're going to be disappointed, Finch. Word is that Dench will have A LOT of screen time and the story will center around her past, and something happening to her.

Reportedly the script is quite good, and is more about story and character than action. The names of Finney and Fiennes' characters have not been released. Speculation is that they may be playing characters familiar to the Bond universe (Blofeld?).

Roger Deakins is lensing, which is always good news.

[matrixschmatrix]

I actually can't remember why I felt let down by QoS at this point, but I'm definitely looking forward to this- though Mendes' movies are far from consistently excellent, they generally have strong performances and characterizations, and I think they've all been visually striking. Hopefully, those strengths will come through, and his weaknesses (which, to me, are generally related to somewhat glib storytelling) won't be relevant.

[Brian C]

I hadn't heard the news about Deakins either, but I definitely approve.

M is one of the few roles I can handle Dench in at this point. With a few exceptions it's the only role she plays in movies that isn't the same wise old lady who dispenses nuggets of wisdom at regular Harvey Weinstein-approved moments.

[domino harvey]

She's basically at the Geraldine Page stage of her career

[colinr0380]

I agree, they are much more producer orientated and less in the hands of the directors to do with what they wish, which is why often specifically 'dramatic' directors are hired for presumed expertise in the narrative (i.e. 'talking') scenes, while the most 'important' sequences of the films - the action setpieces - are done by the second unit, usually making them feel painfully divorced from the rest of the narrative. I often wonder just how much influence the main director has on the content of those scenes, or whether they are chosen for the film because they do not have enough experience of action to make those decisions themselves?

They're not really actor's films either, beyond perhaps the main role of Bond itself - I remember being especially disappointed with the way Jonathan Pryce was used in Tomorrow Never Dies for example, and have a hard time thinking that Fiennes will be playing anything other than the more cerebral baddie hiding behind the brawn of Bardem for a dual climax (in the vein say of the Sophie Marceau/Robert Carlyle double act of World Is Not Enough, a film which also tried to get Dench's M more involved in the action than previously).

[MichaelB]

I agree, especially when we factor in that the most 'important' sequences of the films - the action setpieces - are done by the second unit, usually making them feel painfully divorced from the rest of the narrative, with the main director usually seeming as if they have little influence on the content of those scenes.

Indeed - second unit director Vic Armstrong deserves far more credit for those scenes in many of the recent Bonds, just as he did for the Hungarian Revolution reconstruction in Children of Glory, technically un film de Krisztina Goda.

I've seen three of Ms Goda's films, and she's clearly a perfectly competent director of actors, but nothing in her career before or since has suggested that she's a wizard of the large-scale action set-piece - whereas the vastly more experienced former stuntman Armstrong clearly is.

[colinr0380]

Sorry Michael, I edited my comment a little there while you were replying, but the content is the same.

It is a shame that Armstrong has not directed more himself - his one feature to date is, as you would maybe expect, a Dolph Lundgren action film.

[Cde.]

I agree, they are much more producer orientated and less in the hands of the directors to do with what they wish, which is why often specifically 'dramatic' directors are hired for presumed expertise in the narrative (i.e. 'talking') scenes, while the most 'important' sequences of the films - the action setpieces - are done by the second unit, usually making them feel painfully divorced from the rest of the narrative. I often wonder just how much influence the main director has on the content of those scenes, or whether they are chosen for the film because they do not have enough experience of action to make those decisions themselves?

Hopefully things are different this time around. Mendes seems to be aware of this concern and addressed it at the press conference:

The action is part of the main body of the film. Every decision is mine. The action needs to co-exist with the drama.

I don't think it's a coincidence that the best Bond films of the past few decades have been those directed by Martin Campbell, a man who cares about and has experience directing action, while those handled by 'prestige' directors (Quantum of Solace, The World is Not Enough) have had by far the worst action.

[MichaelB]

I don't think it's a coincidence that the best Bond films of the past few decades have been those directed by Martin Campbell, a man who cares about and has experience directing action, while those handled by 'prestige' directors (Quantum of Solace, The World is Not Enough) have had by far the worst action.

Two other outstanding Bond directors are Peter Hunt and John Glen, both of whom started out as Bond editors. I suspect that that isn't a coincidence.

[MoonlitKnight]

I don't think it's a coincidence that the best Bond films of the past few decades have been those directed by Martin Campbell, a man who cares about and has experience directing action, while those handled by 'prestige' directors (Quantum of Solace, The World is Not Enough) have had by far the worst action.

Two other outstanding Bond directors are Peter Hunt and John Glen, both of whom started out as Bond editors. I suspect that that isn't a coincidence.

I still can't help but wonder how much better "Diamonds Are Forever," "Live and Let Die," and "The Man with the Golden Gun" could've been had Hunt stayed in the director's chair after OHMSS instead of giving it back to the at-that-point-past-his-prime Guy Hamilton.

[flyonthewall2983]

This will be the first Bond film to get the IMAX treatment.