Author Topic: A Shaken, Not Stirred Message Will Self Destruct...  (Read 10995 times)

Sandy

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A Shaken, Not Stirred Message Will Self Destruct...
« on: December 05, 2013, 02:52:21 PM »


One film in and I realized my motivation to see all three of the most recent Bonds was lacking something. A marathon! But three films does not a marathon make. Enter smirnoff's message about the Mission Impossible franchise:

They are a lot of fun. Every film has a top notch (TOP NOTCH) heist sequence. What's also fun is that every film has a totally different aesthetic, but just enough recurring characters to keep you attached. The opening to every film is also a lot of fun... very bond like in that way where it kicks into the main theme... but imo the intros are even stronger. And unlike bond there is more of a team element. Not just someone back at HQ but other side characters involved in whatever operation, that you get to know and enjoy. :)

Definitely worth your while imo.  8)

Now there's some motivation! And, I have the answer to my sparse spy marathon. Thanks smirnoff! :D


And away we go...


   

     



Please feel free to throw in reviews, commentaries, contrasts, favorite spy gear... :)
« Last Edit: December 06, 2013, 12:37:10 PM by Sandy »

1SO

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Re: A Shaken, Not Stirred Message Will Self Destruct...
« Reply #1 on: December 05, 2013, 03:03:25 PM »
You're already doing smart skipping M:I-2. QoS may be a worse movie, but it's close and a more interesting failure to sit through.

Sandy

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Re: A Shaken, Not Stirred Message Will Self Destruct...
« Reply #2 on: December 05, 2013, 03:07:28 PM »
1SO, did I miss one? I think I'm watching M:I-2. :D



*Bringing this over so the reviews will all be in one place.


Casino Royale



Bond, is that you? I hardly recognize ya. And for that matter, Bond Girl is that you? You have a real name, sort of ;D and most amazingly, depth. What happened to the franchise? I walk away for a while and... Reboot! I love it. I can easily put aside the Bonds from the past, with the cheese, the cufflink adjusting and the womanizing, to stay with this story alone. Before I get rebutts :), I was spoon fed on Bond growing up and know that it's all brimming with coolness, so I don't want anyone to think I don't appreciate that aspect. It's just there's something here, along with the coolest of action scenes, that I'm not used to seeing and am left to ponder, which I can't say has happened after other Bond movies. "It is an intriguing sensation." (Thanks Data. I was trying to think of the exact wording.) The layers on layers of human motivation and sacrifice are precisely my cup of tea, or is that Vesper?

1SO

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Re: A Shaken, Not Stirred Message Will Self Destruct...
« Reply #3 on: December 05, 2013, 04:54:26 PM »
The image didn't pop up when the page loaded, but I see it there now. Oh well.

smirnoff

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Re: A Shaken, Not Stirred Message Will Self Destruct...
« Reply #4 on: December 05, 2013, 06:25:15 PM »
M:I-2 has nothing to apologize for, imo. :)

oldkid

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Re: A Shaken, Not Stirred Message Will Self Destruct...
« Reply #5 on: December 06, 2013, 01:46:21 AM »
It's good to be complete.

Isn't Casino Royale a blast?  Easily my favorite Bond film.  I guess the real question is whether it is really a Bond film at all.  Can we have Bond without cheese, without sly comments?  Is this Bond, or is it Borne?
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

Sandy

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Re: A Shaken, Not Stirred Message Will Self Destruct...
« Reply #6 on: December 06, 2013, 12:51:09 PM »
Very well put oldkid. I don't know what to make of Casino Royale either, but I like it.


1SO and smirnoff :), I'll go into M:I-2 with an open mind. We shall see.

smirnoff

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Re: A Shaken, Not Stirred Message Will Self Destruct...
« Reply #7 on: December 06, 2013, 08:38:05 PM »
Bond definitely took a humongous leap into the 21st century. Suddenly it was no longer good enough to just have a nuke and a lair and a henchman. People were bored to death with that stuff, the old formulas. Thin plots, and weak character motivations weren't just one of those things you had to put up with anymore... there was now films that made that stuff look like the junk that it was. Brosnan's Bond wasn't flexible enough, fast enough and failed to reach the new higher standards with Die Another Day, and arguably earlier than that. And the character never had an origin. And that was something people seemed to want. The full story... none of this episodic stuff. A proper arc. People had an appetite for something more expansive. Brosnan was obviously not going to be able to provide that, at that stage of the game.

Same story with Batman.

Audiences may be able to be tricked into seeing stuff like Battleship or whatever. And they may make money, but nobody respects those films because those films don't respect the audience.

Sandy

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Re: A Shaken, Not Stirred Message Will Self Destruct...
« Reply #8 on: December 13, 2013, 03:17:13 PM »
I thought I had responded to your post smirnoff, but I must have dreamt it. It's a shame, because I was very eloquent! :D

Those are the exact reasons I was so invested in Casino Royale, but hadn't thought it all through or knew enough of how Bond had (or hadn't) progressed over the years. After not seeing a Bond film for a long time, I finally decided to watch Die Another Day and knew that it wasn't for me. So, I put the idea of watching more aside. Luckily you talked me into Goldeneye (How come this one is so much better than Die Another Day?) which led me to go onto CR and the rest is (marathon) history.

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: A Shaken, Not Stirred Message Will Self Destruct...
« Reply #9 on: December 13, 2013, 03:18:44 PM »
Tomorrow Never Dies is the best Brosnan.

 

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