77 replies to this topic

[Eddie Burns]

I was watching TWINE the other day and couldn't help but feel that Sophie Marceau's Elektra King is probably one of the best bond girls/villains the series has ever had. I mean the role wasn't easy. She had to be innocent enough for us to initially think that she wasn't the villian, but then turn completely twisted and disturbed for the audience to see how far gone she was. This, coupled with magnetic sex appeal and femininity (you really want to save her but you know its hopeless) came together amazingly well on-screen. There have been beautiful bond girls but not since Fiona Volpe has a bond girl had so much sex appeal mainly through her acting. No bikinis necessary. I feel she's very underrated.

The ending in TWINE suffers because Bond kills Elektra first. If the writers had Bond dispose of Renard first then have THAT scene with Elektra, then I think we would have seen a much better movie. I always judge a film by how it ends, especially a Bond film, and since we were told that TWINE was supposed to be an emotional movie the ending leaves everything a little flat. For me the movie ended after Bond shot Elektra. Because, all in all, this movie was about her and the lyrics to the song sung by Garbage gave an insight into her psyche (hence why i love the song).

Overall next to Goldeneye, TWINE is the best Brosnan film despite the action being very generic. All this is down to King. I found her more complex and interesting than Carver or Graves. If they had toned down the action, got rid of Christmas Jones (She would have been perfect for DAD, considering her character), and upped the thriller and suspense, we could have had a classic Bond movie (then again that could be said for a lot of Bond movies) with a compelling villianess.

[Harmsway]

I think Sophie Marceau's Elektra King is the worst Bond girl of them all. Yes, I'm entirely sincere.

[Mr_Wint]

Sophie Marceau as 'Elektra King' is simply great casting. I dont think any other actress could've done it better.

[PrinceKamalKhan]

I was watching TWINE the other day and couldn't help but feel that Sophie Marceau's Elektra King is probably one of the best bond girls/villains the series has ever had. I mean the role wasn't easy. She had to be innocent enough for us to initially think that she wasn't the villian, but then turn completely twisted and disturbed for the audience to see how far gone she was. This, coupled with magnetic sex appeal and femininity (you really want to save her but you know its hopeless) came together amazingly well on-screen. There have been beautiful bond girls but not since Fiona Volpe has a bond girl had so much sex appeal mainly through her acting. No bikinis necessary. I feel she's very underrated.

The ending in TWINE suffers because Bond kills Elektra first. If the writers had Bond dispose of Renard first then have THAT scene with Elektra, then I think we would have seen a much better movie. I always judge a film by how it ends, especially a Bond film, and since we were told that TWINE was supposed to be an emotional movie the ending leaves everything a little flat. For me the movie ended after Bond shot Elektra. Because, all in all, this movie was about her and the lyrics to the song sung by Garbage gave an insight into her psyche (hence why i love the song).

Overall next to Goldeneye, TWINE is the best Brosnan film despite the action being very generic. All this is down to King. I found her more complex and interesting than Carver or Graves. If they had toned down the action, got rid of Christmas Jones (She would have been perfect for DAD, considering her character), and upped the thriller and suspense, we could have had a classic Bond movie (then again that could be said for a lot of Bond movies) with a compelling villianess.

I do think Sophie Marceau's performance as the seemingly innocent but truly psychotic and evil Elektra is the highlight of the bloated soap opera/CR and OHMSS wannabe known as TWINE. It would have been more effective if she had been the only Bond girl and the film ended with Bond alone(like the vastly superior CR and OHMSS). Also, if the Bond/Elektra relationship(or the whole script for that matter) had been written more plausibly the film would've been infinitely better, i.e., none of this Bond touching computer screens to wipe away tears of girls he's never even met, etc.

[Mr. Blofeld]

I do think Sophie Marceau's performance as the seemingly innocent but truly psychotic and evil Elektra is the highlight of the bloated soap opera/CR and OHMSS wannabe known as TWINE.

Not just CR and OHMSS, but also FYEO and TLD; its' complex plot can't hold up. Bloated, indeed...

[PrinceKamalKhan]

I do think Sophie Marceau's performance as the seemingly innocent but truly psychotic and evil Elektra is the highlight of the bloated soap opera/CR and OHMSS wannabe known as TWINE.

Not just CR and OHMSS, but also FYEO and TLD; its' complex plot can't hold up. Bloated, indeed...

But I think CR and OHMSS are the ones TWINE really tries to be, i.e., Bond becomes involved with a woman and it ends tragically. However, TWINE's coping out with a 2ndary leading lady in the Stacy Sutton-type girl of Christmas Jones to give him the formula required "happy ending" greatly diminish TWINE's stature next to the likes of OHMSS and CR. Plus the soap opera histrionics, Bond acting like a sentimental idiot rather than the experienced ladies' man and hardened agent he should be, and the return of goofy 1970s humor alongside the "drama." I'd rather Bond be all OTT and goofy like in YOLT, MR and DAD than the schizo mix of styles in TWINE. TWINE is a good example of how I think CR would've turned out if Brosnan had stayed. Thankfully, EON thought better.

[Mr. Blofeld]

I'd rather Bond be all OTT and goofy like in YOLT, MR and DAD than the schizo mix of styles in TWINE.

So, you're saying that Thunderball and TSWLM also had a "schizo mix of styles"?

[PrinceKamalKhan]

I'd rather Bond be all OTT and goofy like in YOLT, MR and DAD than the schizo mix of styles in TWINE.

So, you're saying that Thunderball and TSWLM also had a "schizo mix of styles"?

Nope. TSWLM is as OTT as YOLT and almost as OTT as MR to me. While TB is more OTT than FRWL and DN, it's still played pretty straight relative to the 1970s Bond films. And all of them are vastly superior Bond films to TWINE.

[Eddie Burns]

I think Sophie Marceau's Elektra King is the worst Bond girl of them all. Yes, I'm entirely sincere.

Why do you say that Harmsway? Worse than Jinx, C. Jones, M. Goodnight? I agree with what some ppl on here are saying about Brosnan's acting in this movie...imagine if Craig got to act opposite her?

[PrinceKamalKhan]

I think Sophie Marceau's Elektra King is the worst Bond girl of them all. Yes, I'm entirely sincere.

Why do you say that Harmsway? Worse than Jinx, C. Jones, M. Goodnight? I agree with what some ppl on here are saying about Brosnan's acting in this movie...imagine if Craig got to act opposite her?

Funny you should say that. I was thinking earlier, that it's too bad Sophie didn't get to play Vesper opposite Craig in CR. Not that Eva was bad but I think Sophie is prettier. And Sophie could've have appeared in a far better Bond film.

[Mr. Blofeld]

Funny you should say that. I was thinking earlier, that it's too bad Sophie didn't get to play Vesper opposite Craig in CR. Not that Eva was bad but I think Sophie is prettier. And Sophie could've have appeared in a far better Bond film.

Just like Maud Adams!

[PrinceKamalKhan]

Funny you should say that. I was thinking earlier, that it's too bad Sophie didn't get to play Vesper opposite Craig in CR. Not that Eva was bad but I think Sophie is prettier. And Sophie could've have appeared in a far better Bond film.

Just like Maud Adams!

Of course in my ideal dream scenario of Sophie as Vesper, TWINE wouldn't have existed.

[Mr. Blofeld]

Of course in my ideal dream scenario of Sophie as Vesper, TWINE wouldn't have existed.

Shame, that...

[Carolinabond007]

Taking the Christmas Jones character out of TWINE completely probably would have made TWINE an even better 007 film. I still think its the 2nd best Brosnan 007 film after GE.

[HH007]

Taking the Christmas Jones character out of TWINE completely probably would have made TWINE an even better 007 film. I still think its the 2nd best Brosnan 007 film after GE.

I must agree whole heartedly. I think Denise Richards single-handedly sunk what would have otherwise been a pretty decent Bond flick. I absolutely loved Sophie Marceau's Elektra King, and they should have just left her as the only girl in the story... or they at least should have cast a real actress as Christmas Jones.

[Carolinabond007]

They probably could have kept Denise Richards in just for a conquest in a small role but not as the Bond Girl. Seems to me the only reason Jones was there was to help Bond stop the bomb in the pipeline and help him in the submarine at the end. They could have used someone else in that capacity I feel. Maybe make Robinson's (Colin Salmon) role a little bigger and put him in those scenes.

Edited by Carolinabond007, 16 November 2007 - 03:26 PM.

[LadySylvia]

I thought that Sophie Marceau was excellent in TWINE . . . except toward the end, when her character threatened to drift into an over-the-top portrayal.

[Simon]

They probably could have kept Denise Richards in just for a conquest in a small role but not as the Bond Girl. Seems to me the only reason Jones was there was to help Bond stop the bomb in the pipeline and help him in the submarine at the end. They could have used someone else in that capacity I feel. Maybe make Robinson's (Colin Salmon) role a little bigger and put him in those scenes.

The only reason she was there was for the closing line clench. Otherwise would have been too much of a downbeat ending for 1999, an option they clearly matured from with CR.

Not that I set too much store in Bond timeline continuity, but Bond has defused nukes before so Richards' character was redundant from beginning to end.

[00Twelve]

I thought that Sophie Marceau was excellent in TWINE . . . except toward the end, when her character threatened to drift into an over-the-top portrayal.

I agree, she did well with what was given her for about half to 2/3 of the way through the film. After that, shockingly enough, there apparently wasn't anywhere left that the writers could think for her to go than back to standard monologuing megalomaniac form.

During the torture chair scene, I'd have loved it if, instead of pacing all about the room and giving her long speech with her grand gestures, she had instead stayed straddled on Bond's thigh and whispered the monologue all just inches from his face, pausing perhaps to circle maybe once or even twice, and very closely, with her voice still hushed and menacing. That would have been an original way to show a monologuing villain, and it would have been great for the first female main villain in Bond history, IMO.

And this isn't Marceau's fault (it's the writers'), but after we have to be told that "James Bond Does Not Enjoy Killing In Cold Blood" in the first confrontation with Renard (rather than just see it), she just had to remind us AGAIN as Bond chases Elektra up the stairs! The writers at The Agony Booth refer to this phenomenon as an "informed attribute," a character trait that we're told about but hardly or never see evidenced in the character.

[Beretta]

No bikinis necessary. I feel she's very underrated.

Our national Sophie loves showing her breast...She disguise her shortcomings in acting like that.
Here at Cannes : WARNING ADULT CONTENT

http://www.kewego.fr...yROoaftYea.html

[RazorBlade]

I'm going to watch TWINE again but I love Sophie and wish Christmas Jones wasn't even in the film. Not that I dislike Denise Richards. I also like 0012's description of the scene having Sophie sit on Bond's lap and whisper the villain's monologue. That would have been cool as a 4 film Lazenby run.

[DaveBond21]

I am a fan of TWINE, but mostly because of the PTS.

[Turn]

I am a fan of TWINE, but mostly because of the PTS.

On that basis alone, maybe I would appreciate it more.

[tambourineman]

It would have been more effective if she had been the only Bond girl and the film ended with Bond alone(like the vastly superior CR and OHMSS).

Totally agree. Christmas Jones completely diluted the impact that Elektra's betrayal and Bond's killing of her had. That angle should have been played up much more, and Elektra's end and Bond's reaction could have been up there with Tracy and Vesper. A completely missed opportunity there.

Edited by tambourineman, 05 December 2007 - 06:24 AM.

[herr blofeld]

If the writers had Bond dispose of Renard first then have THAT scene with Elektra, then I think we would have seen a much better movie.

I totally agree with you! Sophie Marceau was an excellent villainess, Renard did not impress me. Elektra was a complex and very interesting character (I've not long ago discovered that her name is a spoof the Greek Elektra, who loved her father with an excessive insanity). Her story with Bond is very captivating and we would have liked a final confrontation between the two of them with deeper lines.

Edited by herr blofeld, 09 December 2007 - 10:46 PM.

[freemo]

The character is a good as the film she is in.

[DamnCoffee]

The character is a good as the film she is in.

So I guess she is a brilliant Character then.

[stamper]

The problem with Elektra is that, frankly, she would have been better off killed by Bond at the end of the first act (you know, the woman character who dies), the audience would have cheered.

[HH007]

No bikinis necessary. I feel she's very underrated.

Our national Sophie loves showing her breast...She disguise her shortcomings in acting like that.
Here at Cannes : WARNING ADULT CONTENT

http://www.kewego.fr...yROoaftYea.html

Ha! I was actually on an internship at the Cannes Film Festival when that happened. I wasn't standing by the red carpet at the time, but I wish I was!

[RazorBlade]

What about Sophie Marceau as P. Galore in a GF remake?