35 replies to this topic

[DamnCoffee]

I wouldn’t even consider this a review. It’s bloody rubbish but I needed to get thoughts down!!

So first off… YES! GUNBARREL! Secondly… The entire PTS is just marvellous - absolutely phenomenal ariel stunt work, and there was a few moments where i genuinely was on the edge of my seat. I thought the barrel roll was going to be the ‘big moment’ but it’s just what else that helicopter gets up to that is nothing short of extraordinary. Everything before that is great too, we have a great introduction to Bond in a shot that is a serious contender for one of the finest pieces of camera work in the series. i did notice a few ghost cuts though, most notably when the camera tracks past the Day of the Dead poster but it really doesn’t detract. The entire sequence has a great build up which ends with you literally on the edge of your seat. I honestly couldn’t believe how jaw dropping this entire scene was. Skyfall definitely had a stand out pre title sequence - one of the best in the series, but I feel SPECTRE takes the prize here if I where to compare the two - exhilarating. I really can’t complain about any of the action - entertained the hell out of me all the way through and is genuinely jaw dropping. i love Sam Mendes’ way of blending the drama, too. The Rome and Austria set pieces both find a way to use their ‘secondary’ characters, Moneypenny and Q in this case, extremely well. Really enjoyed the Rome car chase, since I haven’t seen much praise for it. Not only a great sequence but genuinely funny, whether it’s 009’s playlist, Bond getting pissy with a slow driver or Moneypenny for having a boyfriend. This is a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s so much fun, and it’s not really being funny just for the sake of it either, the humour actually advances the plot. There’s even a part where Bond interrogates a mouse and genuinely gets the answer he’s looking for. (It’s not as bad as it sounds). The train fight is a real standout. It’s Bautista’s big moment and it’s just as brutal as you expect. Fantastic sound editing there’s hardly any music and just the sound of two men going at each other and the train engine. I would be hard pressed to know which fight sequence of the Craig era is my favourite so far, the Casino Royale stairwell fight - or this beast. I have a gut feeling that Mr Hinx will be back though. He aint dead. If they bring him back it will be Moonraker without the cheese.

Ralph Fiennes and Ben Whishaw are both incredible in this and it feels like they’ve been in the role for years. Skyfall did a fantastic job at introducing these characters, but this film is where their story really begins. Naomie Harris also does a very fine job with Moneypenny but I found Tanner again to be a bit of a wasted opportunity - it would’ve been nice to have some sort of groundwork laid for his friendship with Bond which isn’t too big in the books I admit, but it sometimes feels like he’s just there. A great actor with sadly not much material to make him really stand out as much as the other regulars.

Daniel Craig is outstanding in this. Hands down his best performance yet in the role. it almost hurts how self assured Craig is in this, his performance is flawless. It’ll be a massive shame if this was Craig’s final outing because I definitely want more of *this* and I really would be surprised if he didn’t come back for another one because if this film is anything to go by, then Craig is having the most fun he’s ever had in the role. He’ll be back. At least for one more, but hell he can stick around as long as he likes as far as i’m concerned. His comic timing is amped up to 11 here, delivering lines the way only Craig can. A completely self assured performance that solidifies him even more as, arguably, the best actor in the role so far.

 Léa Seydoux absolutely shines, even though I do feel she was a tiny bit underused in the grand scheme of things. It would’ve been nice for her to have a bit more to do, and I feel neither Craig or Seydoux had that much screen time together for me to fully believe their love story. Performance wise though, I found her to be a marked improvement on Eva Green so I find it much easier to buy the romance here than with Bond and Vesper. (GREAT visual reference to the Venice scene in Casino Royale where Bond regains consciousness - even down to the characters slowly coming into focus in front a blinding white background) I loved her performance though, and she brings many new and familiar things to her performance that you have absolutely no problem accepting her into the cannon from the get go.

I’ve read a lot of things in reviews about Christoph Waltz being drastically underused and I can’t say that I was really that disappointed with his screen time. The SPECTRE meeting is just about as tense as you’d expect. There’s a great part where the woman in the meeting confidently addresses the other members at the table with so much ease and class you’re completely shocked at the response from her when Oberhauser enters the proceedings. She’s turned into a nervous wreck. There’s a lot of small things like this in this film that make it so interesting to watch. As you’d expect, most of the scene has Mr Waltz in complete darkness, which makes everything all the more chilling. The slight tilts of the head and slow movements - even gets someone to place his microphone about an inch closer to him - totally chilling. It’s during Bonds visit to his Moroccan base though that things really do kick off with the pair of them. Absolutely loved this section of the film and it had a lot of throwbacks to the past - even down to Bond putting his gun on a metal tray and being escorted to his bedroom, something so simple that had me fan boying with delight, but doesn’t even come close to how I was 10 minutes later. A lot of people have said that the big Blofeld reveal is complete S***, something that really baffles me. Most apparently had a problem with how casual it was, which I have no problem with. In fact, I love how flippant Waltz is about it. It’s been pretty clear from the get go that Waltz is Blofeld, and if his choice of wardrobe and white Persian cat doesn’t tell the audience that, revealing it as a DUN DUN DUN moment wouldn’t really do it justice. Had a lot of impact for me just the way it is. I could’ve done without the Bond/Oberhauser personal connection though, even though I feel it doesn’t detract much for the film but does feel a tiny bit hokey. At least they’re not actually brothers. So I can live with the foster care angle. I’m very happy with Waltz’ performance, the scenes in London are a highlight for me too. Everything the critics had a problem with I like. Bond and final acts can be a problem, and since everyone is complaining about how shoddy and disappointing it actually is, I’d like to go on the record as saying that I feel that this is one of those rare times that they’ve actually nailed the final set piece. This is where Ralph Fiennes in particular gets a true chance to show off his acting chops and is definitely one of the best things about the film. The stuff going on In London may at times feel unconnected to what’s going on with Bond, but it doesn’t at all detract from the films enjoyment. Everything accumulates perfectly so it’s a massive relief when both narrative strands finally do collide with each other and wrap up, not a compelling engaging piece of cinema but a film that’s so self assured and confident you can’t help but go along for the ride.

The plot does take a leap of faith on the audiences part, but all Bond films do really. I found the global survailance angle really appropriate but at the same time it wasn’t quite clear what it was exactly that SPECTRE was going to do with this information? Thankfully this isn’t something that I found myself worrying about at the time but I think I want to know a bit more about Blofelds plot, because the terrorism angle is all well and good, but apart from the scenes with M and Denbigh it doesn’t really feel like there’s much threat.

The soundtrack proves to be one of the weakest aspects of the film. There’s very few stand out tracks and half of the soundtrack is reused music from Skyfall. Which works in places, but gets a bit too much when it’s all over the action sequences and it doesn’t do itself much favours when it’s being successful in most other ways to be different from Skyfall. I felt this was just a really lazy effort on Thomas Newmans part - especially when it feels like the music is being refused for the sake of it.

Soundtrack aside, I feel its unfair to compare SPECTRE to it’s predecessor. Both movies come at completely opposite ends of the spectrum. Which is really highlights Mendes’ fantastic direction and proves that he isn’t a one trick pony. It could’ve been so easy for him to deliver Skyfall 2 and he delivered Bond 24, and it’s totally bloody amazing. Overall, an extremely self assured entry to the Bond series. So confident that it has no problem blending the serious nature of the Daniel Craig series with a moderate handful of classic humour that has been missing from the series for a very long time. Visually stunning with action that makes your jaw hit the floor - Nobody does it better than Bond. Well done 007, a true return to form.

 

Sorry - It’s a bit of a bonkers review and it’s all over the place but to simplify…

 

The PROS

• Gunbarrel sequence made me punch the air. Great idea to have the Bond theme building over the opening logos.
• PTS tops Skyfall. Which I didn’t think was even possible. What that helicopter does is incredible.
• Daniel Craig’s best performance so far as Bond. How he moves. How he delivers lines. Perfect.
• The supporting cast are brilliant. Christoph Waltz / Lea Sedoux / Ralph Fiennes and Ben Whishaw in particular.
• Lovely to see our new MI6 team grow.
• The main titles sequence is one of the best in the series - and this is coming from someone who doesn’t think much of the song at all. Beautiful.
• Fantastic, edge of your seat action - Mexico, Austria and the train fight being the real highlights. Although every single fight sequence, every beat of action is enjoyable as hell.
• The humour - there’s a lot of laugh at loud moments in this one. Not even visual gags, proper witty dry humour.
• The pacing - really similar to Skyfalls. The film roars along and you’re genuinely surprised when you’ve reached the half way point. (Which is Silvas Island in Skyfall by the way - which is weird to think about because it feels like the film has barely started)
• Gadgets! Great use of Bonds watch and of course the Aston Martin essentials.
• Lovely moments that just feel quintessential Bond that have been missing for a while - Q’s lab. gadget car, Bond in disguise, mentions of other 00’s.. So many little things made me smile.
• The ending is great if you understand what it’s implying. (Blofeld on the bridge / Bond and Madeline driving away)
• Hoyte van Hoytema’s camera work is magnificent. I still think Skyfall takes the top spot for best cinematography though, but SPECTRE really isn’t that far off.
• Some bloody good Bond moments - Helicopters in Mexico / Bond vs Blofeld’s chopper!!!! / The plane driving through the barn.
• Mr White’s scene was great - nice linking with Quantum and SPECTRE, too.
• SCAR!
• Loved the reference to The Hildebrand Rarity!!!!
• Some lovely surprises scattered throughout that makes one squeel.

 

The CONS

• It needed more scenes with Bond and Madeline for us to actually invest in the relationship - what’s there is good, but considering these two are falling in love. A train journey doesn’t really cut it really.
• I think Bond should’ve stuck around in at least one location for a bit longer. Possibly Austria or Morocco. We barely get a chance to see some of the locations - before we know it we’re in another country and on with the story. Not that getting on with the plot is a bad thing, it just would’ve been nice to see Bond take a breather and hang around a bit longer.
• SPECTRE’s actual plot is a bit unclear which doesn’t feel like there’s much at stake
• Mr Hinx needed to be explored more. Besides loving his character the addition of his metal thumbs felt a bit pointless.
• No full Bond theme, infact let’s not talk about the soundtrack….
• Monica Belluci was in this film?
• “You shouldn’t stare.” - “You shouldn’t look like that?”. Um.

 

STUFF I FOUND HILLARIOUS

• Careless.
• Bond yelling "STAY!" at a security guard in Austria.
• Bond looking offended at Q making a joke about the DB5 / taking away the rifle he's admiring.
• How the Rome car chase is intercut with Moneypenny living a normal life. / Bond getting jealous.
• Bond waving at the man standing staring at him at the funeral.
• Landing on the sofa
• 009's playlist
• Bond finally ordering a Vodka Martini, shaken not stirred, and the bar not serving alcohol.
• Mallory introducting himself to Madeline. "I'm. M..??.."
• "It's not your birthday is it?" - "No sir. That was last week."
• Airbag.
• Hinx pulling up next to Bond and smiling, then Bond returning the gesture later on...
• "That's not the sort of thing that looks good on a formmmm."
• Bond and the mouse!

There's still so much i've probably forgotten about. Itching to see it again!

 

HIGH ★★★★

Edited by DamnCoffee, 31 October 2015 - 09:02 PM.

[PPK_19]

Just seen it. LOVED LOVED LOVED it! Everything. No cons come to mind apart from the score, which was just Skyfall's remixed. Such a lazy lazy lazy effort from Thomas Newman. Probably took him half the day to do, jeez. But other than that, wow!

 

Highlights:

 

Gunbarrel at the beginning!

PTS, just brilliant. The 4 mins tracking shot, the helicopter stunt, just the sheer amount of extras!

Kleinman's titles, worked very well with Sam Smith's underwhelming song.

Daniel Craig- a brilliant performance.

The "stay!" bit at the clinic hahahaha

Lea Soudoux. Beautiful. She can act, too.

Waltz- nuff said. 

The countless throwbacks to Bond of old, like talking to the rat, the hat on the bed in the hotel room, the train fight, could go on and on.

 

Please do one more, Daniel. Please. 

 

5 stars. 

[DamnCoffee]

 

Please do one more, Daniel. Please. 

 

 

 

I completely understand that people may feel that there's some kind of finality about SPECTRE, but if anything there's a lot in the film that points towards a continuation. The shot of Blofeld on the bridge just staring at Madeline, which clearly points towards Blofeld wanting a specific type of revenge, and then there's the ending itself which screams of On Her Majesty's Secret Service and we all know what that means. I feel that people who don't know the series that well could be totally fooled into believing that it's *clearly* Craig's final Bond film, but to the contary, even though it rounds up Craigs first three films, there's much more of a sense of it all paving the way for something much bigger, that casual audiences won't see coming.

[agentbug]

I agree with most of what you've written, DamnCoffee. Tbh I was slightly disappointed when I first saw it (mainly by the story choices) but the more I remember it, and the more I read thoughts like yours above, the more I'm looking forward to seeing it again.

 

Such a shame Bond and Madeline didn't have more time, and about the score, but there is lots to love.

[PPK_19]

My mind drifted to OHMSS when Bond and Mads got into the car at the end too. I would love it if your theory turned out to be correct, Harkin. We need Daniel back! He just totally owns the role. 

[The Dove]

Wonderful reviews guys!! It's almost upon us here in the States..

[Vauxhall]

My mind drifted to OHMSS when Bond and Mads got into the car at the end too. I would love it if your theory turned out to be correct, Harkin. We need Daniel back! He just totally owns the role.

And for quite a while in production, there was even more of a direct reference to OHMSS. Understand why they'd drop it though.

[sharpshooter]

I've been dying to hear your detailed thoughts, Coffee, and it didn't disappoint. Brilliant review. 

[Guy Haines]

Please do one more, Daniel. Please.

I completely understand that people may feel that there's some kind of finality about SPECTRE, but if anything there's a lot in the film that points towards a continuation. The shot of Blofeld on the bridge just staring at Madeline, which clearly points towards Blofeld wanting a specific type of revenge, and then there's the ending itself which screams of On Her Majesty's Secret Service and we all know what that means. I feel that people who don't know the series that well could be totally fooled into believing that it's *clearly* Craig's final Bond film, but to the contary, even though it rounds up Craigs first three films, there's much more of a sense of it all paving the way for something much bigger, that casual audiences won't see coming.

Anecdotal admittedly, but the comments I heard from fellow audience members on leaving on Monday night were along the lines of "it ain't over yet". OHMSS was also mentioned by some of the more knowledgeable amongst them.

Personally;

Spoiler

I'd rather Madeleine didn't die in the next movie. We've already seen Bond lose Vesper to death - lose almost every woman in the Craig era to death in fact. It would be more original for him to lose her - as, inevitably he will - because he can't avoid his fate and give up his life as a state sponsored assassin and given her father's background, she can't live with this.

As for ESB - he'll be back but I hope the screenwriters devise a more original way for him to get back at the world in general and Bond in particular than OHMSS revisited. However, that whole "Garden of Death" scenario lies waiting to be filmed, so it wouldn't surprise me if Bond 25 involves (1) a start like the end of OHMSS (2) Bond sent on a "routine" assignment to shake him out of his depression - Blofeld having escaped and disappeared, followed by (3) "you interfered in my world, I destroyed yours" revisited, complete with poison plants and other items you don't normally see on BBC gardening programmes! ;-)

[RMc2]

No cons come to mind apart from the score, which was just Skyfall's remixed. Such a lazy lazy lazy effort from Thomas Newman. Probably took him half the day to do, jeez. 

 

Please do one more, Daniel. Please. 

 I think he said he worked on the score for 3 months in a BBC interview...

 

Couldn't agree more. One more, Mr Craig, please!

[SecretAgentFan]

Such a lazy lazy lazy effort from Thomas Newman. Probably took him half the day to do, jeez.

 

That is wrong on so many levels...

[thecasinoroyale]

I'm ready for Craig to go now - I'll have him once more in 'Bond25' to wrap his journey started in 2006 but think he's reaching the peak of all he can give us as 007 now. He needs to beg Mendes to return for one more final outing for them both and go out with a bang to leave the franchise ready for new blood.

[sharpshooter]

I'm ready for Craig to go now - I'll have him once more in 'Bond25' to wrap his journey started in 2006 but think he's reaching the peak of all he can give us as 007 now. He needs to beg Mendes to return for one more final outing for them both and go out with a bang to leave the franchise ready for new blood.

If Mendes is back - and Barbara Broccoli seems to think he will be, I think that seals Craig's fate. They'll both bow out together. Craig has said Mendes is the only man for the job, and I couldn't see Craig doing another with someone else to be honest. Especially if they write Bond 25 with an 'end'. Bond with amnesia, or something like that.

[thecasinoroyale]

My thoughts exactly - the journey his Bond is now taking must be coming to and end as they're writing him into a funnel, with little room to get out except for one or two defining outcomes. And the fact every film seems to want to send with an unnecessary blast of James Bond music and a big reference to DC actually "being" James Bond should have stopped with 'Casino Royale'. Not a fan of that personally.

[Surrie]

I wouldn’t even consider this a review. It’s bloody rubbish but I needed to get thoughts down!!

So first off… YES! GUNBARREL! Secondly… The entire PTS is just marvellous - absolutely phenomenal ariel stunt work, and there was a few moments where i genuinely was on the edge of my seat. I thought the barrel roll was going to be the ‘big moment’ but it’s just what else that helicopter gets up to that is nothing short of extraordinary. Everything before that is great too, we have a great introduction to Bond in a shot that is a serious contender for one of the finest pieces of camera work in the series. i did notice a few ghost cuts though, most notably when the camera tracks past the Day of the Dead poster but it really doesn’t detract. The entire sequence has a great build up which ends with you literally on the edge of your seat. I honestly couldn’t believe how jaw dropping this entire scene was. Skyfall definitely had a stand out pre title sequence - one of the best in the series, but I feel SPECTRE takes the prize here if I where to compare the two - exhilarating. I really can’t complain about any of the action - entertained the hell out of me all the way through and is genuinely jaw dropping. i love Sam Mendes’ way of blending the drama, too. The Rome and Austria set pieces both find a way to use their ‘secondary’ characters, Moneypenny and Q in this case, extremely well. Really enjoyed the Rome car chase, since I haven’t seen much praise for it. Not only a great sequence but genuinely funny, whether it’s 009’s playlist, Bond getting pissy with a slow driver or Moneypenny for having a boyfriend. This is a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s so much fun, and it’s not really being funny just for the sake of it either, the humour actually advances the plot. There’s even a part where Bond interrogates a mouse and genuinely gets the answer he’s looking for. (It’s not as bad as it sounds). The train fight is a real standout. It’s Bautista’s big moment and it’s just as brutal as you expect. Fantastic sound editing there’s hardly any music and just the sound of two men going at each other and the train engine. I would be hard pressed to know which fight sequence of the Craig era is my favourite so far, the Casino Royale stairwell fight - or this beast. I have a gut feeling that Mr Hinx will be back though. He aint dead. If they bring him back it will be Moonraker without the cheese.

Ralph Fiennes and Ben Whishaw are both incredible in this and it feels like they’ve been in the role for years. Skyfall did a fantastic job at introducing these characters, but this film is where their story really begins. Naomie Harris also does a very fine job with Moneypenny but I found Tanner again to be a bit of a wasted opportunity - it would’ve been nice to have some sort of groundwork laid for his friendship with Bond which isn’t too big in the books I admit, but it sometimes feels like he’s just there. A great actor with sadly not much material to make him really stand out as much as the other regulars.

Daniel Craig is outstanding in this. Hands down his best performance yet in the role. it almost hurts how self assured Craig is in this, his performance is flawless. It’ll be a massive shame if this was Craig’s final outing because I definitely want more of *this* and I really would be surprised if he didn’t come back for another one because if this film is anything to go by, then Craig is having the most fun he’s ever had in the role. He’ll be back. At least for one more, but hell he can stick around as long as he likes as far as i’m concerned. His comic timing is amped up to 11 here, delivering lines the way only Craig can. A completely self assured performance that solidifies him even more as, arguably, the best actor in the role so far.

 Léa Seydoux absolutely shines, even though I do feel she was a tiny bit underused in the grand scheme of things. It would’ve been nice for her to have a bit more to do, and I feel neither Craig or Seydoux had that much screen time together for me to fully believe their love story. Performance wise though, I found her to be a marked improvement on Eva Green so I find it much easier to buy the romance here than with Bond and Vesper. (GREAT visual reference to the Venice scene in Casino Royale where Bond regains consciousness - even down to the characters slowly coming into focus in front a blinding white background) I loved her performance though, and she brings many new and familiar things to her performance that you have absolutely no problem accepting her into the cannon from the get go.

I’ve read a lot of things in reviews about Christoph Waltz being drastically underused and I can’t say that I was really that disappointed with his screen time. The SPECTRE meeting is just about as tense as you’d expect. There’s a great part where the woman in the meeting confidently addresses the other members at the table with so much ease and class you’re completely shocked at the response from her when Oberhauser enters the proceedings. She’s turned into a nervous wreck. There’s a lot of small things like this in this film that make it so interesting to watch. As you’d expect, most of the scene has Mr Waltz in complete darkness, which makes everything all the more chilling. The slight tilts of the head and slow movements - even gets someone to place his microphone about an inch closer to him - totally chilling. It’s during Bonds visit to his Moroccan base though that things really do kick off with the pair of them. Absolutely loved this section of the film and it had a lot of throwbacks to the past - even down to Bond putting his gun on a metal tray and being escorted to his bedroom, something so simple that had me fan boying with delight, but doesn’t even come close to how I was 10 minutes later. A lot of people have said that the big Blofeld reveal is complete S***, something that really baffles me. Most apparently had a problem with how casual it was, which I have no problem with. In fact, I love how flippant Waltz is about it. It’s been pretty clear from the get go that Waltz is Blofeld, and if his choice of wardrobe and white Persian cat doesn’t tell the audience that, revealing it as a DUN DUN DUN moment wouldn’t really do it justice. Had a lot of impact for me just the way it is. I could’ve done without the Bond/Oberhauser personal connection though, even though I feel it doesn’t detract much for the film but does feel a tiny bit hokey. At least they’re not actually brothers. So I can live with the foster care angle. I’m very happy with Waltz’ performance, the scenes in London are a highlight for me too. Everything the critics had a problem with I like. Bond and final acts can be a problem, and since everyone is complaining about how shoddy and disappointing it actually is, I’d like to go on the record as saying that I feel that this is one of those rare times that they’ve actually nailed the final set piece. This is where Ralph Fiennes in particular gets a true chance to show off his acting chops and is definitely one of the best things about the film. The stuff going on In London may at times feel unconnected to what’s going on with Bond, but it doesn’t at all detract from the films enjoyment. Everything accumulates perfectly so it’s a massive relief when both narrative strands finally do collide with each other and wrap up, not a compelling engaging piece of cinema but a film that’s so self assured and confident you can’t help but go along for the ride.

The plot does take a leap of faith on the audiences part, but all Bond films do really. I found the global survailance angle really appropriate but at the same time it wasn’t quite clear what it was exactly that SPECTRE was going to do with this information? Thankfully this isn’t something that I found myself worrying about at the time but I think I want to know a bit more about Blofelds plot, because the terrorism angle is all well and good, but apart from the scenes with M and Denbigh it doesn’t really feel like there’s much threat.

The soundtrack proves to be one of the weakest aspects of the film. There’s very few stand out tracks and half of the soundtrack is reused music from Skyfall. Which works in places, but gets a bit too much when it’s all over the action sequences and it doesn’t do itself much favours when it’s being successful in most other ways to be different from Skyfall. I felt this was just a really lazy effort on Thomas Newmans part - especially when it feels like the music is being refused for the sake of it.

Soundtrack aside, I feel its unfair to compare SPECTRE to it’s predecessor. Both movies come at completely opposite ends of the spectrum. Which is really highlights Mendes’ fantastic direction and proves that he isn’t a one trick pony. It could’ve been so easy for him to deliver Skyfall 2 and he delivered Bond 24, and it’s totally bloody amazing. Overall, an extremely self assured entry to the Bond series. So confident that it has no problem blending the serious nature of the Daniel Craig series with a moderate handful of classic humour that has been missing from the series for a very long time. Visually stunning with action that makes your jaw hit the floor - Nobody does it better than Bond. Well done 007, a true return to form.

 

Sorry - It’s a bit of a bonkers review and it’s all over the place but to simplify…

 

The PROS

• Gunbarrel sequence made me punch the air. Great idea to have the Bond theme building over the opening logos.
• PTS tops Skyfall. Which I didn’t think was even possible. What that helicopter does is incredible.
• Daniel Craig’s best performance so far as Bond. How he moves. How he delivers lines. Perfect.
• The supporting cast are brilliant. Christoph Waltz / Lea Sedoux / Ralph Fiennes and Ben Whishaw in particular.
• Lovely to see our new MI6 team grow.
• The main titles sequence is one of the best in the series - and this is coming from someone who doesn’t think much of the song at all. Beautiful.
• Fantastic, edge of your seat action - Mexico, Austria and the train fight being the real highlights. Although every single fight sequence, every beat of action is enjoyable as hell.
• The humour - there’s a lot of laugh at loud moments in this one. Not even visual gags, proper witty dry humour.
• The pacing - really similar to Skyfalls. The film roars along and you’re genuinely surprised when you’ve reached the half way point. (Which is Silvas Island in Skyfall by the way - which is weird to think about because it feels like the film has barely started)
• Gadgets! Great use of Bonds watch and of course the Aston Martin essentials.
• Lovely moments that just feel quintessential Bond that have been missing for a while - Q’s lab. gadget car, Bond in disguise, mentions of other 00’s.. So many little things made me smile.
• The ending is great if you understand what it’s implying. (Blofeld on the bridge / Bond and Madeline driving away)
• Hoyte van Hoytema’s camera work is magnificent. I still think Skyfall takes the top spot for best cinematography though, but SPECTRE really isn’t that far off.
• Some bloody good Bond moments - Helicopters in Mexico / Bond vs Blofeld’s chopper!!!! / The plane driving through the barn.
• Mr White’s scene was great - nice linking with Quantum and SPECTRE, too.
• SCAR!
• Loved the reference to The Hildebrand Rarity!!!!
• Some lovely surprises scattered throughout that makes one squeel.

 

The CONS

• It needed more scenes with Bond and Madeline for us to actually invest in the relationship - what’s there is good, but considering these two are falling in love. A train journey doesn’t really cut it really.
• I think Bond should’ve stuck around in at least one location for a bit longer. Possibly Austria or Morocco. We barely get a chance to see some of the locations - before we know it we’re in another country and on with the story. Not that getting on with the plot is a bad thing, it just would’ve been nice to see Bond take a breather and hang around a bit longer.
• SPECTRE’s actual plot is a bit unclear which doesn’t feel like there’s much at stake
• Mr Hinx needed to be explored more. Besides loving his character the addition of his metal thumbs felt a bit pointless.
• No full Bond theme, infact let’s not talk about the soundtrack….
• Monica Belluci was in this film?
• “You shouldn’t stare.” - “You shouldn’t look like that?”. Um.

 

STUFF I FOUND HILLARIOUS

• Careless.
• Bond yelling "STAY!" at a security guard in Austria.
• Bond looking offended at Q making a joke about the DB5 / taking away the rifle he's admiring.
• How the Rome car chase is intercut with Moneypenny living a normal life. / Bond getting jealous.
• Bond waving at the man standing staring at him at the funeral.
• Landing on the sofa
• 009's playlist
• Bond finally ordering a Vodka Martini, shaken not stirred, and the bar not serving alcohol.
• Mallory introducting himself to Madeline. "I'm. M..??.."
• "It's not your birthday is it?" - "No sir. That was last week."
• Airbag.
• Hinx pulling up next to Bond and smiling, then Bond returning the gesture later on...
• "That's not the sort of thing that looks good on a formmmm."
• Bond and the mouse!

There's still so much i've probably forgotten about. Itching to see it again!

 

HIGH ★★★★

 

I agree with pretty much everything you've said! Loved the movie - felt like the Bond DC should have been playing. Seydoux IMO was the best Bond girl in years! Waltz was a perfect casting (I really hope he returns) and I loved that fact that we got to see more of the MI6 team! I saw SPECTRE again this weekend (after watching it on Monday)  and still feel the same about the movie. Excellent Bond film, which has left me wishing that DC does return as I feel like he's comfortable playing the role and this shows.   

[Guy Haines]

The words at the very start of the film are apt;

Spoiler

"The Dead Are Alive", namely;

The Day Of The Dead Festival in the PTS, of course;

The cryptic clue provided by someone who didn't let death get in the way of duty;

Our villain - a man Bond believed was long dead;

SPECTRE itself - back after over thirty years, in terms of the overall Bond canon.

[PPK_19]

 

Such a lazy lazy lazy effort from Thomas Newman. Probably took him half the day to do, jeez.

 

That is wrong on so many levels...

 

 

It's my opinion. I'm not the only one here who thinks Newman's score was poor.

[thecasinoroyale]

I have to admit, apart from the sublime music opening the PTS which really captured the festival mood, I didn't find this soundtrack interesting at all. The only parts that stuck out for me in parts where music was important were modified cues from 'Skyfall'.

 

The Rome funeral, the car chase, the action, the romance, the finale - every cue from 'Skyfall' stuck out and I couldn't place much new material. I too feel this was a very quick and easy score for Newman to make around existing music.

[PPK_19]

^ Spot on. The PTS music had me tapping my feet, it really captured the festival mood. But everything else was just as you said, Skyfall cues re-jigged. I'd be interested to hear The Shark's view on this.

I'm going to see the film again this week, I'll keep a close ear on the music this time, but i doubt my opinion will change.

[Harmsway]

People are really overstating the reuse of material in Newman's score. Spectre's score is about 70% new material.

Doesn't mean you have to like it, of course, but give Newman a fair shake.

[Vauxhall]

I'm by no means a soundtrack expert, but I know what I like, and there are a handful of moments where I really like what Newman has done here. I had the same opinion of the SKYFALL score.

 

In the case of SPECTRE - the Mexico City opening sequence (although I'd have liked to have seen the music continue over the helicopter fight), the choir kicking in as the car chase approaches the Vatican, the use of Madeleine's theme in Morocco, and the flourishes of the Bond theme in Detonation and Westminster Bridge. 

 

I'm not a huge fan, but I like it.

[sharpshooter]

People are really overstating the reuse of material in Newman's score. Spectre's score is about 70% new material.

Doesn't mean you have to like it, of course, but give Newman a fair shake.

I agree. I still prefer his Skyfall score, but I like what he's done for SPECTRE as well. Especially the track 1-16 content up to 'Silver Wraith'. The other half of the score doesn't grab me as much, but by no means do I dislike it. 

[SecretAgentFan]

 

 

Such a lazy lazy lazy effort from Thomas Newman. Probably took him half the day to do, jeez.

 

That is wrong on so many levels...

 

 

It's my opinion. I'm not the only one here who thinks Newman's score was poor.

 

 

Your dislike of it did not irk me.  But your assumption that Newman was lazy did.  

 

He did a great job, putting a lot of thought into a very layered and intelligently score that works beautifully with the film.

[Guy Haines]

John Barry often re-worked themes within his soundtracks and in the 60s in particular used the 007 theme in more than one film.

George Martin's score for LALD was based largely around one jeapody theme which was itself derived from the JBT.

David Arnold's first score - TND - was largely influenced by the JBT and a love theme. And even included a riff from the opening of FRWL.

Lazy? Or just using appropriate music, even if derived from elsewhere.

Thomas Newman did rework some music from Skyfall - some of the best bits imho - but also wrote a lot of new material which worked very well within the film. The SPECTRE soundtrack CD is rapidly becoming one of my favourite non-Barry OSTs - in terms of replays in my car CD!

[SecretAgentFan]

Absolutely.  Even tracks like "Kite in a hurricane", "Silver Wraith" and "A Reunion" unfold their ingenious effects the more I listen to them.

 

It is no accident that Newman uses some of the themes he composed for SKYFALL.  It is absolutely the right way to connect these two films and strengthens the menacing implications.

 

Sure, the easier listening experience derived from John Barry´s way of scoring - in the 60´s, 70´s and 80´s.  

 

But if a composer scored a Bond film exactly like that - what would that do to the film?  IMO, the film would suffer, it would be forced into total pastiche, becoming a parody.   Because Bond is not STAR WARS.  Fantasy is still connected to that kind of scoring.  A contemporary spy thriller is not.

[thecasinoroyale]

I'm not slating Newman at all for what he has done for the two Bond films, my only comment is that the tracks that were used to really stand out were re-jigged 'Skyfall' cues. I'd have liked fresh music to maybe connote Bond and Oberhauser's connection (akin to 'Skyfall' track) and a new action piece of music for the car-chase.

 

Just something so I didn't think about 'Skyfall' watching action.

[sharpshooter]

Absolutely.  Even tracks like "Kite in a hurricane", "Silver Wraith" and "A Reunion" unfold their ingenious effects the more I listen to them.

'Silver Wraith' is excellent. And 'A Reunion' is giving me a 'Fatal Weakness' vibe. A tense, atmospheric cue.

[SecretAgentFan]

I'm not slating Newman at all for what he has done for the two Bond films, my only comment is that the tracks that were used to really stand out were re-jigged 'Skyfall' cues. I'd have liked fresh music to maybe connote Bond and Oberhauser's connection (akin to 'Skyfall' track) and a new action piece of music for the car-chase.

 

Just something so I didn't think about 'Skyfall' watching action.

 

But using themes is something every composer does.  Barry did it.  Williams did it.  I see no difference here.

[RMc2]

Throwing in my penny's worth:

 

In the context of the film, Newman's score was very disappointing. It went beyond Barry-esque quoting or rearrangement of previous cues, and felt somewhat recycled. Most especially, that action cue from SF. Maybe if it had been used less, or at more significant moments (ones that recalled SF, rather than just action scenes in general) it would have felt less uninspired.

 

The rest of score, with the exception of the WOTW instrumental, did not appeal to me at all while watching the film. It distracted or underwhelmed me. To me, this makes it a weak Bond film score.

 

But I love Lucia's theme and have listened to it on repeat since seeing the film. The rest of the score: a nice listening experience, but still one of the weakest Bond scores, imho.

 

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I love the opening music during the Day of the Dead!

Edited by RMc2, 03 November 2015 - 10:24 AM.

[Guy Haines]

Throwing in my penny's worth:

In the context of the film, Newman's score was very disappointing. It went beyond Barry-esque quoting or rearrangement of previous cues, and felt somewhat recycled. Most especially, that action cue from SF. Maybe if it had been used less, or at more significant moments (ones that recalled SF, rather than just action scenes in general) it would have felt less uninspired.

The rest of score, with the exception of the WOTW instrumental, did not appeal to me at all while watching the film. It distracted or underwhelmed me. To me, this makes it a weak Bond film score.

But I love Lucia's theme and have listened to it on repeat since seeing the film. The rest of the score: a nice listening experience, but still one of the weakest Bond scores, imho.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I love the opening music during the Day of the Dead!

The first track on the CD is rapidly becoming one of my favourite Bond incidental tracks. The mix of Latin instrumentals and rhythms with the increasingly strident and sinister Bond theme riffs I really liked.

Another things I liked about the SPECTRE soundtrack album - which I now think, inspite of the references back to it at times, is better than the one for SF - is that Newman has upped the use of the Bond theme excerpts a bit, They are more frequent. Also there are some very atmospheric tracks on there, and the two love themes are quite exquisite.

Spoiler

The only thing I would have liked - and it was missing from the film also - was a guitar riff of TJBT or even a full blown version of it in the film. Other than that I've no complaints.