31 replies to this topic

[DaveBond21]

When watching SPECTRE, I couldn't help wonder how long Blofeld had been waiting for these events to happen. There must have been a temptation to reveal himself earlier than 9 years after the events of Casino Royale?

 

And where did he get all the photos from? Did he wait until Hinx failed to kill Bond on the train before putting up the photos in Bond and Madeline's rooms at his desert base? What if he had put them up beforehand but Hinx had killed Madeline? Can you imagine him telling one of his minions "You might as well take Madeline's photo of her with her dad out of room 218 now as she won't be joining us..."

 

The same thing with the photos of Le Chiffre, Silva and M on the walls of the old MI6 building - why take the time to do that? Just to taunt 007 some more? As soon as the desert base exploded, did he think of his MI6 building plan? Was it always plan B? I always like it when the villain gets annoyed by Bond's interference but Blofeld seemed to take it remarkably well, considering everything he'd ever done was because of how much he hated James. Even losing an eye! Surely that made him hate Bond even more?!

 

Indeed, there is a lot of taunting going on - "Cuckoo", and talk of Vesper - "She was the big one", and "your beloved M".

 

But Bond never shows that he cares too much about these things. I'd like to have seen Bond say "Yep, some of these things were bad, but I just got on with it". Surely that would have annoyed Blofeld?

 

______________________________________________________________________________________________

[Guy Haines]

SPECTRE is supposed to be a shadowy organisation and I suppose its leader has to stay in the shadows the most. But after nine years of biting his tongue and resisting the attempt to sound like a villain at the end of a Scooby Doo cartoon - "And I'd have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for that James Bond!" - Blofeld finally felt he had to emerge from the shadows.

Or rather, of course, the film makers decided he should!

Convenient he had those photographs of the deceased though. Was it all part of a plan - I doubt it. The film makers wanted a symbolic finale so why not have the man who Bond came across but never saw for nine years confront him again amid the ruins of MI6 - the ruins of Bond's own life, with all those people in it dead and his own career supposedly gone now the Double-Os had been abolished. Of course being able to kidnap Madeleine and taunt Bond one more time is a bonus. Though why other than symbolism Blofeld would be in London isn't clear, unless it is to shore up the "Denbigh" end of the Nine Eyes project.

[S K Y F A L L]

Just on a side not.

 

I read a few of these discussions and one thing I noticed is a lot of people question how Blofeld could even have got those photos in the first place. 

 

I don't understand this. Wouldn't he just get them from hacking a government or whatever.

[DaveBond21]

Just on a side not.

 

I read a few of these discussions and one thing I noticed is a lot of people question how Blofeld could even have got those photos in the first place. 

 

I don't understand this. Wouldn't he just get them from hacking a government or whatever.

 

Fair point. Some of the chuckles though were that the photos were publicity shots rather than mug shots.

[deth]

Just on a side not.

 

I read a few of these discussions and one thing I noticed is a lot of people question how Blofeld could even have got those photos in the first place. 

 

I don't understand this. Wouldn't he just get them from hacking a government or whatever.

 

Obviously, being Blofeld, he was privy to the press packet that accompanied the release of each film. 

[Trevelyan 006]

It still annoys me that Greene's photo wasn't included...

[Blofeld's Cat]

It still annoys me that Greene's photo wasn't included...

I think EON are trying to forget about the whole movie.

[MkB]

But are they photos, or pencil portraits? I was under this impression when I saw the film, but I'm afraid I'll have to wait for the DVD to be sure. 

 

Anyway I don't particularly like this photos-on-the-wall scene, a bit "too much".

[deth]

But are they photos, or pencil portraits? I was under this impression when I saw the film, but I'm afraid I'll have to wait for the DVD to be sure. 

 

Anyway I don't particularly like this photos-on-the-wall scene, a bit "too much".

 

 

Wait, what?

 

Why do you think they would be pencil portraits?

 

... just for a touch of class?

[DaveBond21]

 

But are they photos, or pencil portraits? I was under this impression when I saw the film, but I'm afraid I'll have to wait for the DVD to be sure. 

 

Anyway I don't particularly like this photos-on-the-wall scene, a bit "too much".

 

 

Wait, what?

 

Why do you think they would be pencil portraits?

 

... just for a touch of class?

 

 

It would make sense if Blofeld had sketched them himself....

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[SecretAgentFan]

These photos actually belong to the really bad ideas within the film.  They look cheap, printed out by some assistant - as if Blofeld got this idea at the last minute, scrambling to find them on the internet.  "I want these on the wall, got it?  Okay, do the explosives first.  But then the pictures!  They really will rub it in, when James is overpowering you and finding the correct way to me... in a huge building that has hundreds of rooms and barely any working lighting anymore."

 

I do like the idea of tieing the previous Craig-era schemes into Blofeld´s organization - but this is so amateurishly done with these pictures (and the obviously totally easy to decode-imprints on the members´ rings which work as a kind of USB-stick containing every wrongdoing and wrongdoers because... the members so easily forget?  They want to always be able to look up who is their partner-in-crime?  Or are they trying to make it easier for the police to offer them a witness protection program, giving them all the data upfront?

 

Another proof how half-baked ideas were forced into the narrative. 

[mattjoes]

When I saw the film in the theater, I thought this last act was fairly uninteresting compared to what had come before, but watching it again, I now appreciate its symbolism, aptly described by Mr. Haines. There is a dreamlike quality to the scene in the MI6 building: the spinning targets, the photos, Blofeld standing still behind the glass wall, looking at a distance like some ghostly apparition before Bond approaches him. I suppose it's not the kind of stuff you often see in Bond films.

Also, the scene at the bridge is so remarkably... serene. Blofeld, the man behind the death of Vesper, M and so many others, has finally been caught, and Bond is now prepared to leave his career behind for the woman he loves. It's powerful moment because we've been with Bond every step of the way. The score greatly contributes to the peaceful mood. Cue fade out and fade in to those delicate, quiet shots of the London streets, and Bond driving away with Madeleine. Quite terrific, really.

[DaveBond21]

When I saw the film in the theater, I thought this last act was fairly uninteresting compared to what had come before, but watching it again, I now appreciate its symbolism, aptly described by Mr. Haines. There is a dreamlike quality to the scene in the MI6 building: the spinning targets, the photos, Blofeld standing still behind the glass wall, looking at a distance like some ghostly apparition before Bond approaches him. I suppose it's not the kind of stuff you often see in Bond films.

Also, the scene at the bridge is so remarkably... serene. Blofeld, the man behind the death of Vesper, M and so many others, has finally been caught, and Bond is now prepared to leave his career behind for the woman he loves. It's powerful moment because we've been with Bond every step of the way. The score greatly contributes to the peaceful mood. Cue fade out and fade in to those delicate, quiet shots of the London streets, and Bond driving away with Madeleine. Quite terrific, really.

 

That's a nice way of looking at it. It's just that it all felt very familiar to me; although not as familiar as Skyfall's burning building ending which we'd had as recently as QOS.

 

_______________________________________

[RMc2]

When I saw the film in the theater, I thought this last act was fairly uninteresting compared to what had come before, but watching it again, I now appreciate its symbolism, aptly described by Mr. Haines. There is a dreamlike quality to the scene in the MI6 building: the spinning targets, the photos, Blofeld standing still behind the glass wall, looking at a distance like some ghostly apparition before Bond approaches him. I suppose it's not the kind of stuff you often see in Bond films.

Also, the scene at the bridge is so remarkably... serene. Blofeld, the man behind the death of Vesper, M and so many others, has finally been caught, and Bond is now prepared to leave his career behind for the woman he loves. It's powerful moment because we've been with Bond every step of the way. The score greatly contributes to the peaceful mood. Cue fade out and fade in to those delicate, quiet shots of the London streets, and Bond driving away with Madeleine. Quite terrific, really.

 

I'm glad you like it.

 

Like many things in the film, I like the ideas behind it, but found the execution very underwhelming, and occasionally laughable.

[Professor Pi]

Sometimes when I'm in the mood for a Bond film, I don't necessarily want to watch the best Bond film.  SPECTRE will eventually find its place among the canon.

[Tiin007]

Sometimes when I'm in the mood for a Bond film, I don't necessarily want to watch the best Bond film.  SPECTRE will eventually find its place among the canon.

 

On that note, I enjoy my least favorite Bond film significantly more than I enjoy most other movies out there. Sometimes quality is relative. 

 

While I certainly have my preferences, there has yet to be a Bond film which I don't thoroughly enjoy. Impressive for a 53 year old franchise. 

[DaveBond21]

 

Sometimes when I'm in the mood for a Bond film, I don't necessarily want to watch the best Bond film.  SPECTRE will eventually find its place among the canon.

 

On that note, I enjoy my least favorite Bond film significantly more than I enjoy most other movies out there. Sometimes quality is relative. 

 

While I certainly have my preferences, there has yet to be a Bond film which I don't thoroughly enjoy. Impressive for a 53 year old franchise. 

 

 

Same for me, I enjoy them all including DAF, TWINE and DAD.

[Navy007Fan]

I've been pondering this lately.  Could it be that Mathieu Amalric had a clause in his contract that his image could not be used for anything outside of the original film?  That could explain why we hear the name, but not see the pictures of Dominic Greene.

[ggl]

I've been pondering this lately.  Could it be that Mathieu Amalric had a clause in his contract that his image could not be used for anything outside of the original film?  That could explain why we hear the name, but not see the pictures of Dominic Greene.

[Navy007Fan]

Missed that!  Hmm, then why no picture on the firing range?

[Professor Pi]

They don't even mention "Green" by name in the film.  "Sciara, Quantum, Silva ... "

[mattjoes]

They do mention him.

 

- Le Chiffre, Greene, Silva...

- All dead.

 

I think Greene's absence on the firing range is explained by the fact that, of the first three films, he appears in the one with the least amount of emotional stakes. Le Chiffre is tied to Vesper, Silva is tied to M... Also, Quantum of Solace got the coldest critical reception.

Edited by mattjoes, 13 February 2016 - 04:22 AM.

[Professor Pi]

You're right, of course.  Q doesn't mention him in the line of dialogue I quoted.  Also, Greene gives up Quantum's secrets so I can't imagine Blofeld would include his picture along with the others.  Also, Camille survives so Blofeld can't really gloat about that one.

[The*SPY*]

I get the impression from a lot of people who saw the movie that Blofeld was responsible for setting the explosives in the MI-6 building.  But didn't he just capitalize on the fact that it was wired and set for demolition (as explained by Tanner on the Boat ride to Q's headquarters)?

These photos actually belong to the really bad ideas within the film.  They look cheap, printed out by some assistant - as if Blofeld got this idea at the last minute, scrambling to find them on the internet.  "I want these on the wall, got it?  Okay, do the explosives first.  But then the pictures!  They really will rub it in, when James is overpowering you and finding the correct way to me... in a huge building that has hundreds of rooms and barely any working lighting anymore."

 

[tdalton]

 

I get the impression from a lot of people who saw the movie that Blofeld was responsible for setting the explosives in the MI-6 building.  But didn't he just capitalize on the fact that it was wired and set for demolition (as explained by Tanner on the Boat ride to Q's headquarters)?

 

 

That was my impression as well.  

 

As for the pictures, they were a big problem with the finale of the film.  It was a sign that, even after two and a half hours, that they hadn't successfully tied SPECTRE to Le Chiffre, Vesper, M, Silva, etc, so they had to resort to an extremely lazy way of beating that information over the head of the viewer.  

[Surrie]

When I saw the film in the theater, I thought this last act was fairly uninteresting compared to what had come before, but watching it again, I now appreciate its symbolism, aptly described by Mr. Haines. There is a dreamlike quality to the scene in the MI6 building: the spinning targets, the photos, Blofeld standing still behind the glass wall, looking at a distance like some ghostly apparition before Bond approaches him. I suppose it's not the kind of stuff you often see in Bond films.

Also, the scene at the bridge is so remarkably... serene. Blofeld, the man behind the death of Vesper, M and so many others, has finally been caught, and Bond is now prepared to leave his career behind for the woman he loves. It's powerful moment because we've been with Bond every step of the way. The score greatly contributes to the peaceful mood. Cue fade out and fade in to those delicate, quiet shots of the London streets, and Bond driving away with Madeleine. Quite terrific, really.

 

I agree with your thoughts on the ending, and I feel you've summarised it nicely. 

 

 

Sometimes when I'm in the mood for a Bond film, I don't necessarily want to watch the best Bond film.  SPECTRE will eventually find its place among the canon.

 

On that note, I enjoy my least favorite Bond film significantly more than I enjoy most other movies out there. Sometimes quality is relative. 

 

While I certainly have my preferences, there has yet to be a Bond film which I don't thoroughly enjoy. Impressive for a 53 year old franchise. 

 

 

Once again just to reiterate - there is not a Bond film in the franchise that I don't enjoy. Which, as you have said is really quite impressive. Obviously we have our preferences but there isn't one that I haven't enjoyed or that has been unable to make me smile. 

[sharpshooter]

I view the finale at the old MI6 building as a modern update of Scaramanga's funhouse. An abandoned location in which Bond ventures his way through alone, not knowing what's around the corner. The photos of the dead villains is perhaps a little silly when you think about Blofeld sticking them up beforehand. But I don't think it matters too much. It keeps Bond on his toes. And in both films, SPECTRE and TMWTGG, the villain intends to kill Bond inside.

[Surrie]

That's an interesting comparison that I hadn't thought of until now. I'm going to rewatch it this weekend and will take a closer look!

[bonds_walther]

When I saw the film in the theater, I thought this last act was fairly uninteresting compared to what had come before, but watching it again, I now appreciate its symbolism, aptly described by Mr. Haines. There is a dreamlike quality to the scene in the MI6 building: the spinning targets, the photos, Blofeld standing still behind the glass wall, looking at a distance like some ghostly apparition before Bond approaches him. I suppose it's not the kind of stuff you often see in Bond films.

Also, the scene at the bridge is so remarkably... serene. Blofeld, the man behind the death of Vesper, M and so many others, has finally been caught, and Bond is now prepared to leave his career behind for the woman he loves. It's powerful moment because we've been with Bond every step of the way. The score greatly contributes to the peaceful mood. Cue fade out and fade in to those delicate, quiet shots of the London streets, and Bond driving away with Madeleine. Quite terrific, really.

This reminds me of an article that I read after seeing SP in the cinema for the first time. It goes some way to explain the events after Bond's experience in Blofeld's torture chair.

Basically, the article suggested that Bond does lose his memory in that chair. The sequence of events which follow in the film are events playing out in his memory as it is being destroyed. This explained the symbolism of the final act and the super-human qualities of Bond in the escape from Blofeld's desert lair. I'll try and find it and link it back here.

Here's the EW article I referenced above.

http://www.ew.com/ar.../spectre-ending

An interesting way of explaining a below-par final act.

Edited by bonds_walther, 27 February 2016 - 04:31 PM.

[Guy Haines]

These photos actually belong to the really bad ideas within the film.  They look cheap, printed out by some assistant - as if Blofeld got this idea at the last minute, scrambling to find them on the internet.  "I want these on the wall, got it?  Okay, do the explosives first.  But then the pictures!  They really will rub it in, when James is overpowering you and finding the correct way to me... in a huge building that has hundreds of rooms and barely any working lighting anymore."
 
I do like the idea of tieing the previous Craig-era schemes into Blofeld´s organization - but this is so amateurishly done with these pictures (and the obviously totally easy to decode-imprints on the members´ rings which work as a kind of USB-stick containing every wrongdoing and wrongdoers because... the members so easily forget?  They want to always be able to look up who is their partner-in-crime?  Or are they trying to make it easier for the police to offer them a witness protection program, giving them all the data upfront?
 
Another proof how half-baked ideas were forced into the narrative.

Blofeld had an assistant in London who would have access to everything, and more than just a photocopier - namely, his chief of intelligence, M's "new best friend", Max Denbigh. So getting the pictures on the walls, and access to the old building, wouldn't have been a problem, I imagine. Of course, "I imagine" is what we're forced to do as an audience because much in the final act is never explained.