The James Bond Thread

[Zarius]

Just caught wind of this fucker right here, set to be released to tie in with Skyfall, also premiering in October

James Bond - 22 Film Collection [Blu-ray] [1962]: Amazon.co.uk: Sean Connery, Daniel Craig, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, George Lazenby: Film & TV

Looking back on TLD through to TND and I somewhat miss the two main songs they would have to begin and end the films, the end songs from those films don't get quite the same amount of love as the title tracks do (although the cover of LTK's outro became a hit for Celine Deon)

[Chris]

I hope they release the films individually as well. I'd like to pick up Goldeneye on Blu-ray. I'm a Bond fan, but I'm not sure I'd need the entire collection.

[Zarius]

They were releasing them all individually on blu-ray as limited edition steelbooks a while back, that'll have dried up now though

[Beer-Belly]

I'm just kind of starting to really get into the old Bond movies. Goldfinger is great.

Sam Mendes is directing the new movie, Skyfall, and Javier Bardem is playing the villain.

[The Doc]

Do I have to put up with Daniel Craig again or do I get new Bond in Skyfall?

[G-Fresh]

James Bond is a child molester.

[Guy]

A few stills from the shooting of the new movie

(I'll spoil them, but they don't really give anything away at all)
http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/bond-set-2121-sm.jpg
http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/bond-set-212-2-sm.jpg
http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/bond-set-4-sm.jpg

http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/FirstOfficialSkyfallPic.jpg

And a bit of Bond bum crack for the ladies
http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/Bond_pic.jpg


They need to start pumping these movies out though, as Craig's starting to look his age.

[Zarius]

Roger Moore was showing his age after three films, didnt stop him making more.

[Guy]

Probably should've done though.

[Atty]

Nothing a little blue filter can't hide.

[Guy]

http://blu-ronin.com/images/danielCraig_bond.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A8EKg6W_hyY/TXqV2yiMblI/AAAAAAAAALc/a2qT0JyR-kw/s1600/bond-clown.png

[Guy]

DOUBLE POST

[The Doc]

They need to drop Daniel Craig get him doing something closer to the XXX series and get the guy doing the car insurance comercials in to do some actual Bond movies.

[Defrost]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcstNL6QhPo

[One Man Gang]

Looking forward to it.

[Tramp]

"Done."


:beer:

[sam_elmendorf]

They need to drop Daniel Craig get him doing something closer to the XXX series and get the guy doing the car insurance comercials in to do some actual Bond movies.


If you're talking about the Charlie character from the Terminator TV series. Yeah. I could see him as Bond. Mayhem!

[lotjx]

I can't wait for this one. The shot of M looking at the caskets is pretty amazing. I hope they continue the Quantum arc.

[Guy]

Genuinely can't wait. Love me some Bond.

[Mik]

Looks very stylistic.

[Alf]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgr2syY_OU4&feature=player_embedded

Booooom new trailer.

[Chris]

Looks amazing - really pumped for it. I wasn't a big fan of Quantum, but I think Craig is a great Bond.

[Guy]

I feel the same.

I enjoyed Quantum more when I watched it the night after Casino, and thought of it as an epilogue rather than a stand alone movie. But Quantum just seemed too pre-occupied with packing itself to the gills with sky, land and sea chases when Casino made itself exciting through a bloody poker game.

[lotjx]

I am so ready for this film.

[Mik]

Looks spectacular, but I liked that Javier Bardem looked like he was going to be a physical AND mental match for Bond. Why have them fannied him up by giving him a ridiculous blonde wig?

[Guy]

http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/Skyfallshot11.jpg

Twilight?

[Mik]

He does look like Oldman's Dracula:

http://www.theglobaldispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Gary-Oldman-Count-Dracula.jpg

[Atty]

I'm excited for the movie, adore Bond, but that hair is ridiculous looking. I've seen Javier in No Country so many times that him in blonde just looks jarring to me.

[Mik]

You know its a bad wig when the No Country wig doesnt look daft in comparison.

[Atty]

:lol:


He really looks a bit like something out of a Roger Moore Bond there.

[Guy]

Draco Malfoy mid-life crisis

[Morrison]

Looks spectacular, but I liked that Javier Bardem looked like he was going to be a physical AND mental match for Bond. Why have them fannied him up by giving him a ridiculous blonde wig?

i was kinda hoping they wouldn't go about showing him so blatantly in the trailers. the first couple teasers kept him out, bar that one shot of him covered in darkness with the fire behind him, which was a great image.

[Alf]

I'm sure there was a Skyfall thread....

Anyway,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HKoqNJtMTQ

Nice.

[Mik]

I like it.

[turdpower]

You know its a bad wig when the No Country wig doesnt look daft in comparison.

That was REAL hair.

Saw Skyfall last night. It's bloody good.

[Beefy]

Watched it this morning. It's fantastic.

Also watched Quantum of Solace for the first time last night. It's not as bad as I thought it was going to be. It did seem to be set-piece after set-piece for the first two thirds of the movie, but I did quite enjoy it.

[turdpower]

I watched it years ago but my overriding memory of it was that it didn't really make much sense and the thing the "bad guy" was doing wasn't even illegal, just sort of morally not OK.

[Ringo]

Saw this on Friday. It was great fun. Bardem was good as expected and Craig really held his own. He's the man. The opening sequence thing is fantastic. After leaving the cinema the last 4 or 5 times feeling critical and disappointed, this made up for it.

[Funboy]

Skyfall was bloody brilliant! Best Bond in a while - I can remember very little of Quantum of Solace, whereas Bardem was a stand-out villain and the series feels like it got another update of sorts what with a new "M" and "Q" (and a new Moneypenny)

There were some excellent set pieces, great recalls of former films and yet setting up for a bright future.
LOVED him fixing the cufflinks as he hopped on the train.

There was a review by the Irish Times (main paper here) which didn't like the in-your-face advertising of Heineken/Cat/Sony etc
but although initially aware of it (prob due to that review in the first place!) it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the film.

My own minor gripe is I liked Silva so much, and thought he was a great match for Bond, that I would have liked him to get away this time and been a recurring bad-guy - haven't had one of those in years! He could have been blown up in the explosion and come back even more deformed, or been captured again and taunted Bond that there were still two rats standing. I just think it's a shame that he went out like he did. Excellent bad-guy.

Overall, a great great film. Loved it.

[Mik]

People can sod off with their concern about product placement as far as I'm concerned. Thats how the film gets financing and in the real world people use real products...as long as it isnt jarring and takes you out of the film I dont really care. Product placement fits in James Bond anyway. He drinks Martinis and drives Aston Martins and wears a Rolex watch. None of the product placement takes away from the character or the iconography of the film and none of it really stands out with only the possible over-lingering on the watch at one point. It barely even shows the Heineken bottles and the Catterpillar logo is hardly garishly displayed. I thought that the iconic Martini reference was actually rather cleverly subtle too. Some people have nothing better to complain about in reviews. Such a good film, is really the only thing worth talking about the fact that Bond uses realistic real world products?

[Funboy]

The lad that wrote the review just doesn't like fun.
Like I said, I did notice it, but in no way did it grate on me.

One friend just alienated himself from the group by saying he didn't like it. Because of Bardem. Lunacy!

[Mik]

A lot of people have complained (most have lauded though) about his performance because of its over the top campness. I can only assume that they are fairly new to the Bond franchise.

[Guy]

The only thing I had trouble with is picturing Javier's character as genuine secret service agent that M had a genuine connection with or maternal feeling for in the past.

He played it more like a gay lounge singer, not nearly "hard" enough for M, who was only sentimental for Bond because they're both as tough as nails.

This doesn't take anything away from the film though. I thought everyone in it was incredible, the story was great and I loved how it was both a throwback to the old Bond's as well as a bold new step in a very personal direction for the character.

Lovely stuff.

[Zarius]

Yeah, lots of love for this Bond flick. Found it interesting in that

It bookends Judi Dench's run as M, the villain in her first film was a rouge agent, and her last is one of a similar pedigree

[Guy]

I still don't get why they've kept Dench as M since the reboot.

I mean I know Bond has a bit of a wavy continuity at best anyway, but still.

[Mik]

...Cos she's awesome.

[turdpower]

I liked the bit where she said Fuck.

[Guy]

I also enjoyed hearing her say fuck.

I was shocked on almost two levels.

[VHS]

Watched it, loved it, will watch it again because it was dang close to a perfect Bond flick for me. :yes:

[Alf]

I really enjoyed it. Bardem was incredible... I think he deserved to be in it a bit more, and to go out with a bit more glory than he did. It was a weak offing, not even worthy of 24. It went a bit weird as soon as it went to scotland, and they didn't earn the Kincaid stuff, nor the boohoo poor bond stuff... Still, the best bond since royale... And that fight where they are just silhouettes was just amazing.

[Alf]

I still don't get why they've kept Dench as M since the reboot.

I mean I know Bond has a bit of a wavy continuity at best anyway, but still.

Yeah, and then to take it full circle at the end makes it even more wavy. It kind of suggests the timeline or continuity starts with Royale, then all the drench missions like goldeneye etc, up to sky fall, then back to dr no.

[Guy]

Well this film completely shat on the idea of "James Bond" being a codename. But let's be honest, who really cares I suppose.

I will agree that they didn't earn a sudden appearance by the gamekeeper at the end there, it was a bit late for a swerving important character introduction. Maybe a quick meet and bit of exposition, sure, but having him hang around like Harry Brown was a bit off.

[Mik]

I really enjoyed it. Bardem was incredible... I think he deserved to be in it a bit more, and to go out with a bit more glory than he did. It was a weak offing, not even worthy of 24. It went a bit weird as soon as it went to scotland, and they didn't earn the Kincaid stuff, nor the boohoo poor bond stuff... Still, the best bond since royale... And that fight where they are just silhouettes was just amazing.


Well this film completely shat on the idea of "James Bond" being a codename. But let's be honest, who really cares I suppose.

I will agree that they didn't earn a sudden appearance by the gamekeeper at the end there, it was a bit late for a swerving important character introduction. Maybe a quick meet and bit of exposition, sure, but having him hang around like Harry Brown was a bit off.


Got to be honest, I dont know a whole lot about the history of Bond. I'd be surprised if I've seen more than 8 of them the full way through including the Craig Bonds, but as a rookie Kincaid seemed like a good character and a good fit for the film to me. Now with that said the idea of going to Scotland although a nice change of pace and a visual treat, did feel a bit out of place.

[Guy]

I enjoyed the whole Scotland part. As it was something we've never really seen of the Bond series which is a window into the character's home/personal life AND a more rural, stripped down finale to the movie.

No lavish foreign locations, no epic bridge dangling fight scene. Just some old fashioned rifles and a shitbox run down old manor out in the middle of Scotland. Kincaid, to me, was just some odd unexplained character that literally just walked into the end of the movie right out of nowhere and then stuck around for the big shoot-out. When I mean unexplained I mean that he's had no history with the character in the series, or mention in the movie up until that one moment. Which is especially strange considering how EVERY character in that movie has a purpose, motivation and growth except this old man that just turns up suddenly, fights, and then disappears for the conclusion.

Don't get me wrong, it didn't take me out of the film, it was still a damn incredible ending and the character was very easy to accept as Albert Finney is quite charismatic in his own right. But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a bit of a left-field, last moment character introduction.

Also I felt the move to Scotland was easier to swallow than Casino Royale's jarring last act. That whole movie is incredible, until the torture sequence is interrupted, then it suddenly gets all a bit time skippy (with Bond's healing testicles) and THEN suddenly we're in Venice watching them have a vacation, then suddenly a whole separate action set-piece. I think it's a case of the villain dying in the second act of the movie essentially throwing the pace of it off a bit, and then no other "main" villain being encountered properly until the lead into Quantum of Solace.

Also my mate and I were throwing shit giggles during Skyfall with Bond playing "Home Alone" in his parent's country manor.

[Mik]

Aye, I've heard a load of people make that comparison.

I didnt realise that Kincaid was a new character. I had assumed that he had an established history already.

[Guy]

If he had then it would've been a bit easier to swallow.

I get that he was supposed to be a link to Bond's past, which is fine and makes complete thematic sense considering the family motif and maternal motivations of M. But in a literal narrative context it would make more sense for Bond to sneakily have contacted Felix Leiter, who was strangely absent in this movie but at least has an already established background as the one man in the world that Bond can trust. Although I can see how that would be a bit of a stretch to do, with him being American and having to get to Scotland without anyone noticing, but if they wanted to set up an ally for Bond to have a shoot out side by side with, that would possibly make a tad more sense in my eyes, as having Bond's old family manor, a church, and his parent's graves, are all already enough as a thematic family link for the film.

[lotjx]

If Felix did show up then, it would have made sense, but I like Kincaid for the most part if you pretend its Connery's Bond, it makes even more enjoyable. The timeline is pretty cocked up. Yet, we somehow got to going into future adventures with Bond by going back to the past. That is pretty surreal and awesome. I did love this film and the Tennyson poem montage was pitch perfect of who Bond is.

[VHS]

Fiennes taking a bullet for M was amazing.

[Atty]

Saw it last night. Loved it. I'd still have Casino Royale highest, but this is right up there with From Russia With Love and Goldfinger for the next spot. Everyone was terrific in it and I loved how scaled back it was in many ways. It starts huge and then climaxes in the middle of nowhere, which made it much more intimate (the last two rats and all.) Bardem was terrific as the baddie, giving a nice view to how far Bond could have fallen had he stayed away and let his wounds/hate fester for years.

Love all the nods to the past movies (think I even saw "SPECTRE" on the bottom of Q's coffee cup) and how they brought it full circle, so by the end Craig Bond is set up in the same mold as classic Bond. Don't think I'll ever mark out so hard to see a coat rack again...


OH! Craig Bond having THAT as his personal car almost gave me a stiffy.


If he had then it would've been a bit easier to swallow.

I get that he was supposed to be a link to Bond's past, which is fine and makes complete thematic sense considering the family motif and maternal motivations of M. But in a literal narrative context it would make more sense for Bond to sneakily have contacted Felix Leiter, who was strangely absent in this movie but at least has an already established background as the one man in the world that Bond can trust. Although I can see how that would be a bit of a stretch to do, with him being American and having to get to Scotland without anyone noticing, but if they wanted to set up an ally for Bond to have a shoot out side by side with, that would possibly make a tad more sense in my eyes, as having Bond's old family manor, a church, and his parent's graves, are all already enough as a thematic family link for the film.

I may be totally wrong here, but I got the feeling he was written for Connery while watching the movie. The slow reveal, in Scotland, seemed like it would have been an amazing way to pop in a bearded out Sean to fuck up some baddies, help Craig Bond move on from his demons and pass the torch.

[Alf]

I heard that too... but that would have been awful.

[Mik]

I dont think it would've been awful. Sam Mendes did say that the role wasnt written for Connery, but he had thought about approaching Connery for the role and decided that although it would be fun, it would pull the audience out of the film...which I think is about right.


Just for the record guys, this is a pretty big new film thats just come out in the US, so can we apply correct spoiler protocol and use spoilers and mark our spoilers appropriately.

Thanks very much.

[Guy]

I've been waiting for Connery to pop up in an anniversary Bond, either as a cameo or enemy for a long time now. I'm surprised no previous Bond's have ever returned for that.

When Die Another day came out, celebrating Bond's anniversary and basically being a two hour callback to previous movies, I was positive there was going to be a poker table in the movie somewhere with all the former Bonds sat around.

EDIT - Something like this:

http://www.vivapoker.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/bond-vivapoker.png

[Zarius]

Didnt Connery have a massive falling out with the Brocoli family?

I beleive that was one of the motivating factors in him doing Never Say Never Again, that he could play Bond in a movie without their involvment

[lotjx]

Yes, but there was reconciliation near the end. I would have loved to see Connery, but I understand why they didn't. Still, him and Craig standing side by side each other blasting baddies while trading lines is too much for the one screen to handle.

[The Rick]

Saw it today. I really enjoyed the film. Good action, and nice nods to the previous films and characters. The villain was good, but wasn't Iconic. I still don't like Craig as bond, but the dislike is waning a bit.

I will probably always have Goldfinger as #1. From Russia with Love, and Dr. No jockey for the next spot. I would put Casino Royale with the next tier: You Only Live Twice, GoldenEye, and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

[Beefy]

Roger Moore was interviewed for Empire's podcast the other week nd he said how much Connery has hated his attachment to the series and makes sure to distance himself completely from the franchise. There's no way he'd ever get involved in another Bond film.


Love all the nods to the past movies (think I even saw "SPECTRE" on the bottom of Q's coffee cup)

I'm pretty sure that it was actually 'SCRABBLE' that you saw on Q's mug.

[Mik]

I believe so too.

Connery would be fine if the price was right I dont doubt.

I stumbled across a video of him on Youtube justifying to an American chat host about a statement he'd made claiming that it was okay to give a girl a slap. He doesnt come across as all that great a guy.

[Beefy]

Connery is completely retired now isn't he? I think they offered him a fair bit of cash for Indy 4 which he turned down.

[Mik]

You'd think so. I'd think so. But you never know how much money could be offered. This new Bond is HUGE. They could spend $50m on Connery and still make a huge profit.

[Alf]

Why would they take a 50 mil cut in profits to actively harm the film?

[Simon]

Lads I've never seen a Bond film but feel like it would be worth having a look at one, which would you recommend? I'd probably be more interested in the modern ones, anything from Goldeneye onwards at a guess.

[lotjx]

Why would they take a 50 mil cut in profits to actively harm the film?

Because they could make 60 Mil on him being in it. People would flock to see Connery as Bond one last time. Probably the only one of the ex-bonds to command that much attention. However, now that we know that James Bond is not a code name, it would damn near impossible for him to be Bond in this world. He would have to be someone else like Kincaid or M or even the villain. This was the perfect movie for him to be in and I doubt they will get that chance again. .

[Beefy]

I'm genuinely staggered that someone could get to mid-to-late 20s in Britain without seeing a Bond film. What the fuck was on your TV every Bank Holiday?

Goldeneye, Casino Royale and Skyfall are all very watchable. I don't think you should discount the classics though. Dr No, Goldfinger, Live And Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me and the Welsh ones all stand up well, IMO. Definitely skip Moonraker and the latter Brosnan films.

[Simon]

I'm genuinely staggered that someone could get to mid-to-late 20s in Britain without seeing a Bond film. What the fuck was on your TV every Bank Holiday?

Goldeneye, Casino Royale and Skyfall are all very watchable. I don't think you should discount the classics though. Dr No, Goldfinger, Live And Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me and the Welsh ones all stand up well, IMO. Definitely skip Moonraker and the latter Brosnan films.
I think I have said this before but up until quite recently (and only changed at least partially as a direct result of this forum) my film knowledge was incredibly poor. I've still never seen any of the Bonds, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings...someone post a list of however many films and I will tell you how many I've seen, it's likely to be pretty low. I've seen Anchorman like 50 times though, so it's all good.

[lotjx]

I would say all you really need to see is Casino Royal and Quantum if you want to see Skyfall. Dr. No, Russia from Love and Goldfinger are the best ones of the the old guard and form a nice trilogy in some regards. I know people are going to cry HMSS, but its not that great. Goldeneye is pretty good, long, but good.

[Alf]

Because they could make 60 Mil on him being in it. People would flock to see Connery as Bond one last time. Probably the only one of the ex-bonds to command that much attention. However, now that we know that James Bond is not a code name, it would damn near impossible for him to be Bond in this world. He would have to be someone else like Kincaid or M or even the villain. This was the perfect movie for him to be in and I doubt they will get that chance again. .

I'm almost certain they'd lose as much with turning people off because it'd be an utterly daft 'shark jump' move.

[lotjx]

I'm almost certain they'd lose as much with turning people off because it'd be an utterly daft 'shark jump' move.

It depends on how they use him. I also doubt its a jump the shark moment when a good chunk of the fanbase and non-fanbase want to see it.

[Alf]

Mmm, not so sure about that.

[turdpower]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IhO1FuJA30

[Chris]

I saw Skyfall at the weekend. It was fantastic - a much-needed return to form after Quantum of Solace, which I watched again in the lead-up. Quantum doesn't really feel like a Bond movie, and doesn't even work well as a "Bond going rogue" movie either. It's just a mish-mash of action set-pieces with none of the flair or excitement of Casino Royale.

Skyfall was great across the board - an interesting take on the character of Bond, a memorable villain, a story with twists and turns, some great action and some nice stuff set up for the next film. Also, it looked amazing - especially the scenes in Shanghai. The colours and shadows will no doubt look awesome on Blu-ray.

Major plot spoilers for Skyfall in tags below:
I thought they did a terrific job in making us think that M was going to be killed during the hearing. The shot of Bond desperately running through the streets of London, with the poem being narrated, was edge-of-your-seat stuff.

The stuff with the digger on the train at the beginning was classic Craig Bond - the blunt instrument carving a path towards his adversary. I loved all the scenes with Bond trying to re-educate himself. Craig and Whishaw seem to bounce off each other quite well, so I look forward to seeing more of their banter in future films.

When Silva removes his prosthesis, I loved the way Bond had a "I don't give a shit" look on his face.

The stripped-down finale was really good - it made things much more personal when Bond is defending a single house against a small army. The machine-guns popping out of his car and laying waste to some goons was superb. Though I thought Silva deserved a more memorable death than a knife being thrown off-camera into his back.

[Beefy]

The Blu-Ray will look amazing. It'll definitely be the first 'day one' Blu-Ray purchase I've ever made.

[Mik]

Oh I think it's by far the best looking bond film in terms of production value, set decorations, locations, costumes and cinematography. Probably doesn't hurt the amount of Oscar talent they had behind the scenes. Roger Deakins knows hot to compose a beautiful shot.

[Atty]

Roger Moore was interviewed for Empire's podcast the other week nd he said how much Connery has hated his attachment to the series and makes sure to distance himself completely from the franchise. There's no way he'd ever get involved in another Bond film.


That's also what he said after You Only Live Twice, when he left the series. He then made Diamonds Are Forever. He was then "done" with Bond again after that, until he made Never Say Never Again...


I CAN DREAM, OKAY!


Connery is completely retired now isn't he? I think they offered him a fair bit of cash for Indy 4 which he turned down.

I wouldn't have come out of retirement or that script either... ;)

[VHS]

So sexy.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSWuu62fe0M

[I steal cable]

Anyone here listen to Mayo and Kermodes film review podcast?

No?

Anyways, if you go to the November 2nd episode and go exact 30 mins in you'll hear Al Murray read out a review. That review was written by my bro. He calls it beautifully written which is weird cause my bro is a bit thick.

Watching Skyfall tomorrow so I've skipped the rest of this thread.

[Bad Collin]

I went to see Skyfall recently and was blown away by it. It had everything a Bond film should have. I wasn't a big fan of Craig as Bond before this but it was a great performance.

This has sparked a minor Bond obsession in me recently, I have the Bond themes cd (Nobody does it better is one of the greatest ever songs imo) and I am going to get this over Christmas: http://www.amazon.co.uk/James-Bond-Film-Collection-DVD/dp/B0093XXFZM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354710633&sr=8-1

[Bad Collin]

Following on from that, what are your top five Bond themes? I'm going with:

1. Nobody does it better (The Spy who loved me)
2. You only live twice
3. Skyfall
4. Live and let die
5. A view to a kill

[Chris]

Mine would probably be The Living Daylights, A View to A Kill, Skyfall, Goldeneye and Goldfinger.

I'm very fond of You Know My Name from Casino Royale, but I seem to be in the minority with that.

Skyfall has inspired me to get the Blu-ray boxset of Bond films after Christmas.

[The Rick]

Skyfall Passes $1 Billion Mark Worldwide
ign link (http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/12/31/skyfall-passes-1-billion-mark-worldwide)
by Jim Vejvoda December 30, 2012



Skyfall Passes $1 Billion Mark Worldwide
James Bond's most successful movie ever.

The new James Bond film Skyfall has passed the $1 billion mark at the global box office, making it only the third film this year to join that club behind The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises.

The film is now in 14th place at the all time worldwide box office, right behind The Dark Knight. Skyfall is also the highest-grossing Bond film of all time (not adjusted for inflation).

In addition, Sony Pictures announced that Skyfall is the highest-grossing film at the worldwide box office in the studio's history. It's also the highest-grossing UK release of all time.

Skyfall has so far made $289.6 million domestically and another $710.6 million internationally for a current total of $1,000,200,000.

[Mik]

Its a very impressive total for a Bond film and I think its a suitable compliment for such a good film.

[Atty]

I liked Skyfall more than either of those other two.

[The Rick]

According to Box Office Mojo

Marvel's The Avengers (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=avengers11.htm) has made
Domestic: $623,357,910 41.2%
+ Foreign: $888,400,000 58.8%
= Worldwide: $1,511,757,910
and
The Dark Knight Rises (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=batman3.htm) made
Domestic: $448,139,099 41.5%
+ Foreign: $632,902,188 58.5%
= Worldwide: $1,081,041,287

Skyfall isn't quite done yet. It still had show times in the regular theaters in my area. The cheap theater in my town doesn't look to get it for a few more weeks.

Skyfall is at
Domestic: $289,600,000 29.0%
+ Foreign: $710,600,000 71.0%
= Worldwide: $1,000,200,000

[Mik]

That is just their domestic gross though. Skyfall will get nowhere near Avenger's worldwide gross.

However, its pretty fucking impressive for a Bond film. Its the most successful film in UK box office history.

[The Rick]

That is just their domestic gross though. Skyfall will get nowhere near Avenger's worldwide gross.

However, its pretty fucking impressive for a Bond film. Its the most successful film in UK box office history.

Yea I didn't look at that right. It will be fixed.

[Guy]

The only thing that ticked me off slightly about this movie (and only slightly, I still love it and it's awesome and such), is that I believe they used the "old, washed up agent" storyline too early.

They've had ample opportunity to use it in the past with aging 007's (It should be noted that Never Say Never Again made a fleeting effort to do so) but they never bothered, instead pretending that Bond was ageless when he clearly wasn't. However, whilst you can definitely see those few extra years on Craig since he did Casino Royale, he's definitely nowhere near the age he could be to do a justice to a good "aging Bond" angle. I believe that with this reboot, they could've genuinely taken Craig into his maturer years and dealt with it as it came instead of pretending he hadn't aged or replacing him outright. And then once he truly had had enough, just re-cast and move Bond back a couple of years as they usually end up doing anyway.

Not so much a complaint, more just thinking out loud.

[Dream-Evil]

"What were you expecting? An exploding pen?" :lol:

[Beefy]

However, its pretty fucking impressive for a Bond film. Its the most successful film in UK box office history.

Is it not the most successful UK film in box office history - not the most successful film in UK box office history?

[Defrost]

The only thing that ticked me off slightly about this movie (and only slightly, I still love it and it's awesome and such), is that I believe they used the "old, washed up agent" storyline too early.

They've had ample opportunity to use it in the past with aging 007's (It should be noted that Never Say Never Again made a fleeting effort to do so) but they never bothered, instead pretending that Bond was ageless when he clearly wasn't. However, whilst you can definitely see those few extra years on Craig since he did Casino Royale, he's definitely nowhere near the age he could be to do a justice to a good "aging Bond" angle. I believe that with this reboot, they could've genuinely taken Craig into his maturer years and dealt with it as it came instead of pretending he hadn't aged or replacing him outright. And then once he truly had had enough, just re-cast and move Bond back a couple of years as they usually end up doing anyway.

Not so much a complaint, more just thinking out loud.

Especially considering that when Craig made Skyfall he was only a year or so older than when Brosnan made Goldeneye and about 5 years younger than when Moore made Live and Let Die

[Mik]

Is it not the most successful UK film in box office history - not the most successful film in UK box office history?

I don't believe so, from what I heard although I haven't researched into it, it made more than even mamma Mia or avatar over here.

[Beefy]

The continuity is all messed up, obviously, but Skyfall is set 21 films after Casino Royale. His weariness is supposed to be less about the age of the actor playing him than it is about the miles on the clock of the character. And the fact that he almost dies at the start of the film.

[Mik]

Especially considering that when Craig made Skyfall he was only a year or so older than when Brosnan made Goldeneye and about 5 years younger than when Moore made Live and Let Die

The point in Craig is that he is a new, young and dynamic bond though. And now he is undoubtedly more craggy and less fresh faced...but no less sexy.

[Beefy]

I don't believe so, from what I heard although I haven't researched into it, it made more than even mamma Mia or avatar over here.

You're right. I'm surprised at that. I only asked because the original story posted yesterday left it open to interpretation.

Not that box office numbers are any great way to rank a film's popularity against huge films from even a few years ago, obviously.

[Chris]

The only thing that ticked me off slightly about this movie (and only slightly, I still love it and it's awesome and such), is that I believe they used the "old, washed up agent" storyline too early.

They've had ample opportunity to use it in the past with aging 007's (It should be noted that Never Say Never Again made a fleeting effort to do so) but they never bothered, instead pretending that Bond was ageless when he clearly wasn't. However, whilst you can definitely see those few extra years on Craig since he did Casino Royale, he's definitely nowhere near the age he could be to do a justice to a good "aging Bond" angle. I believe that with this reboot, they could've genuinely taken Craig into his maturer years and dealt with it as it came instead of pretending he hadn't aged or replacing him outright. And then once he truly had had enough, just re-cast and move Bond back a couple of years as they usually end up doing anyway.

Not so much a complaint, more just thinking out loud.
Yeah, while I enjoyed Bond's story in Skyfall, it made me wonder what direction they'll take him in for the final two Craig films - the "I'm getting too old for this" angle would have seemed like a good fit for one or both of those movies, as a means of signalling the end of Craig's time.

I don't think I've ever been as interested in Bond as I am now, after becoming pretty tired of the formula in the Brosnan films. The Bond Blu-ray boxset has become much more enticing since Skyfall.

[Chris]

So Sam Mendes is back for the next Bond film.


"I am very pleased that by giving me the time I need to honour all my theatre commitments", Mendes said in a statement, "the producers have made it possible for me to direct Bond 24. I very much look forward to taking up the reins again, and to working with Daniel Craig, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli for a second time.”

Wilson and Broccoli added: "Following the extraordinary success of Skyfall, we're really excited to be working once again with Daniel Craig, Sam Mendes and John Logan.”
It's not out until October 2015, so I imagine it'll be a while before any story details emerge. But it'll be fascinating to see his take on another Bond movie.

[Mik]

Yeah, shame that we'll have to wait so long, but I dont mind waiting for quality.

[The Rogerer]

I was very late to this, as after Quantum of Solace and general cinema fatigue I didn't go to see Skyfall at the cinema, breaking my streak since Goldeneye. I do regret it now as this was fantastic. I do think they had ground to make up after QoS and they needed to make a more direct, high stakes film like this, rather than treading water with installments. Definintely interested to see another one with Craig and Mendes, even if I feel like it needs to be the last one.

Still so many good, quality and not dumb homogenised action blockbusters coming out.

[Beer-Belly]

Spectre has Christoph Waltz as maybe/maybe not Blofeld. Batista's playing a henchman.

[Chris]

New TV spot for Spectre. I like the fact that this is following on from the previous Craig films. Looking forward to the car chase through Rome.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WJ8WxCA-fA

[JRSlim21]

I love it. Craig is the best non-Connery Bond.

[Romford Pele]

They were filming bond in Gresham St, London the other day, cant wait for this.

[Atty]

I saw Spectre yesterday. It's not bad, but pales in comparison to Skyfall/Casino Royale. My initial impression/reaction was that the first half was far too slow and that the first maybe hour and twenty minutes could have been much more effective if condensed into half an hour. It takes a long time to get going and the early plotting is so slow that it's hard to follow/care about. The last half picks up and is great, but that feels rushed towards the end, probably due to the slow plotting early on.

It's still a good movie but is decidedly the third best of the Craig films.

There are also bits where it calls back to the earlier Craig films and I found that making me miss those movies more than it adding to this one. I like Mendes and think he made the perfect Bond film in Skyfall, but I want someone else's vision in the next one.

[VHS]

I was worried about this. Mendes said after Skyfall he was just going to focus on directing plays... but then he was shown a page full of zeros. Word is mostly that this movie is a big step back.

[Chris]

The pre-credit sequence is fantastic. The helicopter stuff is great, as is the long shot of the parade and Bond making his way across the rooftop. I think the film falters after this because it tries to be more of a traditional Bond caper whilst remaining true to the more serious and grounded tone of the Craig era.

There are lots of nice call-backs to classic Bond plot elements, but sometimes these are fleeting references rather than fully embracing the fun of those earlier films. There's a moment in the third-ish act where Bond starts mowing people down and there's a huge explosion. But it's over just as it starts to get going. The car chase around Rome is a big disappointment because you've seen the best of the "action" in the trailer and the rest is played for laughs, Craig going rogue doesn't really get the adrenaline pumping because he's already done it twice before. Waltz is fine, but his character's connection to Bond isn't earth shattering and yet the revelation is too understated. I think the tone is all over the place, but maybe it'll come across better on a rewatch.

Atty is right - it's better than Quantum but not on the same level as Casino Royale or Skyfall. I think Mission Impossible Rogue Nation is a better film about a similar premise.

[Atty]

I think the film falters after this because it tries to be more of a traditional Bond caper whilst remaining true to the more serious and grounded tone of the Craig era.
That's a bingo. It feels like it wants to be over the top but is afraid of doing so.


I was worried about this. Mendes said after Skyfall he was just going to focus on directing plays... but then he was shown a page full of zeros. Word is mostly that this movie is a big step back.

More of a step sideways, I'd say. They do establish some stuff that can be used in future movies here, but that doesn't really add to this film and may not be for the best going forward. There is a plot, but for so much of the film it felt like there wasn't one.

I'm rewatching Skyfall right now and still find it brilliant and the best pure Bond movie, but am noticing a lot of stuff that Spectre flat out copied from it. Besides that, one thing, without getting into spoilers, that Spectre spent far too much time trying to do was to justify Quantom of Solace. That's just a waste of time. I don't hate that movie like others do, but spending time on earlier movies didn't help build the movie on screen.

[lotjx]

Holy Shit is this thing loud in IMAX. Wife had to throw on her headphones. It was a bit too long, but really good when they got to the point. This films make you really want to travel to those places. You have to go a bit over the top when you are dealing with SPECTRE. He is fighting the Illumanti for Christ Sake. A least there was no super weapon. I like Skyfall the best and this edges out Casino, because as long as it was, it wasn't an hour of Celebrity Poker.

[The Law]

First 30 minutes was strong, but the villains have silly/incomprehensible motivations and the story is dependent on a continuity that doesn't exist. Disappointing in the material they came up with for Waltz and Fiennes. Waste of maybe the strongest cast a Bond movie has ever had.

Really disappointed in this. Was super excited, but it's a lot closer to Quantum of Solace than Skyfall or Casino Royale.

[Morrison]

First 30 minutes was strong, but the villains have silly/incomprehensible motivations and the story is dependent on a continuity that doesn't exist.

what is silly/incomprehensible and what continuity doesnt exist?

[lotjx]

what is silly/incomprehensible and what continuity doesnt exist?

Yeah that continuity statement makes no sense. This era of Bond had been very good about keep things tied together. The call backs were used very well especially the Vespar interrogation tape. That was disturbing just to see the title.

[G-Fresh]

All Bond movies suck.

[Donald]

That's not true. Only Skyfall sucked.

[Donald]

Fyi I have a phd in spy movies

[G-Fresh]

That's not true. Only Skyfall sucked.

They all suck. Especially the ones with Daniel Craig.

[Romford Pele]

Skyfall was brilliant. Went to see Spectre on Tues, was good but ending was a bit of a let down.

[Beer-Belly]

Supposedly Daniel Craig turned down $100 million to play Bond. What a cunt. Pay Tom Hardy $101 million to do it because he actually deserves it.

[The Rogerer]

Please not Tom Hardy. He'll only do some stupid method warbling through it.

[Beer-Belly]

Like in Bronson and Inception and a ton of other movies where he didn't do that? Garble on a penis. Tom Hardy rules.

[The Rogerer]

I would count Bronson in that. He's just not Bond material. Can we just stop mucking about and have Idris?

[Beer-Belly]

Where's the warble in Bronson?

[Judas Iscariot]

I would count Bronson in that. He's just not Bond material. Can we just stop mucking about and have Idris?

Would Elba have time given he's doing The Dark Tower?

Actually the first one is probably going to bomb so yeah, just bring him in already.

[Fro]

I'm in on Idris as Bond but I feel like it's been talked about for so long now that it's getting tired and rarely do studios go with the guy fans clamor for, especially when it's a race change. We didn't get Donald Glover as Spider Man and we probably won't get this. Hardy isn't a bad shout, I think he'd be good. I don't want Loki from Avengers (Tom Hiddleston) which is what some rumors have been saying.

I didn't see Spectre yet but Skyfall was good. I'm glad Craig turned it down though, I've had my fill of him as the character and we could use a refresh of the series.

[Fro]

Actually the more I look at Hiddleston in normal photos where he's not Loki... he does have the look for it. Could be a good fit. I don't know him from anything other than Avengers though so it's hard to get a feel.

[Mik]

Supposedly Daniel Craig turned down $100 million to play Bond. What a cunt. Pay Tom Hardy $101 million to do it because he actually deserves it.

Why is he a cunt for turning down money to do something he doesn't want to do when he already has enough money?

[Morrison]

i do wish he'd do one more given how spectre ended. granted, it could easily be used as a send off for his version of the character, as well.

[Fro]

This might be weird but I just saw an Entertainment Tonight segment about how Tom Hiddleston's dating Taylor Swift and I'm now 100% on board with him as Bond. #TeamHiddleston

[The Law]

Bumping this. So we've got the news that Craig is back and not much else so far. Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve is in talks to direct, that's exciting to me.

[Morrison]

Bumping this. So we've got the news that Craig is back and not much else so far. Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve is in talks to direct, that's exciting to me.

to get into rumors and speculation, it's being said that the new film will take inspiration from the novel never dream of dying by raymond benson as well as elements from OHMSS, which everybody who saw spectre would assume. apparent working title is 'shatterhand,' which is actually an alias of blofeld, so that's either just a placeholder or a giant sign of a central crux of the film. the plot of the novel seems whatever, the real pull is obviously how the stuff with madeleine and blofeld plays out.

christoph waltz also recently said that he won't be returning as blofeld in the next film, citing the fact that blofeld has always been played by a new actor and that's the 'tradition,' and that he would've liked to return. i don't believe any of that, especially given how everyone flat out denied that franz oberhauser would end up being blofeld. i imagine it's just more smoke and mirrors.

if you're a bond fan, i very much recommend the james bonding podcast with matt mira and matt gourley. it's one of my favorite podcasts, in general, cause the hosts are funny people, but especially so for the bond fan in me. over the course of a couple years they did a bunch of reviews/commentaries for all of the bond films, including never say never again, usually having some special guests like paul f thompkins, doug benson and paul scheer. they did a spectre episode and then went on hiatus for a year or more since there were no more movies, but then earwolf brought them back this past summer for a 'second season' where they're doing all the movies over again with new guests plus a lot of non-film topic shows, like ranking all the henchmen and imagineering a james bond theme park. they also did a ranking of all the themes as a special episode in december of 2016, which i figure might interest some.

[lotjx]

The Matt and Matt podcast is one of my favorites. I like the fact they are trying to put out content even after their initial run of just doing the movies. Mira pointing out the dude behind M in Skyfall when they talk about the villain is the same dude that gets killed while watching the painting is a great catch.

[The Law]

Yeah, I've read some speculation that the movie will start with Bond retired and happily married, then his wife gets killed and he goes on the warpath. The article compared it to "Taken." Sounds good to me, I'm all for gritty and dark.

I think if this is the last movie for Craig's Bond they should kill him off. Reboot the series. I'd like to see a younger actor, start back up early in Bond's career (or even show us his training as a Double O).

[Fro]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIhNsAtPbPI

Looks solid. Rami Malek should make for a good villain.

[BGMaverick]

Skyfall was so damn good, Spectre was not even close to memorable for me so I probably need to re-watch that. Bardem is the standard for me in this incarnation of Bond in terms of villains so let's see what Malek has.

[Percussion]

Is it culturally relevant enough..?

[VHS]

Looks great. Hopefully this isn't just a gateway to 00Woke.

Stoked for this.

[Nash Diesel]

I'm still holding out for James Bond Jr to show up.

[Donald]

I'm still holding out for James Bond Jr to show up.

I like the theory that James Bond is just a code name, it would explain why different actors have played the part over the years.

[Nash Diesel]

I like the theory that James Bond is just a code name, it would explain why different actors have played the part over the years.

That explains a lot

[Fro]

No Time to Die is a great Bond title btw. Also the posters look really good.

None of that effects how good the movie is, but still. Way better name than Quantum of Solace or even Skyfall IMO. This is a classic bond title.

[Percussion]

Somehow I've managed to not watch a single Bond film beginning-to-end. But with this new one coming out and it being the finale for Craig's run I'm gonna go ahead and make a run at his previous four in time for the April release date for NTtD.

Just the clips and bits of what I've seen thus far of how the Daniel Craig Bond looks are far, far more enticing than the Bond's before his regardless of the praise for Connery or Moore, et al.

So, for the sort of old school Bond fans ... are you happy/sad to see Craig hang up his license to kill? Is this a terrific/terrible entry point for myself as a Bond noob?

I think this is a legit fascinating series and I'm pretty stoked to begin a chunk of it as I find espionage an excellent sort of subgenre and the quality of these films appears stellar from the outside looking in. Be nice to hear a little feedback from the more invested fans as a get this thing started.

[Nash Diesel]

Somehow I've managed to not watch a single Bond film beginning-to-end. But with this new one coming out and it being the finale for Craig's run I'm gonna go ahead and make a run at his previous four in time for the April release date for NTtD.

Just the clips and bits of what I've seen thus far of how the Daniel Craig Bond looks are far, far more enticing than the Bond's before his regardless of the praise for Connery or Moore, et al.

So, for the sort of old school Bond fans ... are you happy/sad to see Craig hang up his license to kill? Is this a terrific/terrible entry point for myself as a Bond noob?

I think this is a legit fascinating series and I'm pretty stoked to begin a chunk of it as I find espionage an excellent sort of subgenre and the quality of these films appears stellar from the outside looking in. Be nice to hear a little feedback from the more invested fans as a get this thing started.

Good entry point if you're a Bond noob.

I didn't really see any Bond until Pierce Brosnan, which I think most people in their late 30's would say that was their entry point. But going back and watching the Connery, Moore, Dalton, etc. it's kind of like if you're first time watching Batman was Christian Bale and then you watch the Adam West version. If you don't get too wrapped up in "oh the special effects are weak, the characters look goofy" and just appreciate the sign of the times, you will really enjoy going back and watching movies like "From Russia With Love", "Live and Let Die", "Diamonds are Forever", the list goes on.

The music to the older Bond films attracts me more than anything to be honest. I love that sound of the 60's and 70's movie scores.

[Fro]

Somehow I've managed to not watch a single Bond film beginning-to-end. But with this new one coming out and it being the finale for Craig's run I'm gonna go ahead and make a run at his previous four in time for the April release date for NTtD.

Just the clips and bits of what I've seen thus far of how the Daniel Craig Bond looks are far, far more enticing than the Bond's before his regardless of the praise for Connery or Moore, et al.

So, for the sort of old school Bond fans ... are you happy/sad to see Craig hang up his license to kill? Is this a terrific/terrible entry point for myself as a Bond noob?

I think this is a legit fascinating series and I'm pretty stoked to begin a chunk of it as I find espionage an excellent sort of subgenre and the quality of these films appears stellar from the outside looking in. Be nice to hear a little feedback from the more invested fans as a get this thing started.

Craig hanging it up is whatever. He hung it up already and then came back to the series so who knows if he'll do it again. If this movie breaks the bank and does over a billion and they want to pay him ungodly money to do it again in 5 years, for all we know he will come back. So him saying this is his last Bond movie again is meaningless to me. And if it is his last, I still don't care. The Craig films in this series have been fine but fairly unmemorable to me. Even the best regarded ones, Casino Royal and Skyfall, don't hold much of a place in my heart. They're fine thrillers but I'm not hankering to re-watch them.

I would say it's a fine entry point to watch those 4 in advance of NTTD. There's more serialization in these 4 than in the old ones from what I recall. And they changed the tone with the Craig versions. They made a decision to modernize the format and go a little darker.

Once you've done the new ones, if you're still interested, I would say you should hop around to the best reviewed ones rather than doing a chronological viewing. There isn't much need to watch the old ones in order from what I recall. Goldeneye, Goldfinger and Moonraker are my personal favorites.

[Nash Diesel]

Once you've done the new ones, if you're still interested, I would say you should hop around to the best reviewed ones rather than doing a chronological viewing. There isn't much need to watch the old ones in order from what I recall. Goldeneye, Goldfinger and Moonraker are my personal favorites.

100% agree. There's just soooo many Bond movies. I've only seen 10-12 of the movies, I've actually only watched 2 of the Daniel Craig movies, Casino Royale and Skyfall, and they were really good. I also like Daniel Craig, very solid actor and his portrayal of Bond fits more with the last 10 years or so of action heroes. Out of all the Bond's, Craig seems like the one who would win if they all fought each other by any means necessary lol.

[Nash Diesel]

Something I didn't know was that the first person to ever play James Bond was an American. Barry Nelson. Literally just found this out. For fans of The Shining, Barry Nelson is the guy who interviews Jack at the beginning of the movie to oversee the Overlook Hotel.

[Percussion]

Craig hanging it up is whatever. He hung it up already and then came back to the series so who knows if he'll do it again. If this movie breaks the bank and does over a billion and they want to pay him ungodly money to do it again in 5 years, for all we know he will come back. So him saying this is his last Bond movie again is meaningless to me. And if it is his last, I still don't care. The Craig films in this series have been fine but fairly unmemorable to me. Even the best regarded ones, Casino Royal and Skyfall, don't hold much of a place in my heart. They're fine thrillers but I'm not hankering to re-watch them.

I would say it's a fine entry point to watch those 4 in advance of NTTD. There's more serialization in these 4 than in the old ones from what I recall. And they changed the tone with the Craig versions. They made a decision to modernize the format and go a little darker.

Once you've done the new ones, if you're still interested, I would say you should hop around to the best reviewed ones rather than doing a chronological viewing. There isn't much need to watch the old ones in order from what I recall. Goldeneye, Goldfinger and Moonraker are my personal favorites.

:yes:

Sounds good all around. Thinking the 'modernized darker' tone is what's drawing me in as opposed to the 'classics'. Sound be fun.

[Chris]

Somehow I've managed to not watch a single Bond film beginning-to-end. But with this new one coming out and it being the finale for Craig's run I'm gonna go ahead and make a run at his previous four in time for the April release date for NTtD.

Just the clips and bits of what I've seen thus far of how the Daniel Craig Bond looks are far, far more enticing than the Bond's before his regardless of the praise for Connery or Moore, et al.

So, for the sort of old school Bond fans ... are you happy/sad to see Craig hang up his license to kill? Is this a terrific/terrible entry point for myself as a Bond noob?

I think this is a legit fascinating series and I'm pretty stoked to begin a chunk of it as I find espionage an excellent sort of subgenre and the quality of these films appears stellar from the outside looking in. Be nice to hear a little feedback from the more invested fans as a get this thing started.
Check out my Bond marathon thread for thoughts on the whole franchise. I’ll bump it as it’s from a few years ago and might get pruned soon.

The Craig franchise is a good entry point. Two excellent films in Casino Royale and Skyfall. Spectre is fine - it just tries to connect the previous films in a way that doesn’t work. Quantum of Solace is the only real low point. Horribly edited and lacks all of the intelligence and style of Casino Royale which it directly follows up. In terms of the old films, The Spy Who Loved Me is my favourite. The likes of Goldfinger and Thunderball didn’t land for me, but they’re classics that everyone should check out,

I think it’s time for Craig to move on and I’m not sure where Bond goes from here. Mission Impossible has become the number one spy/action franchise for me. It is constantly topping itself in terms of stunt work in the way that the old Bond films did, it now has a settled team around the hero, they have yet to need to refresh Hunt’s character (and he works very well as a cipher unlike all of the Bond attributes that they stick to) and they have a Christopher McQuarrie signed on for another two films.

[Morrison]

Somehow I've managed to not watch a single Bond film beginning-to-end. But with this new one coming out and it being the finale for Craig's run I'm gonna go ahead and make a run at his previous four in time for the April release date for NTtD.

Just the clips and bits of what I've seen thus far of how the Daniel Craig Bond looks are far, far more enticing than the Bond's before his regardless of the praise for Connery or Moore, et al.

So, for the sort of old school Bond fans ... are you happy/sad to see Craig hang up his license to kill? Is this a terrific/terrible entry point for myself as a Bond noob?

I think this is a legit fascinating series and I'm pretty stoked to begin a chunk of it as I find espionage an excellent sort of subgenre and the quality of these films appears stellar from the outside looking in. Be nice to hear a little feedback from the more invested fans as a get this thing started.

like others have said, the craig era is good to jump in on because it's self-contained. casino royale is based off the first fleming novel and the film literally starts off with a cold open of him gaining his 00 status, and all of the subsequent films for craig have threads that run through them that are far more blatant than the films of the past bond's, so it's very well set up for fresh eyes. they definitely took a lot of inspiration from the borne franchise for how they were going to update bond for the new millennium, grounding the plots and setpieces and moving away from invisible cars, ice palaces and surfing on tsunamis.

i would recommend watching casino royale and quantum of solace fairly close together in order to get the most out of QoS. QoS unfortunately suffered from a lot of issues because of the writer's guild strike, with the final script being completed a couple hours before the strike began. it's a direct sequel to casino royale and does a bunch of cool things stylistically, and works much better if you don't leave a ton of time between viewing the two. i saw quantum in the theaters opening weekend, and hadn't watched casino royale for well over a year, and was confused about what the hell was going on. consensus opinion amongst fans regarding QoS has begun to turn more positively the last couple of years, though it's been a long time since i've watched it so i can't speak to that, personally.

craig is now the longest tenured bond, with 14 years in the role, overtaking roger moore. so while i love him as bond, i'm more than happy to be moving onto a new bond soon. you can definitely tell these films have taken a toll on him. i've always gotten the impression that craig wanted the chance to do a 'classic' kind of bond film, more akin to a roger moore era film, but that never seemed to be in the cards given the tone and scope of his series. i think he would've been fantastic in something like that, so i'm a bit sad we will never get it. i really wouldn't mind the next iteration of the franchise to move away from the heavy action and angst of these craig films and back to something a bit more outlandish.

[VHS]

While my favorite Bond is Brosnan's 007 in Goldeneye, I'd put Craig's tenure over Brosnan's by a mile. 2 outstandings and 2 mehs beat 1 outstanding and 3 shits.

[Nash Diesel]

Not to mention where's Daniel Craig's legendary N64 video game???

[Gangers]

i've always gotten the impression that craig wanted the chance to do a 'classic' kind of bond film, more akin to a roger moore era film, but that never seemed to be in the cards given the tone and scope of his series. i think he would've been fantastic in something like that, so i'm a bit sad we will never get it.

I think Spectre was a partial move towards that - there was a lot more silliness with things like the secret desert lair, the double ticking clock finale etc which haven't been features of the Daniel Craig films at all. From the new trailer, where the last shot is of him spinning a car in a circle while the headlamps turn into miniguns tells me that tonally it will probably be closer to that as well, compared to Casino Royale which is MUCH more grounded (the only bit of classic Bond silliness is the car chase in the airport).

Not coincidentally, Casino Royale is also the best Bond film ever. I don't even think it's that close, it's an absolutely brilliant film. I'm not really a fan of the campy Roger Moore shit so I'm apprehensive about the new one if it does go in that direction.

[Percussion]

Check out my Bond marathon thread for thoughts on the whole franchise...


like others have said, the craig era is good to jump in on because it's self-contained...

Super appreciate the feedback fellas. Really, really looking forward to this. Still not sure the classics will tempt me enough. Perhaps after the Craig run I'll be still hungry. But for now this little era sounds just right.

[Chris]

I would recommend watching casino royale and quantum of solace fairly close together in order to get the most out of QoS. QoS unfortunately suffered from a lot of issues because of the writer's guild strike, with the final script being completed a couple hours before the strike began. it's a direct sequel to casino royale and does a bunch of cool things stylistically, and works much better if you don't leave a ton of time between viewing the two. i saw quantum in the theaters opening weekend, and hadn't watched casino royale for well over a year, and was confused about what the hell was going on. consensus opinion amongst fans regarding QoS has begun to turn more positively the last couple of years, though it's been a long time since i've watched it so i can't speak to that, personally
Watching them close together definitely helps. While I have a lot of issues with the film, it was genuinely exciting to see a direct sequel and how the film starts off right after Casino ends with the car chase. I wasn’t big on Camille or Greene’s characters or how Mathis was used. But I think I actually prefer the Quantum scene at the opera to the similar scene of Bond listening in to the meeting in Spectre. Overall, the film is basically Craig’s version of Licence to Kill.

[lotjx]

I am legit worried they are going to use a lot of Spectre pieces to somehow make it seem like a good film.

- - - Updated - - -

I am legit worried they are going to use a lot of Spectre pieces to somehow make it seem like it was a good film.

[Romford Pele]

We get it, you are worried.

Hope this film can be more like Skyfall and less like Spectre.

[Gangers]

I just heard Billie Eilish's Bond theme. Errr, it's fine I guess? Except it sounds pretty conspicuously like the one that Sam Smith did for Spectre. You can literally sing the first couple of lines over the top of each other.

Pretty weak effort, in my eyes. I thought Writing's On The Wall was pretty good considering I'm not a Sam Smith fan, but this is just an inferior version.

What's that you say, my top 5? Sure. In no particular order:

1. You Only Live Twice
2. Tomorrow Never Dies
3. You Know My Name (Casino Royale)
4. From Russia With Love
5. View To A Kill

[BGMaverick]

Adele's 'Skyfall' was really good.

[VHS]

Looking forward to hearing Billie's mumblennial theme on the big screen.

[Rancid_Planet]

I :heart: Billie.

Never heard a Bond theme I liked though.

[Fro]

No Time to Die has a runtime of 2 hours and 43 minutes, the longest Bond movie ever. That seems excessively long, but I suppose it gives me confidence that the movie will be of high quality. If it wasn't playing well in test screenings surely they wouldn't let it release at that runtime.

[Gangers]

That sounds outrageously long. I thought Skyfall felt very long at 2hr 24.

[VHS]

Yeah, fuuuck that.

[Fro]

MGM, Universal and Bond producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, announced today that after careful consideration and thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace, the release of NO TIME TO DIE will be postponed until November 2020. The film will be released in the U.K. on November 12, 2020 with worldwide release dates to follow, including the US launch on November 25, 2020. The originally scheduled release was for April 2020. This is due to the coronavirus.

[Donald]

I was just going to come in here and ask why they are releasing it in April, as from what I recall going back to Pierce Brosnan, all Bond films are released in November/December.

[Nash Diesel]

MGM, Universal and Bond producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, announced today that after careful consideration and thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace, the release of NO TIME TO DIE will be postponed until November 2020. The film will be released in the U.K. on November 12, 2020 with worldwide release dates to follow, including the US launch on November 25, 2020. The originally scheduled release was for April 2020. This is due to the coronavirus.

Fucking stupid. Still catering to the Chinese.

Ugh, why does everything have to be "made in china" What happened to the random "Made in Brazil" products???

[Pablo Diablo]

More that they fear world wide movie theaters are going to be shut down.

[Nash Diesel]

More that they fear world wide movie theaters are going to be shut down.

Maybe. Pretty much everything movie related in the West revolves around what China wants so I wouldn't be shocked if they were thinking "We're going to lose out on that Chinese demographic let's wait!"

I am curious though.....What is the American equivalent to James Bond? I'm trying to think of a character who has 30-40 movies about them. I guess we'd be looking at some comic book characters. Superman, Batman, but I can't think of anyone that reminds me of what they do with Bond.

[TimeSplitter]

Jack Ryan?

[Nash Diesel]

Jack Ryan?

Oh wow after googling "Jack Ryan movies" I had no clue that movies like Patriot Games, Sum of All Fears, etc were "Jack Ryan" Honestly I've probably seen these movies once, maybe lol. But that is cool.

[TimeSplitter]

Yeah, not quite as extensive a list as Bond, but definitely has a solid catalog and the Amazon show is pretty good.

[lotjx]

It's an excuse, because it's almost four hours long to do massive cuts and reshoots.

[TimeSplitter]

Where are you hearing/reading this? A google search does not show any of this info...

[Fro]

Where are you hearing/reading this? A google search does not show any of this info...

It’s 2 hours 45 minutes (roughly). While they could use this time to change the editing and super long runtime, there’s nothing indicating they will do so. Surely they are still happy with their final edit and this delay has nothing to do with the actual content of the film.

[TimeSplitter]

Skyfall was 2 24
Spectre was 2 40

Run time does not seem to be an issue.

[Beer-Belly]

Why are they assuming that the coronavirus will no longer be an issue by November? Pretty big assumption to make.

[Nash Diesel]

Why are they assuming that the coronavirus will no longer be an issue by November? Pretty big assumption to make.

Because realistically it's not even an issue now other than in the one market that apparently matters the most. And even then, we're talking about a population of 1 billion. The number of people sick are like a teardrop in the ocean.

[BGMaverick]

Why are they assuming that the coronavirus will no longer be an issue by November? Pretty big assumption to make.

I think it's more precautionary than predictive. Rather than leave it ambiguous on when it will come out, they show they're not leaving it out in limbo by establishing a new release date. If it's still an issue, they'll repeat the series of events.

[TimeSplitter]

At least Daniel Craig is hosting SNL this week to promote a November release.

[Beer-Belly]

Because realistically it's not even an issue now other than in the one market that apparently matters the most. And even then, we're talking about a population of 1 billion. The number of people sick are like a teardrop in the ocean.

The World Health Organization disagrees that it's only an issue in China.

[BGMaverick]

WHO are they though?

[Donald]

Jim Neidhart

[Beer-Belly]

It makes sense to delay it if theaters are being closed in China, Italy, and France. I'd assume Bond is big internationally. No reason for the studio to miss out on money.

[TimeSplitter]

Can they take this time to do a better theme song?

[VHS]

Because realistically it's not even an issue now other than in the one market that apparently matters the most. And even then, we're talking about a population of 1 billion. The number of people sick are like a teardrop in the ocean.

The rest of the world greatly disagrees.


Can they take this time to do a better theme song?


I wish they would, but they're not going to change anything about Billie's theme now that she's an award winner. Personally, I can't stomach her music style. It's just glorified mumbling.

[Nash Diesel]

The rest of the world greatly disagrees.




I wish they would, but they're not going to change anything about Billie's theme now that she's an award winner. Personally, I can't stomach her music style. It's just glorified mumbling.

Yeah well we're also on a planet where the fucking beer company is taking a massive hit because of it's name so the rest of the world is who exactly? You?

Again, whatever you're trying to accomplish by chiming in to many of my posts here lately with ignorance isn't going to do you any favors here or in life.

[VHS]

Yeah well we're also on a planet where the fucking beer company is taking a massive hit because of it's name so the rest of the world is who exactly? You?

Again, whatever you're trying to accomplish by chiming in to many of my posts here lately with ignorance isn't going to do you any favors here or in life.

Bro. Let's quell this right now, yes?

I'm not latching onto you or anything. You've been posting a lot of drivel lately, more than usual, and I'm only reacting to it more openly. It's no skin of my back, and likewise none off yours. If you're not enjoying being replied to, then I don't know what to tell ya.

[Nash Diesel]

Bro. Let's quell this right now, yes?

I'm not latching onto you or anything. You've been posting a lot of drivel lately, more than usual, and I'm only reacting to it more openly. It's no skin of my back, and likewise none off yours. If you're not enjoying being replied to, then I don't know what to tell ya.

Your posts are very condescending and have really no meaning behind them other than trying to be slick and I'm not a fan of people like you.

If you take issue to what I'm saying about the coronavirus and have some actual shit to back it up to dispute, there's a thread in the Asylum that I'll gladly take the time to look at your stats that blow what I've said in a Bond thread out the water.

I'm not your bro, I'm not your guy, I'm not your buddy, so enough of the nonsense and let me search for treasure.

[Donald]

I'm not your chief, pal!

[Nash Diesel]

I'm not your chief, pal!
https://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/images/shows/south-park/clip-thumbnails/season-2/0201/south-park-s02e01c09-hey-scott-guess-what-16x9.jpg?quality=0.8

[VHS]

Your posts are very condescending and have really no meaning behind them other than trying to be slick and I'm not a fan of people like you.

If you take issue to what I'm saying about the coronavirus and have some actual shit to back it up to dispute, there's a thread in the Asylum that I'll gladly take the time to look at your stats that blow what I've said in a Bond thread out the water.

I'm not your bro, I'm not your guy, I'm not your buddy, so enough of the nonsense and let me search for treasure.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7bIfaDQatQ

[Gangers]

VHS is an absolute drain on the forum and contributes nothing except to necropost his own shit, pointless thread on a weekly basis to an audience of nobody. Hope that helps.