SPECTRE - Next Bond Film, coming 2015

[JasonPratt]

books are always better.

The For Your Eyes Only movie was far superior to the short story from which the named was taken.

And yet far from the best of any generation of Bond films.  :P

(I watched it in full for the first time last year after getting the Bond Blu megaset, along with a few others I had never gotten around to watching; and I can't say I missed much of anything in any of them, except maybe From Russia With Love -- though it still didn't live up to expectations I had heard about it.)

Hotter now than most Bond girls in their prime, in my opinion.

I was just thinking the other day, was Maude Adams the previous record holder for oldest Bond girl? In her first appearance (as another character in an earlier film) she doesn't seem that old, but as the title character of Octopussy she seems as old as Roger Moore! (Which couldn't possibly be true, but still...)


Mirth,

Yes, I'm very curious to see how the writers segue into Spectre from Quantum (which I know was created due to the Broccolis not really having the rights to the group and its infamous Blofeld anymore)! Though it's weird how the writers and/or producers have sort of written themselves into a corner from the outset by casting an actor as Bond who is old enough to play up an early retirement angle. They started trotting out the loose-cannon-off-the-grid ideas already back in Skyfall, and now they're doing it again, which seems... unfresh and a bit desperate. I hope I can ignore it successfully. ;)

In passing, I heard the "Secret Service" theme for the first time in what feels like forever -- I'm sure not since before A View to a Kill. Is David Arnold coming back to do the music? His tenure from Tomorrow Never Dies through to Quantum of Solace (I own all the CDs), though it stumbled occasionally in an attempt to seem technofresh in the Brosnan films, was super-high quality, and rather better than the Skyfall score (though that wasn't bad). It's even more amazing because his other scores have been pretty dang weak (by my standards anyway. ;) Though I admittedly liked The Musketeer, much moreso than the film itself.); but after a Bond tribute concert/album he very literally became John Barry's recommended heir (after the interesting but overly experimental score for Goldeneye, written by a frequent contributor to Luc Besson films. Frankly most of Arnold's tribute album is far too experimental for my taste, too, but...) He's apparently coming back in 2016 for Emmerich's sequel to Independence Day -- but, according to his wikipedia entry, isn't doing Spectre. Hmmm... okay, according to imdb (not always correct this early), it's Thomas Newman again returning from Skyfall. I guess that's okay; the trailer seems like he's taking some good steps forward if he's bringing the "Secret Service" theme back!


Meanwhile, man Rogue Nation suddenly jumped on the radar! I didn't even know Tom Cruise was making another M:I film. And it's coming at the end of July! I'm not a big fan of the crew once again fighting people who are basically IMForce operatives, but a whole army of them sounds... unsustainable for writing a movie, to be honest, but I guess we'll see. At least for the first time he's returning with the same crew (more or less) as the previous movie (plus Luthor, the only recurring teammate from the first three films.)

[bayonetbrant]

Monica Bellucci, at 50, is the oldest ever  'Bond Girl'. And I'm just fine with that.

Maud Adams wasn't over 50 in Octopussy?  Wow.

(checking Wikipedia)

Wow...  she wasn't even over 40.  I totally thought she was older than that based on her having been in Man With The Golden Gun, too.

[bayonetbrant]

books are always better.

The For Your Eyes Only movie was far superior to the short story from which the named was taken.

And yet far from the best of any generation of Bond films.  :P

Blasphemy!

For Your Eyes Only was totally what Bond was supposed to be...  securing the interests of the British Empire and international borders / laws / treaties be damned. 
He wasn't fighting worldwide existential threats (Moonraker, Spy Who Loved Me) or silly quasi-supernatural cartoon characters (Live & Let Die, Man With The Golden Gun).  FYEO was right up there with Goldfinger and Thunderball and Living Daylights for focusing on the interests of Queen and country and not trying to blow him up into a save-the-world superhero.

[mirth]

I'm with Brant. FYEO was a return to 'old-school' Bond and a welcome change of pace after Moonraker. It certainly was one of the better entries of the Roger Moore era. I hated the song though.

[undercovergeek]

I'm with Brant. FYEO was a return to 'old-school' Bond and a welcome change of pace after Moonraker. It certainly was one of the better entries of the Roger Moore era. I hated the song though.

just googled FYEO and that is indeed what it was intended to do - return to the first few books and their style

one of the baddies in it is Grand Master Pycelle in Thrones, and another baddy is the guy who walks on and fires the PPK in the opening sequences in a few Connery Bonds

[mirth]

It's difficult to imagine, today, that Moonraker was so wildly popular and successful when originally released.

[Staggerwing]

It's difficult to imagine, today, that Moonraker was so wildly popular and successful when originally released.

I saw it in the theater and when the US Shuttle was saved from distruction and then started disgorging armed dudes in space suits I heard some guy in the audience behind me yell "No Fucking Way!". I think he meant it positively.

[JasonPratt]

Monica Bellucci, at 50, is the oldest ever  'Bond Girl'. And I'm just fine with that.

Maud Adams wasn't over 50 in Octopussy?  Wow.

(checking Wikipedia)

Wow...  she wasn't even over 40.  I totally thought she was older than that based on her having been in Man With The Golden Gun, too.

I totally thought she was over 50 based on her having skin like Mick Jagger. Or like, you know, Roger Moore.


Re FYEO, I didn't mind the attempt at returning to a more realistically grounded story -- I very much enjoyed and appreciated the Casino Royale reboot and even Quantum of Solace (though a lot of people don't like that movie -- I just regard it as the final hour and a half of a four hour epic Bond origin movie. I partially disliked Skyfall because it shifted straight to "Bond's old, broken, washed up" in only the third film -- and then has the audacity to continue completing the origin story! Between the two tones, it should have stuck with the latter.) What bothered me was the wild shifts in narrative tone that accompanied FYEO. I like The Living Daylights pretty well, which is one of the far more soberly plotted Bonds, but cannot stand License To Kill -- another realistic Bond -- for much the same reason as I have trouble with FYEO. (Perhaps not coincidentally, LtK was one of those few Bond films I had never watched all the way through -- just couldn't stand it for reasons I have a hard time qualifying -- which I made an effort to rectify when I got the Blu set. My opinion by the end had not changed a jot: teethgrinding.)

It occurs to me this could be the reason why I didn't like To Russia With Love as much as I wanted to. The balance between realism and fantasy can be hard to nail down in tone. I'm entirely sure this is my problem with Live and Let Die, too (another one of the films I had never managed to watch all the way through): the shifts in tone are just too jarring, maybe more all over the map than for any other Bond film.

[BanzaiCat]

I actually liked Moonraker, but I also liked On Her Majesty's Secret Service too, so what do I know.

[mirth]

License to Kill is garbage. Living Daylights is one of my favorite Bonds of all time. The Spy Who Loved Me is my favorite of the Roger Moore era.

I like Daniel Craig and the new Bonds have been pretty good (with the exception of Quantam of Solace - the only Bond film I've never watched in it's entirety). However it's hard to think of them as 'Bond'. They're more like 'Bourne, James Bourne'.

[undercovergeek]

I think DC is my favourite Bond - i like that theyve taken away the artistry and smugness, that hes almost a thug in a suit - no fancy oneliners just a shot in the face or a push off a building

[Huw the Poo]

I think DC is my favourite Bond - i like that theyve taken away the artistry and smugness, that hes almost a thug in a suit - no fancy oneliners just a shot in the face or a push off a building

Agreed.  The bit in Quantum of Solace where he casually upends the motorbike with the guy still on it is pure brilliance.

[JasonPratt]

The whole roaring rampage of revenge in QoS is pretty boss. Often shot in an incomprehensibly Bournish way, but still boss.

[Centurion40]

... However it's hard to think of them as 'Bond'. They're more like 'Bourne, James Bourne'.

Amen brother.  A-feking-men!

[DoctorQuest]

Latest trailer. My interest is picking up.

Oh, yeah. I'm in.