You are a kite dancing in a hurricane, Mr Bond.
It's time for a backlog of reviews! Well, sort of. You're going to get a quick review for each film that I watched at the cinema prior to Spectre, and then an actual review for Spectre itself.
Ant-Man: Formulaic as it was, I liked this. Scott's crew -- despite verging on stereotypical at times -- elevated the film. Marvel is still incapable of producing a memorable villain besides Loki. Seeing GIFs of the post-credits scene makes me wish that the Captain America: Civil War trailer is coming soon in the near future. Like yesterday.
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation: I don't remember a thing about this other than how I was in pain the entire time because I had stomach cramps. Was it worth the pain? Nope. Would I have liked it if not for how I was entertaining the idea of going to the washroom not of my own will every once in a while? Maybe.
The Martian: Finally, a not-so-heartwrenching story about space. I was surprised that it had as much levity as it did. It was entertaining, though to me, it was just that.
Crimson Peak: From one Jessica Chastain film to another. This was so wonderfully Gothic, I wanted to die. The jump scares stressed me out. That said, I liked that the nature of the film was spoilt in the beginning: [to be specific ...]that it's not a story about ghosts, it's a story with ghosts. The ghosts' designs were spectacular, as was the overall look and feel of the film. You can't ever go wrong with the visuals in a Guillermo del Toro piece, to be honest.
Spectre gets a full review because I came back from it not too long ago, and while I should be working on my wee Captain America story, my head is just full of thoughts of the film.
I don't know, man. Like Skyfall, I was neither impressed nor disappointed with this film. The Craig-helmed range of Bond films is beginning to seem a little formulaic: The film starts out with a chase sequence in an exotic location. Bond gets with a woman whose role, often limited to five or ten minutes of on-screen presence, is to be the fake-out Bond girl and/or plot device and who is never seen or mentioned again once said role has been fulfilled. Bond gets with another woman who then becomes the new prerequisite love interest. Cue another fake-out "big showdown" with the main villain, and then the main event of Bond getting to work on handing the villain's ass to the latter.
It's a shame that the film boasted such a great cast but didn't ... seem to do much with them. Monica Bellucci and Dave Bautista were so under-used, especially the former. The characters weren't memorable either. Dr Swann was bland. [Spoiler (click to open)]Oberhauser/Blofeld didn't feel like much of a threat for someone who was the "author of all [James's] pain" and the head of a major evil organisation. I liked Christoph's performance because it was a lot more understated than some of his recent works, and his introduction was downright chilling. Bond is, well, Bond.
The plot is nothing to shout about. [Spoiler (click to open)]I don't buy Bond and Dr Swann's "romance", especially if you consider the fact that about ten minutes before Dr Swann declares that she loves him, Blofeld states that Vesper Lynd was Bond's "big one"; and about ... oh, half an hour before that, Dr Swann was all, "Don't think for a second that your sexy spy ways will work on me, because it totally won't." There was no build-up to the relationship; there was no emotional depth. I thought Dr Swann's declaration of love was a joke, to be honest. And when Dr Swann walked away, I expected Bond to feel some kind of twinge that in spite of her baggage, she was able to detach herself from all that had happened and still lead a normal life -- something that he can't do. Then she got captured. Fuck.
The reveal that Oberhauser is Blofeld was ... eh. Dude, the "author of all your pain" line was in the freaking trailer. And the references to the previous films felt shallow and inorganic. Just like Blofeld, Spectre didn't seem intimidating enough to warrant their reputation. I also called C being in cahoots with Spectre before the reveal for that particular plot point, and I'm sick of "government surveillance" and "information-gathering" as motives for evil. It's timely, I know, but it's precisely because it's timely that it feels a bit too much.
In addition, Blofeld's involvement in the plot came a little too late. The final act came across as rushed, like they were scrambling to use him as a villain. And again, for someone who's supposed to be powerful enough to orchestrate all of the events in the previous films, he sure gets subdued easily.
I always say that if the characters don't seem to care about the other characters, then why should the audience? [Spoiler (click to open)]There was barely any emotion in this in terms of how the characters interacted with one another. Bond didn't care that his step-brother murdered the man who took care of him as a child. Dr Swann had no reaction whatsoever to her father's death (both when she first finds out and when she watches the security footage), and yet, she wants to tag along to find out what sort of life her father had led. Huh. Bond comes as a little neutered in this. There isn't the same fire in his eyes and under his butt as there was in the previous films. You feel a sense of obligation in what he does, i.e., he does what he does because the plot calls for it and this is, after all, a James Bond film. Blofeld's backstory was conveyed through exposition, and what dry exposition, too, considering Christoph's muted performance. Showing the relationship Blofeld and Bond had as children would've better communicated why Blofeld did what he did, instead of just "LOL, I hated that Papa Oberhauser paid more attention to James, is all".
Miscellaneous observations:
Ant-Man: Formulaic as it was, I liked this. Scott's crew -- despite verging on stereotypical at times -- elevated the film. Marvel is still incapable of producing a memorable villain besides Loki. Seeing GIFs of the post-credits scene makes me wish that the Captain America: Civil War trailer is coming soon in the near future. Like yesterday.
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation: I don't remember a thing about this other than how I was in pain the entire time because I had stomach cramps. Was it worth the pain? Nope. Would I have liked it if not for how I was entertaining the idea of going to the washroom not of my own will every once in a while? Maybe.
The Martian: Finally, a not-so-heartwrenching story about space. I was surprised that it had as much levity as it did. It was entertaining, though to me, it was just that.
Crimson Peak: From one Jessica Chastain film to another. This was so wonderfully Gothic, I wanted to die. The jump scares stressed me out. That said, I liked that the nature of the film was spoilt in the beginning: [to be specific ...]that it's not a story about ghosts, it's a story with ghosts. The ghosts' designs were spectacular, as was the overall look and feel of the film. You can't ever go wrong with the visuals in a Guillermo del Toro piece, to be honest.
Spectre gets a full review because I came back from it not too long ago, and while I should be working on my wee Captain America story, my head is just full of thoughts of the film.
I don't know, man. Like Skyfall, I was neither impressed nor disappointed with this film. The Craig-helmed range of Bond films is beginning to seem a little formulaic: The film starts out with a chase sequence in an exotic location. Bond gets with a woman whose role, often limited to five or ten minutes of on-screen presence, is to be the fake-out Bond girl and/or plot device and who is never seen or mentioned again once said role has been fulfilled. Bond gets with another woman who then becomes the new prerequisite love interest. Cue another fake-out "big showdown" with the main villain, and then the main event of Bond getting to work on handing the villain's ass to the latter.
It's a shame that the film boasted such a great cast but didn't ... seem to do much with them. Monica Bellucci and Dave Bautista were so under-used, especially the former. The characters weren't memorable either. Dr Swann was bland. [Spoiler (click to open)]Oberhauser/Blofeld didn't feel like much of a threat for someone who was the "author of all [James's] pain" and the head of a major evil organisation. I liked Christoph's performance because it was a lot more understated than some of his recent works, and his introduction was downright chilling. Bond is, well, Bond.
The plot is nothing to shout about. [Spoiler (click to open)]I don't buy Bond and Dr Swann's "romance", especially if you consider the fact that about ten minutes before Dr Swann declares that she loves him, Blofeld states that Vesper Lynd was Bond's "big one"; and about ... oh, half an hour before that, Dr Swann was all, "Don't think for a second that your sexy spy ways will work on me, because it totally won't." There was no build-up to the relationship; there was no emotional depth. I thought Dr Swann's declaration of love was a joke, to be honest. And when Dr Swann walked away, I expected Bond to feel some kind of twinge that in spite of her baggage, she was able to detach herself from all that had happened and still lead a normal life -- something that he can't do. Then she got captured. Fuck.
The reveal that Oberhauser is Blofeld was ... eh. Dude, the "author of all your pain" line was in the freaking trailer. And the references to the previous films felt shallow and inorganic. Just like Blofeld, Spectre didn't seem intimidating enough to warrant their reputation. I also called C being in cahoots with Spectre before the reveal for that particular plot point, and I'm sick of "government surveillance" and "information-gathering" as motives for evil. It's timely, I know, but it's precisely because it's timely that it feels a bit too much.
In addition, Blofeld's involvement in the plot came a little too late. The final act came across as rushed, like they were scrambling to use him as a villain. And again, for someone who's supposed to be powerful enough to orchestrate all of the events in the previous films, he sure gets subdued easily.
I always say that if the characters don't seem to care about the other characters, then why should the audience? [Spoiler (click to open)]There was barely any emotion in this in terms of how the characters interacted with one another. Bond didn't care that his step-brother murdered the man who took care of him as a child. Dr Swann had no reaction whatsoever to her father's death (both when she first finds out and when she watches the security footage), and yet, she wants to tag along to find out what sort of life her father had led. Huh. Bond comes as a little neutered in this. There isn't the same fire in his eyes and under his butt as there was in the previous films. You feel a sense of obligation in what he does, i.e., he does what he does because the plot calls for it and this is, after all, a James Bond film. Blofeld's backstory was conveyed through exposition, and what dry exposition, too, considering Christoph's muted performance. Showing the relationship Blofeld and Bond had as children would've better communicated why Blofeld did what he did, instead of just "LOL, I hated that Papa Oberhauser paid more attention to James, is all".
Miscellaneous observations:
- I LOVED the long, tracking shot of Bond walking across rooftops. The angle that it was shot at was brilliant, too.
- The Dia de los Muertos sequence was stunning. I loved the costumes and colours.
- The opening credits utterly pale in comparison to Casino Royale's and Skyfall's. And ... um, the use of tentacles is, er, something. Sam Smith's "Writing's on the Wall" is melodramatic in a pretty bad way and also manages to be boring at the same time.