OldBoy

Please continue pre-release discussion here.

Movie:
"Spectre" (Starring: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Monica Bellucci, Ben Whishaw)

Release Date:
11/6/15

Rating:
PG-13 (for intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images, sensuality and language throughout.)

Running Time:
148m. (2h. 28m.)

Budget:
$250 million (estimated)

IMDb Synopsis:


IMDb Info and Rating:
7.6 (18,472 votes as of 11/3/15

Rotten Tomatoes:
Fresh:41 Rotten:21 (66% as of 11/3/15)

Metacritic:
65 metascore ('Generally favorable reviews' as of 11/3/15)

Trailer:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//v.traileraddict.com/105954" allowfullscreen="true" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Poster Art:

Deftones

This review basically calls it terrible: http://www.theverge.com/2015/11/3/96...w-daniel-craig

d2cheer

I think you are about $200 million off on the budget.

RichC2

This review basically calls it fantastic: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015...ly-pro-snowden

Yeah the budget is listed at $240m - $300m depending on a few factors. I think it looks alright, I didn't care for Quantum of Solace, Skyfall was an improvement but pretty forgettable.

OldBoy

^ there is no way it is that high...is it?

dex14

Yes. It's been well document during the Sony leaks how the budget for this ballooned.

Shannon Nutt

Apparently the $300 million budget was an exaggeration (at least according to a Daniel Craig interview in EW), but it's probably safe to say they were well over $200 million, since Skyfall cost that much.

Really though, this movie is going to make at least a billion worldwide, so how much it cost is not really a concern - it's already made $80 million overseas.

OldBoy

ok.

Supermallet

I'm not reading the reviews, beyond a few snippets I've already seen. I have my tickets for Sunday night at the Chinese theater IMAX. I'm a huge Bond fan so this would have to be REALLY awful for me to dislike it.

OldBoy

me neither. i love Bond ever since my grandfather took me to see Timothy Dalton many moons ago...

Ash Ketchum

I saw SPECTRE at an advance screening last night. The trailers signaled this so I wasn't surprised, but I was really put off by how drab and gray everything looked. There isn't a drop of color in it. It's just ugly. The film itself is long, slow and dull, with occasional loud action scenes to wake me up. (Yes, I did nod out at one point.) The premise has potential but the writing never really takes advantage of it. I never cared about any of the plot developments. There are a lot of references to previous Bond films, esp. the good ones (i.e. the first five with Sean Connery), but so what? They're placed in a bad Bond movie. There are attempts at humor, but they all fell flat with the screening audience I saw it with.

My biggest pet peeve, though, is how they make Bond out to be Superman. He takes extraordinary punishment without getting a scratch or messing up his suit. Worse, at several points in the film, he singlehandedly confronts large numbers of guards or security personnel, all presumably hand-picked to protect the world's most powerful and secretive criminal organization, yet they're such pushovers, easily overpowered or shot down by one guy with a pistol. It's ludicrous. I know that's standard for action films (and Bond films) these days, but that doesn't make it any more palatable. I mean, when Connery went down into Blofeld's volcano base alone in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE he got quickly captured and was freed only by the intervention of Tiger Tanaka's ninja army that was at least a hundred strong. Proof that you can have an exciting and suspenseful action climax without making it stupid.

I realize that far-fetched action scenes don't bother most of you, but, aside from the Mexico City prologue (which, I have to confess, IS spectacular), were these action scenes actually suspenseful or exciting to anyone who's seen this kind of thing a million times already? Just curious.

Lea Seydoux is cute, though, and actually has a decent part. Monica Bellucci has a very small part and looks her age (50 when this was shot). Waltz is good, although I didn't need all that backstory and think it further dragged the film down.

For the record, I haven't liked any of the Craig Bonds, although I thought SKYFALL had some good stuff in it and was worth seeing, even if it ended badly.

Mondo Kane

Aw crap. I actually took a little nap during Skyfall and you make it sound like it's the same experience. Oh well. I'm still going this friday because I'm feenin' for my local theater's popcorn.

Supermallet

Funny, I think You Only Live Twice is one of the worst Bond films, easily Connery's worst (unless you count Never Say Never Again), specifically because it's so boring. "Exciting" and "suspenseful" are two words I would never in a million years associate with YOLT.

And since you said you don't like the other Craig Bond films, it's not a huge surprise you didn't like this one.

Solid Snake

Ash isn't a great barometer for taste considering his other... tastes.

Ash Ketchum

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE is one of my favorite movies of all time. I've seen it dozens of times. I'll never forget the first time I saw it. I was sitting with my little sister in the kids' section at my neighborhood theater, when the film finally reached the Bronx, and when the ninja battle at the volcano base started, the crowd went nuts. When the ninja swordsman went to work with his sword, everybody roared. Throughout the sequence, every kid in the place was jumping up and down, cheering and applauding every bit of action. You gotta remember, this was the first time the mass audience in America was seeing Japanese-style martial arts action like this. And pretty much every time I saw this film in theaters afterwards, the crowd had a similar reaction, although nothing beats that first screening, one of the best times I ever had at the movies. The film got re-released a lot in the subsequent six or seven years, not bad for a film that's now considered "boring."

I attribute my interest in Japanese films and culture to the effect YOLT had on me. I even read Ian Fleming's book right after seeing the film. Has any Bond movie in the last 40 years inspired anybody to actually read something?

rocket1312

I read Casino Royale after the movie came out. So, yes?

Also, I won't stand for anyone saying that You Only Live Twice is the worst Connery Bond. Not when Diamonds Are Forever exists. It is, however, the second worst...and it was the first bad movie in the series...and it's probably the most racist...and Austin Powers totally ruined Donald Pleasance...and Little Nellie is lame. Did I forget anything?

dex14

I'm pretty sure I enjoyed this more than Skyfall (which I find overrated). So, that would rank it 2nd after Casino Royale for the Craig films. The opening tracking shot was awesome... very Touch of Evil. The action was great. The "twist" played better than I thought it would. The Craig movies though definitely continue to lack the fun of the series past entries.

dhmac

"You Only Live Twice" does have one of the dumbest plots in the entire film series, but it's not even remotely close to being the worst Bond film.

Solid Snake

define what your fun is cuz for some people it means that Bond should have kept that cheeky nature of it or the constant repeated Bondisms or more gadgets or whatever.

dex14

Pretty much what you mentioned. More "Bondisms"... cheeky quips...gadgets... hell, even using the theme more. And while they were in some exotic locations, it did look drab.

asianxcore

Saw this last night and I can't say I was the biggest fan. It's very average.

Echoing what a few said in here, the film looked flat and felt the same. It felt like there was no real urgency or tension (sans maybe 1 particular scene). Even many of the action scenes felt very pedestrian.

Also as much as I was looking forward to seeing Christoph Waltz in this film, the script really doesn't do anything really interesting with his character. His introduction is absolutely fantastic but rarely does the film get to those heights in later scenes.

Solid Snake

I dunno. I think w/ CR they pretty much tried to make this Bond more "real" than the previous ones. It's still out there but they toned him down in ridiculousness.

I like certain Bond films. Moore's era ruins it for me. Can't say much for Dalton. I barely remember anything aside from him on a cello case, was it a cello case? Goldeneye was awesome but has aged very badly in certain things. Everything after that and before CR is road down in quality.

I like the tone they've given Bond now. Just isn't as far fetched as they made him to be. Which, for me, is an issue that just drove it down in quality. It actually seems like they're treating Bond now like an actual film trying to do something than being the cookie cutter nonsense it was. In other words, toning it down to be more in line w/ what Bond is supposed to be via the source to some degree.

dex14

It was a cello case.


I loved the tone and what they did with Casino Royale. That's probably my 3rd favorite Bond movie. I thought it was a great setup to show how Bond became the Bond we've come to know. Unfortunately, now 4 films in... I don't think they've brought back enough of what makes Bond...Bond. I thought the last scene of Skyfall showed promise that that is where the franchise would be moving towards. I think this film is somewhat in the right step, which is why I think I'd rank it higher than the last 2 entries. I guess I'd be more for a lighter outing. Not everything needs to be so brooding,

TomOpus

Damn, some of these posts have brought my expectations down a bit. I will probably still see it tomorrow, though.

E Unit

I already have tickets for tomorrow, but I know we aren't going to see the Casino Royale type of fun I've enjoyed with the previous films. Still, while expectations are lower, I'm still excited to see it.