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The Lady Gaga of Bond films
Posted on 11/20/12 at 1:33 pm
Posted on 11/20/12 at 1:33 pm
Most critics are hailing Skyfall as the best Bond ever. I don't think it holds a candle to Casino Royale for one reason:
Just like Lady Gaga, it's one of the biggest hack jobs I've ever seen.
It borrows plot points from no less than five other films. Silva's escape scene is lifted almost directly from The Dark Knight even down to the line "He wanted us to catch him." I've seen the "somebody stole the entire database of agents' names" plotline (which gets unceremoniously dropped halfway through) somewhere before, but can't remember which spy thriller it is. It also repeats storylines from recent Bond films: The World is Not Enough (the villain going after M) and GoldenEye (the villain is a rogue agent). And don't get me started on the Home Alone ending.
Christopher Nolan should be suing Sam Mendes for not only borrowing a major plot point from one of his films, but also for stealing three visual tableaus from Inception: Silva's island looks exactly like the ruined skyscrapers of Dom and Mol's past dream; the assassination in the skyscrapers looks eerily familiar to Mol's suicide; the casino in Macau is a rip off of Sato's fortress.
I know there's nothing new under the sun and artists rip off from other artists all the time, but this didn't feel new to me at all and left me very disappointed.
Am I off base or is Skyfall the Lady Gaga of Bond films: just a really good hack job?
Just like Lady Gaga, it's one of the biggest hack jobs I've ever seen.
It borrows plot points from no less than five other films. Silva's escape scene is lifted almost directly from The Dark Knight even down to the line "He wanted us to catch him." I've seen the "somebody stole the entire database of agents' names" plotline (which gets unceremoniously dropped halfway through) somewhere before, but can't remember which spy thriller it is. It also repeats storylines from recent Bond films: The World is Not Enough (the villain going after M) and GoldenEye (the villain is a rogue agent). And don't get me started on the Home Alone ending.
Christopher Nolan should be suing Sam Mendes for not only borrowing a major plot point from one of his films, but also for stealing three visual tableaus from Inception: Silva's island looks exactly like the ruined skyscrapers of Dom and Mol's past dream; the assassination in the skyscrapers looks eerily familiar to Mol's suicide; the casino in Macau is a rip off of Sato's fortress.
I know there's nothing new under the sun and artists rip off from other artists all the time, but this didn't feel new to me at all and left me very disappointed.
Am I off base or is Skyfall the Lady Gaga of Bond films: just a really good hack job?
This post was edited on 2/16/13 at 11:48 am
8
Posted on 11/20/12 at 1:36 pm to bluestem75
the villain meaning to get caught is in a shitload of movies, not just dark knight
Posted on 11/20/12 at 1:36 pm to bluestem75
quote:
I've seen the "somebody stole the entire database of agents' names" plotline (which gets unceremoniously dropped halfway through) somewhere before, but can't remember which spy thriller it is.
Mission Impossible
Posted on 11/20/12 at 1:38 pm to Rohan2Reed
that too
Posted on 11/20/12 at 1:40 pm to Carson123987
Exactly what I said after I walked out. I kept mentioning during the movie how similar this is to so many damn movies...
Posted on 11/20/12 at 1:48 pm to Chet Manley
I don't know if its a hack job but it certainly didn't feel like a Bond movie to me. I grew up as a huge Bond fan but I seriously have lost almost all interest in the franchise. I understand they are trying to reinvent the series for today's age, but the bond formula has just been discarded. It's still possible to make a darker Bond film and have it FEEL like a bond film (See License to Kill or Goldeneye). No meaningful Bond girl? A black Moneypenny? Another glaring absence of the Bond theme? All the standards of the Bond series are now thrown in the most perfunctory manner- casinos, cars, Q, etc. Skyfall's plot had potential to be a grandiose film but instead it came off as a passable thriller. Bond films are supposed to be played out on a grand scale. The series has lost sight of itself and is now half-Bond, half-Bourne.
This post was edited on 11/20/12 at 1:54 pm
Posted on 11/20/12 at 1:51 pm to bluestem75
quote:
Most critics are hailing Skyfall as the best Bond ever.
BTW, I don't think this is true.
Posted on 11/20/12 at 1:56 pm to Chet Manley
As I was going down the steps leaving the theatre I told my buddy "could they have ripped the getting captured scene off TDK anymore?"
That, the gay insuations, and the super corny lizards or whatever they were eating the guy while holding the gun pointed at him. That was the worst. I still enjoyed it a good bit. It's probably not the best bond ever, I like Casino Royale better and anew of the older ones but the action was great. But visually, it was probably the best bond. The fight scene at the top of the building was really really pretty.
That, the gay insuations, and the super corny lizards or whatever they were eating the guy while holding the gun pointed at him. That was the worst. I still enjoyed it a good bit. It's probably not the best bond ever, I like Casino Royale better and anew of the older ones but the action was great. But visually, it was probably the best bond. The fight scene at the top of the building was really really pretty.
Posted on 11/20/12 at 1:56 pm to REG861
quote:
No meaningful Bond girl?
Had this discussion with a friend. We came to the agreement that the previous two Daniel Craig Bond films had a very big role for the Bond girl and that it was time to take a step back from that. Like I said in another thread, I liked the movie a lot despite it being derivative. But hey, almost every movie (especially action movie) is derivative of something these days. I think Skyfall would have benefitted from having a flashback scene of Silva as a young MI6 agent.
Also I must say, comparing any future Bond films to Casino Royale is unfair because we will always look at that movie through the prism of it being the one that reinvented the genre. One of the primary things that makes us love Casino Royale is how new and inventive it was. No Daniel Craig Bond will be able to stand up to that because it's impossible to reignite the feeling of experiencing something truly unique.
Posted on 11/20/12 at 2:16 pm to bluestem75
quote:
Am I off base or is Skyfall the Lady Gaga of Bond films: just a really good hack job?
What are you expecting? I've never considered Bond movies to be on the cutting edge of originality. The formula is pretty simple. Evil mad man tied to the bad guys of the day tries to cause mass destruction. James Bond infiltrates the operation, bangs the mad man's girlfriend, and then foils the plans.
I thought Skyfall was the best Bond movie in quite some time. It had its weaknesses, it was a bit long and I didn't like the villain, but it was much better than the recent Bond movies. The only thing it really lacked was cool spy gadgets.
This post was edited on 11/20/12 at 2:17 pm
Posted on 11/20/12 at 2:55 pm to REG861
quote:
I don't know if its a hack job but it certainly didn't feel like a Bond movie to me. I grew up as a huge Bond fan but I seriously have lost almost all interest in the franchise. I understand they are trying to reinvent the series for today's age, but the bond formula has just been discarded. It's still possible to make a darker Bond film and have it FEEL like a bond film (See License to Kill or Goldeneye). No meaningful Bond girl? A black Moneypenny? Another glaring absence of the Bond theme? All the standards of the Bond series are now thrown in the most perfunctory manner- casinos, cars, Q, etc. Skyfall's plot had potential to be a grandiose film but instead it came off as a passable thriller. Bond films are supposed to be played out on a grand scale. The series has lost sight of itself and is now half-Bond, half-Bourne.
Very well said. They set up some pieces at the end of the film that can be brought back. We will see what they do with them the next time around.
Posted on 11/20/12 at 2:56 pm to TigerinATL
quote:
What are you expecting? I've never considered Bond movies to be on the cutting edge of originality. The formula is pretty simple. Evil mad man tied to the bad guys of the day tries to cause mass destruction. James Bond infiltrates the operation, bangs the mad man's girlfriend, and then foils the plans.
Bingo.
Bond isn't trying to reinvent film, it's trying to do what it does well. Sometimes it hits, sometimes it misses, no lie there. This was a hit.
I like the pieces, and I like that they seemingly have Craig lined up for some more "classic Bond" action before he bows out. I think it was a nice touch.
We can reinvent the franchise with the next Bond.
Posted on 11/20/12 at 2:59 pm to bluestem75
No Bond film made in 2012 is going to ever measure up to any of the ones starring Sean Connery. Fact.
Posted on 11/20/12 at 3:01 pm to lsuwontonwrap
quote:\
No Bond film made in 2012 is going to ever measure up to any of the ones starring Sean Connery. Fact.
Get off my lawn!
Casino Royale is the equal of Goldfinger/FRWL.
This post was edited on 11/20/12 at 3:03 pm
Posted on 11/20/12 at 3:08 pm to iwyLSUiwy
quote:
the gay insuations
I'm sorry a gay character threatened your sexuality. Make your avatar a chick in a thong (like every other closeted redneck on TD) to show everyone that you have a case of the "not gay"s
Posted on 11/20/12 at 9:07 pm to bluestem75
The camera and cinematography work was top notch, just as you would expect from Mendes and the stunts in the opening sequence were great.
But the movie left me wanting for something and I don't know what.
But the movie left me wanting for something and I don't know what.
Posted on 11/20/12 at 9:08 pm to bluestem75
quote:
Am I off base or is Skyfall the Lady Gaga of Bond films
I don't even know what that's supposed to mean.
Posted on 11/20/12 at 9:11 pm to Chet Manley
quote:
Exactly what I said after I walked out. I kept mentioning during the movie how similar this is to so many damn movies...
People who get pissed off about this stuff need to realize something: Everything has been done before. Whatever the film you are accusing of being ripped off of something, the fact of the matter is that film ripped off elements of previous source material, and it goes back since the beginning of written word really. Its not what the film is about, but HOW the film is about.
Posted on 11/20/12 at 9:12 pm to Chet Manley
quote:
Exactly what I said after I walked out. I kept mentioning during the movie how similar this is to so many damn movies...
People who get pissed off about this stuff need to realize something: Everything has been done before. Whatever the film you are accusing of being ripped off of something, the fact of the matter is that film ripped off elements of previous source material, and it goes back since the beginning of written word really. Its not what the film is about, but HOW the film is about.
Posted on 11/20/12 at 9:19 pm to bluestem75
quote:
I've seen the "somebody stole the entire database of agents' names" plotline (which gets unceremoniously dropped halfway through) somewhere before, but can't remember which spy thriller it is.
the first Mission Impossible.
Skyfall is still very well made though.
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