Latest James Bond movie: Good reviews but not worth the time to me

[buster]

First let me state that in the 60's I read every James Bond novel, and enjoyed most of them.
Second I've watched all Bond movies except two I believe, generally at the theatre as they came out.

After watching Spectre I thought the movies had shifted to something better than they had been. Traditionally a beautiful woman dies, there is a massive production scene with apparently hundreds of actors, there are more bullets fired than during the second world war, always a car chase, explosions, and other sorts of juvenile things to take a way from the actions of Q, M, Moneypenny, Felix, and Bond himself. I thought Spectre would continue this new trend.

The latest is two and three-quarters long hours. Half of it is mayhem that drags. 

More explosions do not a better movie make. Watched 3 Days of the Condor lately, and I've watched the Bourne Identity. Far better approach to the stories.

I expect someone will write, which is fine, that it's just that I'm old. I suspect not though. I think the director is creating something that is not a very good movie, but it has the ingredients to attract the movie goers who have little interest in a well crafted story.

[ssfc72]

And the movies are even better when shot in black and white. :-) :-)

Yes, I saw the last Bond movie, as well, at the movie theatre.  It was ok but I also found myself waiting for it to end because it was boring me.
I find the Dwayne Johnson, Jumanji movies much better. :-)

[buster]

Ian Fleming's Bond books are in the public domain and available on the local tablet app for the library as epubs . Have been reading Dr No. Sooooo different from the movies. Not great literature but much better than the movies, except for Spectre, which is a great movie in my mind. (Warning - a few novels weren't very good. Most are readable, though politically in correct.)

Same thing happened when NetFlix did a desecration with the Bridgerton novels, which has a light, humorous tone. NetFlix turned them into porn. Not sure why the author Quinn allowed it.

[Jason]

[quote author=buster link=topic=1664.msg10606#msg10606 date=1643839631

I expect someone will write, which is fine, that it's just that I'm old. I suspect not though. I think the director is creating something that is not a very good movie, but it has the ingredients to attract the movie goers who have little interest in a well crafted story.
[/quote]

I would NEVER write something so obvious. But seriously, I do think most movies, especially action movies are aimed at the younger crowd, yes, even younger than me! But, it seems like too long of a movie for that group. I'm not even sure I'd want to watch it based on that alone.

[Jason]

Ian Fleming's Bond books are in the public domain and available on the local tablet app for the library as epubs . Have been reading Dr No. Sooooo different from the movies. Not great literature but much better than the movies, except for Spectre, which is a great movie in my mind. (Warning - a few novels weren't very good. Most are readable, though politically in correct.)

I hadn't realized they were in the public domain now. I'll have to check them out sometime. Free is okay but legally free is much better. It's "politically incorrect", btw, Mr. English teacher. But I think I remember you said you mainly taught math so I won't be too hard on you. Or was that an English test?

Same thing happened when NetFlix did a desecration with the Bridgerton novels, which has a light, humorous tone. NetFlix turned them into porn. Not sure why the author Quinn allowed it.

Although I enjoyed the Lord of the Rings movies and the Hobbit movies, they went off on a wild tangent, especially the Hobbit movies. The Tolkien estate was quite unhappy with the final versions. I believe that authors sell options to make a movie based on their works, not scripts. They don't get a veto unless they're in charge of the movie, like George Lucas. So the movie could go anywhere.

[buster]

This is the old guy again. Fleming's Dr No was published in 1958, and it was not the first in the series. The movie Dr No was released in 1962, and I was at the show with Marilyn and another couple to see it. Seemed OK at the time.

However the book, and what I remember of the movie, were totally unlike the latest films. The scenes in the books seldom has more than 5 people, usually 3. Often Bond was by himself. There was far more solving problems, avoiding detection, walking through swamps, and figuring out what was happening. Even the death of Dr No was caused by Bond redirecting a machine that was moving bird manure, intended for market, until it covered and suffocated the villain. The female lead escaped the bad guys on her own. And the love scene at the end was suggestive but mild.

And the book, though taking longer to read than the movie, felt shorter.

[ssfc72]

Thanks buster for the info on the Dr. No book. I have got to read it.
But you gave away the demise of Dr. No. :-(

[buster]

"But you gave away the demise of Dr. No. :-("

I hope I'm not giving anything away, but Bond always wins. And anyway you can read books two ways. The simplest is to turn pages to find out what happens at the end. The other is to slide into the world the writer has created and enjoy being there, even when you have read the book before.

[buster]

I realize that this is an old thread, but it follows perfectly the previous thoughts. A novel came out a year or two ago that mirrors the novel Dr No from '58. The three good guys must infiltrate a tropical island and take out the bad guys. Some similar creeping about in the dark. The cast is small, not an army of firepower and artillery. The modern movies may be getting the whole thing wrong. Both this book and Dr No illustrate the action of individuals in difficult situation without bombs and thousands of bullets. It's closer to individual combat, involving stealth, brains, and planning.

Parker began writing the Spenser novels in I believe the 70's and wrote 50 of them, which I read as they came out each year. The series was continued after Parker died about 2010, and his books, written by someone else now, are maybe even slightly better than Parker's. TV shows and films about the late 80's and on. Netflix absolutely destroyed their take on the books, which I've come to expect from them.

Anyway, I think individuals in stories are more interesting than a cast of thousands, especially if they are noisy. Invading aliens of course are always allowed to be in large numbers and noisy, especially if they make loud squeaky sounds.

And it was good to see how this writer handled the island invasion plot.