UHD Review A Few Words About While we Wait for A few words about...™ No Time to Die -- in 4k UHD (1 Viewer)

[Tommy R]

I have a good TV, a comfy chair, & a nice glass of wine to hand

But wouldn’t you just LOVE to have a glass of wine delivered to you in a theater by a server AFTER the movie has already started, and then the server standing in front of you blocking the screen while they serve someone next to you? Can’t get that at home!

 

[Mark Booth]

I finally saw 'No Time to Die' and now I'm debating about whether I'm going to cancel my 4K preorder. Just not my favorite Bond film and, easily, the weakest of the Daniel Craig Bond films.

Mark

 

[Neil S. Bulk]

I'm hoping for the 60th anniversary next year there's a 4k box set with all of the Bond films.

 

[Alan Tully]

I finally saw 'No Time to Die' and now I'm debating about whether I'm going to cancel my 4K preorder. Just not my favorite Bond film and, easily, the weakest of the Daniel Craig Bond films.

Mark

Well it'll have to go some to get below Skyfall, which I thought was just awful. I like the other three, & my favourite is Spectre, which a lot of people don't seem to like at all. So much for other peoples opinions, I'll probably see it on Boxing Day (Blu-ray), I don't expect it to be brilliant, halfway decent will do.

 

[Keith Cobby]

I finally saw 'No Time to Die' and now I'm debating about whether I'm going to cancel my 4K preorder. Just not my favorite Bond film and, easily, the weakest of the Daniel Craig Bond films.

Mark

Same for me. Not a fan of Craig, Casino/Quantum ok, should have done a Dalton!

 

[Gerani53]

SKYFALL was a very enjoyable movie. The problem is, the movie had already been made, and was titled THE DARK KNIGHT. Consciously or unconsciously, SKYFALL placed tracing paper over DK and happily went to town. Bond became Bruce Wayne, London became Gotham City, M became Commissioner Gordon, and the film's villain became the Joker. Additionally, we had an imitation of Wayne Manor (which, naturally, had to burn), another Alfred... umm, I think I've mentioned enough parallels, although there are actually more. What really got me was how even specific cinematic set-ups and flourishes from DARK KNIGHT were directly imitated. When M addresses the public (something M has rarely if ever done before, but which Commissioner Gordon does all the time), we cut from her stirring words about heroic actions to silent footage of a hero doing heroic feats in the streets of Gotham/London, even as her words continue on the soundtrack. Wow. Just wow. I haven't seen this new 007 movie, but I get the impression it is a fully original experience, which instantly places it in a more admirable position than SKYFALL, whatever its plusses or minuses are. As for Daniel Craig, CASINO ROYALE remains the masterpiece of his entries, a marvelous, fresh, original James Bond adventure that dared to be personal, reinventing the franchise in the process.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Well it'll have to go some to get below Skyfall, which I thought was just awful. I like the other three, & my favourite is Spectre, which a lot of people don't seem to like at all. So much for other peoples opinions, I'll probably see it on Boxing Day (Blu-ray), I don't expect it to be brilliant, halfway decent will do.

IF you hated Skyfall, you might very well loathe this iteration... though not sure how your love for Spectre might sway things...

SKYFALL was a very enjoyable movie. The problem is, the movie had already been made, and was titled THE DARK KNIGHT. Consciously or unconsciously, SKYFALL placed tracing paper over DK and happily went to town. Bond became Bruce Wayne, London became Gotham City, M became Commissioner Gordon, and the film's villain became the Joker. Additionally, we had an imitation of Wayne Manor (which, naturally, had to burn), another Alfred... umm, I think I've mentioned enough parallels, although there are actually more. What really got me was how even specific cinematic set-ups and flourishes from DARK KNIGHT were directly imitated. When M addresses the public (something M has rarely if ever done before, but which Commissioner Gordon does all the time), we cut from her stirring words about heroic actions to silent footage of a hero doing heroic feats in the streets of Gotham/London, even as her words continue on the soundtrack. Wow. Just wow. I haven't seen this new 007 movie, but I get the impression it is a fully original experience, which instantly places it in a more admirable position than SKYFALL, whatever its plusses or minuses are. As for Daniel Craig, CASINO ROYALE remains the masterpiece of his entries, a marvelous, fresh, original James Bond adventure that dared to be personal, reinventing the franchise in the process.

What an unusual parallel to draw... but depending on exactly how you take this new iteration, you might find it either the most derivative or original I suppose (and yes, that's been sorta expressed by various HTFers) -- FWIW, people have said something similar about Mozart's music too (while we're at this unusual parallel subthread), which just occurred to me to make sense in that kinda way/comparison...

Me? I continue to have mixed feelings about NTTD (and the entire Daniel Craig cycle now because of it). It's as if I need to view NTTD (and the entire cycle) as completely alternate Bond reality unlike all prior (official) Bonds in the franchise... and that may not be quite so easy to do since there's no time travel or timeline/string splitting (or the like) ala Star Trek, et al ...

_Man_

 

[Gerani53]

It's interesting how we "view" James Bond, a character that many of us grew up with from his screen inception in '62. For me, the '60s Bond movies were the real deal, a fresh, exhilarating, international take on the hard-boiled hero genre that perfectly reflected its self-confident MAD MEN era. This even extends to the non-Connery OHMSS, although the times they were a changing' by 1969, so the great era of 007 was officially over. The '70s Roger Moore Bonds, good, bad, or in-between, seemed to wink at the macho hubris and outlandish excesses of the earlier films and, with tongue-in-cheek chutzpah, somehow found a funky audience of their own. Admirably returning to serious form, the first of the two Timothy Dalton films was quite good. Dalton was a fine actor who handled himself extremely well in the demanding role. But it's possible he lacked the necessary "star power" for Bond, that inexplicable something in an actor's persona that makes people want to see him again and again on the big screen. Pierce Brosnan fit the handsome leading man requirements a bit more, but could never escape the pretty boy look, no matter how much older he got and how "grizzled" they tried to make him; he was always "James Bond Jr." to me. Next, we went from boyish Pierce to rock-rugged, animalistically sexy, borderline ugly Daniel Craig, in a bold attempt to redefine the franchise in a far more adult, character driven way. So, bottom line on 007 cinema, at least for me? The '60s Saltzman/Broccoli movies, every one of them, and Craig's CASINO ROYALE for a modern interpretation.

 

[Alan Tully]

I'm not a huge Bond fan (there's some Roger Moore ones that I still haven't seen - but I do have a soft spot for Moonraker, another bonkers plot), I think the best one is the second one they made, From Russia With Love (1963). A great story that actually makes sense, fantastic villains in Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya) & Grant (Robert Shaw), & the fight between Bond & Grant on the train is for me the best fight of the whole series, you really get the feeling that both men are fighting for their lives...& no car chases that go on forever (mind you, Bourne is the worse offender for that). Of course the whole idea is as dated as hell, most of the books were published in the 50s, with fifties attitudes towards foreigners & women. If I cherry picked the films I wanted, there would only be around 6 films. The last one I saw about a month ago was Quantum Of Solace, I'd never seen it, put off by its bad rap, but I really enjoyed it: all action lean Bond with the fat cut out.

Anyway, Boxing Day evening for No Time To Die.

 

[titch]

I'm not a huge Bond fan (there's some Roger Moore ones that I still haven't seen - but I do have a soft spot for Moonraker, another bonkers plot),

Didn't think I'd ever see another person confessing their love for Moonraker! It is so much better than everyone says it is - although the pigeon doing a double-take in Venice is probably the worst moment in the entire Bond canon, including the rug Connery wore in Never Say Never Again.

 

[Robin9]

I'm not a huge Bond fan (there's some Roger Moore ones that I still haven't seen - but I do have a soft spot for Moonraker, another bonkers plot), I think the best one is the second one they made, From Russia With Love (1963). A great story that actually makes sense, fantastic villains in Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya) & Grant (Robert Shaw), & the fight between Bond & Grant on the train is for me the best fight of the whole series, you really get the feeling that both men are fighting for their lives...& no car chases that go on forever (mind you, Bourne is the worse offender for that). Of course the whole idea is as dated as hell, most of the books were published in the 50s, with fifties attitudes towards foreigners & women.

I'm not a big Bond fan either and I've never seen Moonraker. I do agree about From Russia With Love; a really good film that would be even better without that stupid helicopter sequence.

 

[titch]

I do agree about From Russia With Love; a really good film that would be even better without that stupid helicopter sequence.

Look - from From Russia With Love is a blatant homage/rip-off of North By Northwest. So of course they had to have the helicopter sequence. Which is terrific, by the way!

 

[Worth]

Didn't think I'd ever see another person confessing their love for Moonraker! It is so much better than everyone says it is - although the pigeon doing a double-take in Venice is probably the worst moment in the entire Bond canon, including the rug Connery wore in Never Say Never Again.

If you were a ten year old in 1979 and already a huge Bond and Star Wars fan, Moonraker was the best thing ever.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I genuinely feel that Moonraker is Moore’s best or second best Bond film and I enjoy it every time.

 

[Osato]

I genuinely feel that Moonraker is Moore’s best or second best Bond film and I enjoy it every time.

Same.

I love the locations, theme song and Barry score.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Look - from From Russia With Love is a blatant homage/rip-off of North By Northwest. So of course they had to have the helicopter sequence. Which is terrific, by the way!

I don’t get the homage to NbNW.

 

[JoshZ]

Didn't think I'd ever see another person confessing their love for Moonraker! It is so much better than everyone says it is - although the pigeon doing a double-take in Venice is probably the worst moment in the entire Bond canon, including the rug Connery wore in Never Say Never Again.

The entire gondola hovercraft chase is the worst action sequence in the entire Bond canon.

 

[TravisR]

The entire gondola hovercraft chase is the worst action sequence in the entire Bond canon.

But the Bond falling out of the airplane sequence at the beginning is one of the best.

 

[Osato]

The entire gondola hovercraft chase is the worst action sequence in the entire Bond canon.

Some have stated it’s actually the best and most accurate one ever done.

 

[JoshZ]

But the Bond falling out of the airplane sequence at the beginning is one of the best.

That is admittedly a very good stunt, aside from the fact that you can plainly see the stuntman's parachute hiding under his tearaway jacket.

Some have stated it’s actually the best and most accurate one ever done.

Accurate to what?

I have fondness for Moonraker as a very thick slice of '70s cheese, but as a Bond film it's still pretty terrible on most levels.