Craig/Mendes need a sub

Rating: 6/10 (18 January 2016)

Watched this back to back with Skyfall for better perspective. I don't like Craig as Bond, I think he's not suave and very unfunny, blah blah I feel like I've said it quite a few times, and the poor guy is not even a bad actor, just a bad Bond. In my opinion. But the problem here is much more serious. It is the movies that are suffering of late, I 've come to realize... What am I talking about, I hear you say, both Skyfall and Spectre did crazy money in the UK and abroad, so, what gives. Well, the difference from "I am going to go watch this film" from "This is a great film" is important. Sure the production values are high, and the action is high-octane non-stop. But haven't we gotten this with stuff like Bourne? Which also had an emotional story on top of it? Bond minus the humor and the character's suave aspect is just another spy action flick. It is good, sure worth a watch, but after you're done, you don't feel the thrill as with previous Bonds. Come on, admit it. You can recall action scenes and punchlines from Goldeneye, A View to A Kill and The Spy Who Loved me, but can you do the same from the Daniel Craig ones? The problem is that they are too cookie cutter, too many dark scenes, fast camera action, you can memorize and imprint nothing. All I can remember is the cars, if that. From the start when Craig walked in with his first film, its like a jumble of stuff. Whenever they try to do something of significance, they end up letting it be half-baked, missed opportunities, like Bond's childhood home in Skyfall and the lost big line of dead people in Spectre, from Bond's past. Watch something like In Majesty's secret service, for example, where Bond (played by the worst Bond according to critics, George Lazenby) mourns his dead wife, and explains why he never got married, and you will understand what I mean. Roger Moore who is frequently at the butt-end of a joke for critics, is an excellent Bond, right close to where the writer, Ian Flemming, wanted him to be. I remember his movies very very well. And the best Bond (again, admit much of the love for Connery is nostalgia, I reckon he is number two if we want to be objective) is Pierce Brosnan, finding that sweet-spot between action hero and funny suave charmer. But the movies... the movies... too dark, too claustrophobic, too messy. I liked it when it was all light scenes, no computers, with jumping cars and somersaulting skiers and bungee jumping. Confrontations were great, like that with Sean Bean, not like that with Blofeld. Damn, Blofeld was a legend in the old movies, how did they manage to make the Austrian (cant remember the name), a great actor, to be so flat as Blofeld. I don't care if its just me, but I feel that Bond lost a lot of the magic, a lot of the sheen. The song was bad as well. At least Adelle's was decent and had the Bond theme in it, that last one, dunno who sings it but its a piece of toilet warble. The movie is worth a watch, you won't waste your time, but it won't be a great cinematic memory. And that is a very personal opinion, let me know if you feel otherwise. Maybe you're a member of Spectre