Shades or Spectres of the Past
The latest James Bond movie Spectre, like its predecessor Skyfall, has a flaw that damaged the viewing experience for me. (In Skyfall, Q does something that an IT professional simply would not do, and the last third of the movie depends on the result.) This time, in the classic good guy/bad guy scene when the hero is about to be sadistically tortured, much of the dialogue was lifted from a little-known Bond book, "Colonel Sun". (Which was written by Kingsley Amis under a pseudonym.) Granted, the vast majority of theater - goers will not be aware of this -- but I was. And instead of focusing on the dramatic goings-on, I was annoyed by the apparent unwillingness of major studios to hire talented, original writers. There can't possibly be a shortage of such in Hollywood, and given the $250 million plus budget, it couldn't have made that much difference on the accounting books.
And the handling of the head of SPECTRE was another problem. I think the movie-makers were trying for a measure of believability, but somehow had to sacrifice much of the air of malevolent intelligence that really should be a part of SPECTRE and Ernst Stavro Blofeld. We are talking about one of the most famous diabolical masterminds in cinema, after all. This time -- well, let's just say that Telly Savalas remains my favorite version.
And the handling of the head of SPECTRE was another problem. I think the movie-makers were trying for a measure of believability, but somehow had to sacrifice much of the air of malevolent intelligence that really should be a part of SPECTRE and Ernst Stavro Blofeld. We are talking about one of the most famous diabolical masterminds in cinema, after all. This time -- well, let's just say that Telly Savalas remains my favorite version.