tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7223136460473362827.post6244204442402146590..comments2022-04-11T18:17:16.738-07:00Comments on Al Sullivan's Journal: A disappointing Spectresully00http://www.blogger.com/profile/08523929037351094072noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7223136460473362827.post-73123447191670401842016-02-11T13:52:01.430-08:002016-02-11T13:52:01.430-08:00I don't think it's so much about Craig (wh...I don't think it's so much about Craig (who I think I'd the 2nd best Bond to Connery) as it is about the writer(s). I blame Scientology. <br /><br />Casino Royale was the first in a trilogy of films to be written by Paul Haggis. It was intended to reboot Bond (remember CR is Bond/Craig's 2nd double-0 assignment) as a trilogy all about his reaction to Vesper. The end of CR has him say "Bond; James Bond."<br /><br />Quantum of Solace has the usual problems of a middle trilogy story. Bond uncovers the organization that was blackmailing Vesper. Note he's sort of faithful to her in death -- he doesn't bed anyone and even alludes to possibly having had bisexual relations. That movie brought in the Walther and the Bond music -- but not the opening. <br /><br />All was to culminate in the third film, which would complete the reboot. But two things spoiled the plan. QoS didn't perform at the box office as expected, and Haggis, a Scientologist of major standing quit the "church" very publicly in a scandal that was documented in a feature article in The New Yorker by Laurence Wright. This became the exposé book and documentary, Going Clear. Haggis was beset by goons and shunned by much of Hollywood. He was locked out of finishing his own trilogy, and Neal Purvis, John Logan and crew made the third film. <br /><br />I liked Skyfall, but the auteur was looking locked out. They finished some loose ends by replacing M and Moneypenny, but gone was the idea that Bond was just starting out. They left loose ends that they tried to clean up in Spectre (members of the QoS), but it had all the problems of the post-Connery era. <br /><br />So I submit my theory that had Haggis not taken the brave stance he did, he would have completed his trilogy on his terms and given Craig the Bond he signed up for. <br /><br />So yeah, Spectre is a major disappointment. Bland clichéd Bond. He and Craig, and especially Paul Haggis deserved better. <br /><br />BTW, Wright's article is at http://newyorker.com/magazine/2011/02/14//the-apostate-lawrence-wright <br /><br />And look up Haggis on IMDB and watch his amazing career before and after his break with Scientology. A shame. Jim Freundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11647463051386835992noreply@blogger.com