Surveillance

It occurred to me that a huge missed opportunity in Spectre was not having Bond outwit the villains with the use of surveillance. Not only would it serve to show how global surveillance can be used against those endorsing it, but serve to characterise Bond as someone who can outwit the villain at their own game - just like he did in FRWL, LTK, moments in TND ("station break", even M using the media to rewrite Carver's death), etc. Of course, this would be incongruous with Craig's version of James Bond but the film was in dire need of rewrites and this may have helped. Bond planting/doctoring files of SPECTRE agents' computers to set them up or replaying old CCTV footage to gain access to a facility undetected. Or even exploring how biometric surveillance or satellite imagery could work against SPECTRE (the latter if they had their own satellite in space). Or finding and exploiting the flaw in the reliance of surveillance (maybe if electricity is down? Maybe Bond sabotages back up generators?).

As it stands, the nanotechnology and the data associated with it is used only for Blofeld to send a car for Bond. This hardly shows the negative impact of surveillance. There's no danger. Even the attack in Africa has less to do with surveillance and more to do with intimidation. They could have monitored Bond going on a wild goose chase away from their centre of operations (imagine Waltz gleefully relishing Bond's foolishness?) while Bond finds a way to manipulate the nano blood files (perhaps with the help of Q), causing Blofeld/SPECTRE to panic. Instead of closing down the 00 program, maybe it should have been left open (since SF proved why it's all still relevant) and focused on manipulating MI6 to spread counterintelligence, leading it to almost implode on itself.

Anyway, Spectre is stupid.

Ah yes, the 'station break' in TND and also Bond calling his mobile 'my cellphone' ... the things that happen when American screenwriters write for British/English characters and don't bother fact-checking.

I'm sorry, when did this become the bash TND thread?

No offence, but the constant belittling of the Craig era can get wearisome ... I get the feeling that you started with the last 4 words of the original post and then worked backwards in order to justify them.

So I just decided to be the sand in the suncream, as it were.

If I needed to justify the last four words my post would dig a lot deeper than just two short paragraphs on one facet of the film.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

So I just decided to be the sand in the suncream, as it were.  

Never heard this phrase, but it's great. Surely an Aussie-ism?

Also, yes, interesting idea there, Fields.

Not sure where/if I've heard it before, tbh. Bit more original than 'fly in the ointment', anyway.

Ah! But Fields you forget, the automaton cannot function as an intelligence agent and must be spoon fed from his own employers or simply break things to advance the plot!
The thing that perhaps kills me most about the new films is just how bloody stupid they've made the lead character-not that he is himself any longer of course.

I will admit Fields after my most recent TND rewatch I did pick up on more subtleties than usual and found myself continually stunned how they pulled it off with such a troubled production. And for the first time ever I felt some of the Paris scenes really working.
Then again it may be the power of the DTS Laserdisc as well.

hegottheboot wrote:

Ah! But Fields you forget, the automaton cannot function as an intelligence agent and must be spoon fed from his own employers or simply break things to advance the plot!
The thing that perhaps kills me most about the new films is just how bloody stupid they've made the lead character-not that he is himself any longer of course.

I will admit Fields after my most recent TND rewatch I did pick up on more subtleties than usual and found myself continually stunned how they pulled it off with such a troubled production. And for the first time ever I felt some of the Paris scenes really working.

This has got to be your best post ever, HGTB.

Thought you might enjoy that tidbit. TND is still a great rewatch if only for the sound design which is still superb.

Let's not undo all the good work by reducing it to 'if only because of the superb sound design'.