A convoluted plot that tried to cash in on the interconnected storytelling trend popularized by Marvel and formulaic twists all but secured a tepid response from critics (although it still made $880.7 million globally, the second-highest-grossing Bond film of all time after Skyfall.) Despite a formidable performance by Christoph Waltz as the classic villain, Spectre‘s problems far outweighed its better qualities. Unfortunately, lightning didn’t strike twice for Mendes and his team. In fact, before Spectre, Blofeld’s final appearance (not counting Max Von Sydow’s performance in the non-Eon produced Never Say Never Again) was an ignoble death at the start of For Your Eyes Only. While Blofeld regularly menaced Bond during his first few movies, where he was portrayed by Donald Pleasence in You Only Live Twice, Telly Savalas in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and Charles Gray in Diamonds Are Forever, copyright issues prevented the character from appearing in more films. Obviously, costs go up when you're trying to get directors and actors to return, but there's really no excuse for a spy movie costing as much as a James Cameron film.Clearly, the studio had similar hopes for Spectre, which not only brought back Mendes to direct but also revived Bond’s archnemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld, head of the titular evil organization. They weren't necessarily cheap, but they damn sure didn't break the bank. Some of the most beloved installments - Casino Royale, for example - were a return to barebones action entertainment. What's especially unfortunate about all this is that audiences don't really care to see a James Bond mega-movie in the first place. Think The Amazing Spider-Man 2 only worse. If reviews are terrible - which, considering the criticism of the script, isn't outside the realm of possibility - word-of-mouth could really hurt its profitability. That doesn't leave a lot of room for failure.Īnd that's assuming the movie even makes it to a billion. Remember - nearly half of ticket sales worldwide go back to theaters, not movie studios. ![]() A $350 million tentpole project absolutely MUST make an enormous amount of money at the box office to be deemed even a little bit successful. It's understandable why producers would be scrambling to offset the massive price tag of the movie. Though the script has almost certainly changed since, it's unclear if all the problems have been fixed. Besides word getting out that the SPECTRE budget was out of control, it also came to light that there were numerous script problems, including a late-in-the-story twist that many fans despised. Nevertheless, the whole thing comes across as another public embarrassment for a production that has already had several. In fact, had the email never been leaked, you and I might not have noticed anything unusual about the theatrical release. Ultimately, the changes to the film will make up a very small portion of the final product.
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