Thread:Rodangizzardcrusher3/@comment-26687285-20160503163838/@comment-26687285-20160530185126

3: Blofeld's character/motivation. I was actually ok with the whole "foster-brothers" subplot between Ernst and James. I don't really mind the fact that they chose to expand Bond's past even further, considering how much it added to the drama of Skyfall.

The problem is just...well, they didn't really. The script doesn't give any insight into their history beyond "Ernst's parents took James in after his folks died, then Blofeld (i guess) became jealous and killed them". It's one of the most underdeveloped and glossed-over villain motivations i've seen in a long time. There's no parallels being drawn between any of the characters (a lost oppertunity, since Madeline's parentage is also part of the story). No new exploration of Bond's psyche. Really, not much of anything.

It's mostly just a thing that happens. It doesn't advance the characters. It doesn't add anything of substance to the story (granted, neither does anything else, but now i'm getting ahead of myself). It doesn't even explore why these two (should) hate each other.

It also (once again) shows some pretty sloppy work on the part of the writers with regards to the mystery the film sets up, since we pretty much get all the answers in the first act when Bond is looking over the custody papers.

And this leads me to my other complaint, Blofeld. Even though Christoph Waltz was well cast and did a decent job with what little he had to work with, there wasn't a whole lot to his character. He didn't have a lot of screentime, and of the scenes he was in, only his introduction in Rome really stood out. His speeches were rather cliché and uninspired (especially the one he gives at the MI6 building). Not to mention the "big reveal", which was so predictable even a blind person could've seen it comming (seriously, this was CumberKhan-level obvious).

But the biggest flaw with this version of Blofeld, and something most people probably wouldn't even concieve of, is that even though he's called Blofeld, his character is completely inconsistent with what Blofeld is supposed to be.

Case and point, the final confrontation. So Bond has Blofeld at his mercy. He's wounded, surrounded and barely able to move. Bond stands before him pointing his gun, trying to decide what to do. Blofeld looks up at him and says: "Finish it", (i guess to make Bond seem just as cold and ruthless as he is by having him kill his only remaining family or something?). But James decides to spare him and let M arrest him instead (even though that's clearly a worse option in this situation).

Ok, here's why this scenario doesn't work:

1: Since the rivalry between him and Bond has hardly been established we don't feel the resentment between the two that we should. And because they both have very vague motivations for they're doing there's little to no emotional residence in the scene. I mean, why the hell does Bond care if Blofeld lives or not?. He's clearly a serious enough threat to warrent the use of lethal force. Plus he didn't seem to have a problem with killing every other villain he's faced. Heck, Bond actually tried to shoot him when he entered the MI6 building, so why doesn't he just put him down then and there?. Especially considering how dangerous and powerfull this guy is.

2: This is not how Blofeld would respond. Blofeld is a treacharous and ruthless person. He's always out for himself and will do whatever it takes to achieve his goal. Most of all, Blofeld is a coward. He's only as bold as he needs to be. So it makes absolutely no sense that he would just give up and try to get himself killed like that. The leader of SPECTRE would never behave this way. He would always look for some way to escape or to save his own skin.

This is the difference between using a character and using their image. Just because you put someone on the screen, make them look the way they originally did, and tell us "this is the same character you know and love" doesn't automatically make it so. You have to write/present them in a way that is consistent with the original idea (i'm looking at you Zack Snyder).

Alternatives:

1: Ernst hates James because his father always abused and neglected him, but got his act together for James, seeing him as the son he wanted Ernst to be. This one is perhaps a bit cliché, but it gives a slightly better reason for Blofeld's resentment towards Bond.

2: It turns out Blofeld is actually/also adopted, and the Oberhauser family was James's real family.This next one's really up in the air, and i'm probably not gonna use it, but its the best twist i could come up with.

That's all i can think of for this one at the moment, any suggestions would be great.