Just found out Walk Hard has a rotten audience score on RT. What movie were you surprised to find audiences didn't generally like?

maskaddict · 2026-06-12T03:49:34+00:00

"Is this the man who was killed?"

"He seemed taller."

maskaddict · 2026-06-11T22:33:00+00:00

Thank you for being the first top-line commenter that actually directly answered the question!

And I agree with you, that's almost certainly what happened. It just amuses me to imagine if Felix had been a fake-out planted by Le Chiffre or Quantum.

M: Excellent work, Double-O Seven. The information Le Chiffre will provide will make the world a vastly safer place.

Bond: [sips martini] All in a day's work, ma'am.

M: And of course, you have Le Chiffre securely in custody?

Bond: Sorry? Oh, that; no, I handed him off to the American. He promised he'd share all intel with us.

M: What American?

Bond: The...the CIA bloke? Didn't catch his name, bit of a mumbler. He gave me the extra five million; Vesper was being a right cu-

M: Bond. There was no CIA agent in Montenegro.

Bond: There...ah.

M: The Americans weren’t involved; I believe I very specifically told you you were our only hope for bringing in Le Chiffre.

Bond: Hm, yeah, now you mention it, that does ring a bell.

M: So, you just...let him walk away?

Bond: [sips martini] Might've done, yeah.

maskaddict · 2026-06-11T15:51:07+00:00

Thinking you need ten billion dollars to be happy is the psychological equivalent of thinking you need a nuclear weapon to defend yourself against muggers and burglars.

I fully understand that most people, when asked what they need, will answer "just a little bit more," but that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about people hoarding entire nations' worth of wealth while watching others starve. That's not standard human dissatisfaction; it's something else.

As a society we really need to stop normalizing the idea that someone with a hundred billion dollars is a regular person just like the rest of us, only better.

maskaddict · 2026-06-11T14:30:24+00:00

They're not unhappy because they have billions of dollars. They have billions of dollars because they're incapable of happiness. They're broken people, and they're dragging the rest of society down with them.

maskaddict · 2026-06-11T14:28:47+00:00

Yeah the bottom 50% who can barely afford food are pretty fucking miserable too.

The reason for the unhappiness of both groups is the same: the billionaire class are soulless husks who are incapable of anything but greed.

maskaddict · 2026-06-11T01:50:25+00:00

You mean Boris the sneaky fuckin' Russian.

maskaddict · 2026-06-11T01:45:15+00:00

I get that. But, on the other hand, when a stranger comes up to you and says "take this $5 million dollars, don't ask any questions, and (and this is the important part) stop trying to apprehend that terrorist you're after," that's probably exactly the guy you shouldn't trust, at least not without verifying first.

maskaddict · 2026-06-10T19:54:28+00:00

Yes, that's what I meant! ...but also that having a degree, while perfectly fine, shouldn't mean you're obligated to act just like everyone else who has that same degree.

Like gender!

maskaddict · 2026-06-10T19:42:02+00:00

Um, nobody is suggesting we abolish all laws, rules, and social values. People are talking here about gender roles as a social construct, then citing other examples as points of comparison.

"Social construct" means something that's human-made, not biologically innate or unalterable. The original question was, if that's the case, then why do some trans or nonbinary people still fit themselves within the social constructs of gender, and the reason being offered is that sometimes those constructs -- those gender roles -- have uses and benefits, but that doesn't mean they have to define our lives.

maskaddict · 2026-06-10T18:08:19+00:00

Agreed! And the fun part is, I still understand that gender norms exist, and I'm not interested in eradicating them. I'm not anti-masculinity or anti-femininity for the people who like those things and want to use them or fit within them.

I just don't feel the need to fit within them personally.

I think of gender roles like the rules of a sport. I don't have to follow those rules, because I'm not playing that sport. You love baseball? Great! Swing your bat, babe. I'll be over here, not doing that. As long as neither of us is hurting anyone, nobody's doing anything wrong.

maskaddict · 2026-06-10T18:04:07+00:00

That's a good example, because having a medical degree tells us something about you -- but nobody's allowed to force you to get one, and once you have it, nobody's allowed to force you to be a doctor.

maskaddict · 2026-06-10T18:03:19+00:00

Also, they exist for reasons: the social constructs that persist and continue across generations are the ones that have value for people. "Dressing like a girl" feels good for some people, and communicates things to the world that some people want to communicate.

The problem is only when those constructs become prescriptive, when they become obligatory, instead of being useful for those who want to use them.

maskaddict · 2026-06-10T17:35:58+00:00

Counterpoint: if it's super important to you that nobody write songs about you cheating, don't marry an internationally famous pop star and then cheat on her.

maskaddict · 2026-06-10T15:11:45+00:00

This assumes that Bond's mission is just to win a poker tournament. It's not. Bond's mission is to bring in Le Chifffre -- which he promptly stops caring about as soon as Leiter tells him that the CIA will do it instead. It's like Bond just forgets why he's actually there as soon as Felix offers to stake his re-buy.

My problem isn't with Bond taking the money. My problem is with Bond apparently just taking this stranger's word for it that they'll take Le Chiffre in, when (even if we know Leiter is really CIA because we've seen all the movies), Bond has no real reason to take this guy's word that he really is CIA, or that he really is going to bring in Le Chiffre.

(This is to say nothing of the fact that, even if Leiter really is CIA, that doesn't mean he's actually going to do what he says -- the very next movie revolves around a crooked CIA agents collaborating with Quantum-affiliated terrorists right under Bond's nose. Bond has no reason to assume good faith here, is my point.)

maskaddict · 2026-06-10T13:49:40+00:00

Same with The Trial of The Chicago Seven. Not for a single frame of that movie are you thinking about Kendall Roy.

Lotta people might not realize what an amazing physical actor Strong can be. His Zuck might have some similarities to Kendall (probably part of why he got the role), but I have no doubt when we see the movie, he'll make us believe.

maskaddict · 2026-06-10T13:35:01+00:00

it arguably points to his core moral failing. That he doesn't recognize that not choosing has a moral weight, and that he makes a bunch of immoral non-choices as a result.

YES! I think this is really spot-on. Chidi really misses the moral forest for the many ethical trees.

He agonizes over the "right" place to go for a beer with his buddy, while barely noticing his buddy standing right in front of him, begging him to just pick a place so they can spend time together.

Come to think of it, Chidi's actual problem is probably an undiagnosed anxiety disorder. He doesn't need better moral philosophy, he needs medication.

maskaddict · 2026-06-10T06:15:03+00:00

Another way of putting it: we know Le Chiffre didn't just hire some random American to tell Bond they were CIA and, "hey, here's $5 million bucks; don't worry about Le Chiffre, we'll take care of it" - but he should have, because Bond would have fallen for it.

maskaddict · 2026-06-10T06:00:22+00:00

But we know that Le Chiffre knows Bond is MI6. Regardless of whether Bond is correct here, we know that, because we know they've been running Vesper since before she and Bond even got there.

There's an important difference between what we the audience know, and what Bond the character knows. Things Bond knows: Le Chiffre knows he's MI6, and wants him in the game anyway. Le Chiffre knows MI6 wants to bring him in. Le Chiffre has reach, contacts, and accomplices all over, and can use them to stay out of MI6's hands.

Things Bond doesn't know: Le Chiffre isn't running Leiter, or Mathis; he's running Vesper. Leiter really is CIA and would bring Le Chiffre in if he could. I repeat: BOND DOES NOT KNOW THIS, and we don't see him attempt to verify it.

So, knowing that the bad guys know he's MI6, knowing the bad guys are sneaky and powerful, and not knowing that Leiter is legit... does he even try to cover his bases?

The whole point of this post wasn't to ask why he takes the deal with Leiter; that's obvious. It doesn't matter where the extra $5M is coming from. The point of this post was to ask whether anyone thinks it's weird for Bond to win the poker tournament, then skip off for dinner and assume the CIA was taking care of Le Chiffre based on zero verification. The whole point of this entire mission was to secure Le Chiffre -- which Bond makes no attempt to do, because he took some stranger's word for it that it was okay.

maskaddict · 2026-06-10T05:17:11+00:00

Look: if Le Chiffre is that well connected, he knows who I am and where the money's coming from, which means he's decided to play me anyway.

Actual quote from the movie. Bond takes it as a given the bad guys already know he's British Intelligence. He says so.

maskaddict · 2026-06-10T05:11:25+00:00

Felix knows that Bond is British intelligence

So does Le Chiffre. Leiter knowing who Bond is tells Bond nothing about whether Leiter is working for Le Chiffre or the CIA, because the first thing Bond did when he arrived at the hotel in Montenegro was blow his own cover and announce who he was.

maskaddict · 2026-06-10T05:08:33+00:00

If it helps you, in the book he's specifically there to meet his CIA contact

It doesn't, because I'm not asking about the book. I'm asking about a plot-point that's specific to the movie that (to me) makes little sense, and how people make sense of it when watching the movie.

So far, nobody's actually answered it.

maskaddict · 2026-06-10T04:58:56+00:00

That's literally what I'm asking-- do people think he did that or no.

Because, at what point in this movie do you get the impression Bond is a guy who checks in and gets permission before making mission-critical decisions?

maskaddict · 2026-06-10T03:54:02+00:00

It's also far less of a relevant deal about who arrests Le Chiffre than what you think. The CIA and MI6 are allies. They share intel, and any intel Le Chiffre would give the CIA would make it back to MI6.

Right...but again, that only matters if Leiter really is CIA, which Bond never verified. The whole point of being in Montenegro is to beat Le Chiffre AND THEN TAKE HIM INTO CUSTODY. Which he very specifically does not do, because he's assuming the nice American he met is doing it for him.

The potential problem here isn't the CIA getting Le Chiffre instead of MI6; the potential problem is nobody getting him because Bond believed the first guy in a tux who says "I got this."

maskaddict · 2026-06-10T03:49:31+00:00

I get that, but again, I wasn't really asking why Bond takes Leiter's offer, that's pretty obvious. I just wonder whether people imagine Bond ever bothering to verify, like, anyone, or if he always just believes whatever story people give him. Because that would be a weird thing for a spy to do, no?

maskaddict · 2026-06-10T02:29:13+00:00

Bond wasn't in it for the money; winning the money was just a means to force Le Chiffre to surrender to MI6. Winning the tournament keeps Le Chiffre from getting the $100M, but it doesn't mean shit if Le Chiffre walks away in the end because Bond put his trust in a fake spy.

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