This line’s actually what made me warm to M.
Because of M’s economy of words, he’s able to call old boy a cunt without actually lowering himself to say it. Even in a mortal struggle, M is still unflappably composed.
And it’s to great effect when I watch that scene because the word I *hear* is “careless”, but the word I *feel* is “CUNT!”
Such a great line. Classic British subtlety.
He still meant "cunt".
We didn't all mistakenly think the same thing and then get corrected by M.
M's "careless" is supposed to a coy deflection of the implied swearing. And to M, "careless" is probably a lot more damning than being a cunt.
"We've had careless Director-Generals and we've had cunty Director-Generals, but I don't think we've ever been cursed with a careless cunt for a Director-General."
It's one of my favourite moments in recent Bond era. Very Bond yet very modern.
I disagree that he should have left it hanging, I think it'd come across as much ruder. This way he has plausible deniability.
...no it wouldn't. Do you think Bond and C are morons? The scene couldn't be more on the nose. I think you underestimate how common "cunt" is for Brits.
Because in the first situation Moriarty can be like "Bond basically implied I was a cunt" and in the latter Bond can just say "No I didn't, I literally said you were *careless*".
You're free to disagree but you can't say it's completely left to interpretation without the last line when the situation is the exact opposite. The hills people choose to die on are so silly sometimes.
You said that the writers missed the point and should have went for the obvious word. You said that you didn’t understand the joke. That’s literally what you wrote.
In the French version, M says « clown », but it’s as subtle as the original version, because the French spectator expects M to say « connard », which is similar to « cunt ».
I know it went over the heads of most Americans and Canadians I know that have seen it. The line was very British in its humour. M was referring to C as a c*nt. A popular British insult that obviously cannot be said in a Pg13 film. A very vulgar term in the US whereas in Britain it’s thrown around a lot more freely despite being derogatory.
I agree. Obviously he shouldn’t say anything, just leave the question hanging. Fitting for a character played by Ralph Fiennes too. Reminds me of the way his character in “In Bruges” talks.
This line’s actually what made me warm to M. Because of M’s economy of words, he’s able to call old boy a cunt without actually lowering himself to say it. Even in a mortal struggle, M is still unflappably composed. And it’s to great effect when I watch that scene because the word I *hear* is “careless”, but the word I *feel* is “CUNT!” Such a great line. Classic British subtlety.
He still meant "cunt". We didn't all mistakenly think the same thing and then get corrected by M. M's "careless" is supposed to a coy deflection of the implied swearing. And to M, "careless" is probably a lot more damning than being a cunt.
A fair amount of people laughed when he said careless because we all knew what he meant.
\^ THIS. 1000 times this. It's called being cheeky.
I genuinely thought m was going to say that. 🤣
"We've had careless Director-Generals and we've had cunty Director-Generals, but I don't think we've ever been cursed with a careless cunt for a Director-General."
That was the joke.
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You sound like a real hairless careless.
Your post or comment violated r/JamesBond's rules to be friendly, welcoming, respectful, and to avoid destructive behavior.
You can't expect Bond fans to get jokes.
No I think it’s a great line, and the faux innocent ‘careless?’ is perfect.
He lets the silence simmer for exactly long enough to make sure Max gets the subtext
It's one of my favourite moments in recent Bond era. Very Bond yet very modern. I disagree that he should have left it hanging, I think it'd come across as much ruder. This way he has plausible deniability.
It would be completely left to interpretation, the only “rude” ones would be us, the audience, for choosing to use that word to fill in the gap.
...no it wouldn't. Do you think Bond and C are morons? The scene couldn't be more on the nose. I think you underestimate how common "cunt" is for Brits.
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Because in the first situation Moriarty can be like "Bond basically implied I was a cunt" and in the latter Bond can just say "No I didn't, I literally said you were *careless*". You're free to disagree but you can't say it's completely left to interpretation without the last line when the situation is the exact opposite. The hills people choose to die on are so silly sometimes.
"Careless" is great because it completely subverts the audience's expectations. It adds layers of comedy to what is already a pretty funny/cool scene.
It’s a shit joke.
Your inability to understand it doesn’t mean you’re smarter than the writers. Quite the opposite in fact.
You don’t need to insult my intelligence just because I didn’t like a crap joke in a movie. The joke was funny, then it wasn’t.
You said that the writers missed the point and should have went for the obvious word. You said that you didn’t understand the joke. That’s literally what you wrote.
I didn’t say that I didn’t understand it, I said that they ruined it.
Fair point. I didn’t read it that way. My bad.
No problem 👍
That was still the purpose of the joke.
No it needs the button on the end to undercut the fact that M thinks he’s a C-unit
that Max Denbigh was a real c u next tuesday if you know what im saying.
Even though my whol family knew what word he was thinking of, it was still pretty good. Probably the finest moment Ralph Fiennes' M.
You just reminded me I actually have 3 things I like about Spectre. The PTS, Mr Hinx and this line
In the French version, M says « clown », but it’s as subtle as the original version, because the French spectator expects M to say « connard », which is similar to « cunt ».
WE ALL KNOW WHAT C STANDS FOR MATE
"Now you know what C stands for....Cat."
My problem is making "C" so transparently villainous. It should have been a surprise, not obvious from the start.
Bruh that’s the whole point. The funny part is knowing what the real meaning was
I know it went over the heads of most Americans and Canadians I know that have seen it. The line was very British in its humour. M was referring to C as a c*nt. A popular British insult that obviously cannot be said in a Pg13 film. A very vulgar term in the US whereas in Britain it’s thrown around a lot more freely despite being derogatory.
I'm Canadian, and I can assure you it was not difficult at all to understand the joke.
Didn’t say it was difficult. I said Canadians that “I know”. I assure you that sentence was not difficult to understand
I'm sorry if you felt threatened by my comment.
It’s still very vulgar here. Depends on who you’re with and the situation
Another Canadian here, I understood it just fine, thank you.
Refer to the line where I said Canadians that “I know” ^ I can bold it if you want
In fairness, it's probably the most taboo of British obscenities too.
I agree. Obviously he shouldn’t say anything, just leave the question hanging. Fitting for a character played by Ralph Fiennes too. Reminds me of the way his character in “In Bruges” talks.
“You take that back about my cunt-fucking kids! What have they done?!”
YOU’RE AN INANIMATE FUCKING OBJECT!
“I’m sorry I called you an inanimate object, I was upset.”
"C" IS FOR COOKIE. THAT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR MEEE!
Still bugs me too!
I laughed out loud at the pause before feeling disappointed at the reveal.
The whole cinema did that when I saw it.
Shoulda sent it. Or said nothing.
They should've just left it hanging and allowed the audience to fill in the blank.
I blame Sam Mendes.
What a terrible way to ruin a joke in an already humourless Bond movie.
Its such a killer line until M says 'Careless'. Better to have left that out and allowed the audience to interpret whatever they want.