This was definitely not British understatement, this was pomp & circumstance galore mixed with the usual Olympic pathos. A British trademarks and tourist information show.
5 minutes in, get the fucking cows'n'ducks out of here already, here comes the grim industrial revolution show. (Side note: music was great there, the only part I really liked, composed by Underworld I assume).
From Brannagh to...Oldfield and kids? Children's books?...Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, Rawling(tm) of course included. Too bad the real kids in front of the TVs were already gone, scared away by grim Brannagh with the big hat and the mad smile and his weird industrial dancers.
Brannagh, Atkinson, Oldfield. Of all British people... Heck, why not include another unlikeable person like, say, Roger Waters and let him play portions of The Wall? Ah yes, not necessary. we already had the flying pig/Animals album cover reference in the intro video. Check, check, check, trademarks everywhere.
But Pink Floyd couldn't have been more inappropriate than Atkinson with his lame Bean performance combined with a cheesy, selfish Chariots of Fire parody video. Completely unrelated to the event even though video and music were based on a movie about Olympic games (which took place in 1924 in no, not London, but Paris). If this part was meant as a reference to the Abrahams/Lidell story, it completely failed. 99% of viewers just heard Vangelis and saw Mr. Bean.
Then a hysterical music skip & dance show. Play 5 seconds of almost every UK artist's/band's most famous song and dance like idiots to them. Only the "buy now on iTunes" buttons were missing. Sex Pistols in da face of da queen. Yes, my name is Danny Boyle, not David Lean, and I'm cool like that. Everything is possible in the age of self-reference.
---- Interlude ----
Silent, danced tribute to, no, not the Israel victims of Munich 1972 (which would have been appropriate for once) but to some other people. I didn't really understand this part.
....aaand Bam! Back to full volume again.
"Okay: Do we have animals? Check. Kids? Check. Doves? What, not allowed anymore? Shit. Glad they accepted the ducks... Squeeze the doves in somewhere in a different fashion. In buses, on bicycles, I don't know. Just quick in, quick out. So all that's left now is people who did something for peace on planet earth. Yeah, good idea, make a list, call those who are still alive and able to walk and let them carry the flag."
"Let's surprise people at the very end, just before we blow up the stadium. Which other Beatle is still alive? What? Ringo...who? Can we get the Stones instead? Ah, forget it, just call the Beatles guy again who plays at every event with the queen."
Fireworks at the end. Looked and sounded as if parts of London exploded. If terrorist groups need a new way to sneak into big events they should consider infiltrating fireworks companies. Not sure if Händel's fireworks music was played there, but who would have heard it anyway.
The Daniel Craig/Bond video clip somewhere in the middle was the absolute low point, even more ridiculous than the Atkinson/Chariots of Fire part.
And after all these years the poor queen didn't get Connery, or even Moore. She didn't look amused and - even worse - tonight I think for the first time she looked as if she didn't understand her country anymore. Poor lady, 2012 is a tough year for her, but after 50 years of practice her staying power is unmatched.
I wished the Monty Pythons were still together and made a parody of this show.
The best, actually the only good part imo, as always at Olympic opening ceremonies: the parade of athletes. I'm a fan of Olympic games (just not of the selfish entertainment parts of their opening ceremonies) and it's always a pleasure to see the athletes excited and looking forward to their games.
