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*** Official QUANTUM OF SOLACE Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

Tarkin The Ewok

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I was sorely disappointed with this movie. I agree with almost everything Colin is saying in this thread, and I have a more detailed review in the Track the Films You Watch 2008 thread. In a nutshell: this is the first Bond film that I won't be buying because it has nothing worth revisiting at all.

By the way, was the person who did the title sequences for Goldeneye through Casino Royale unavailable for Quantum of Solace? His work was excellent, bringing the Maurice Binder feel into a more modern-styled Bond film. Why did the creative people go with MK12 for this one?
 

Robert James Clark

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On one of the last days of XM radio's Cinemagic channel before it's hiatus, director Marc Forster said he liked the work of MK12 and wanted a different look for this film than the previous Bond films...
 

Dale MA

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I felt the gunbarrel at the end of the film was symbolic of Bonds journey, usually it marks the beginning of a Bond movie, without the classic "opening gunbarrel" it solidifies Quantum of Solace as a continuation of Casino Royale - this is not a new Bond movie, but a continuation of Casino Royale.

The gunbarrel at the end of the film means that the two part Vesper arc is now complete and Bond has become the Bond we all know and love.
 

Richard--W

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Roger Ebert weighs in:

Quantum of Solace :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews

I agree with him generally in that I sorely miss some of the traditions of the series, like the gun barrel at the opening, the 007 theme, and other little things that are important but don't take much time, as well as the internal things relating to plot and character. The series desperately needs a good writer.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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I was really glad to see it at the end of the film, because I really missed it at the beginning.

IMO, the first twenty minutes, though action-packed, are the weakest in the film. The apartment that Bond killed M's traitorous bodyguard in looked identical to the Italian apartment in one of the Borne movies. Once Bond got to Haiti, it began to feel more like a Bond film.

Olga Kurylenko was terrific as the main Bond girl. After Christmas Jones and Jinx, Green (Eva, not Dominic) and Kurylenko are a nice return to the more adult femmes. Gemma Arterton made her mark with the brief few scenes she was granted. Having Kurylenko's burn victim trapped in an inferno was that classic Bond sense of humor, and gave Bond a chance to save her in the way he couldn't save Vesper. That parallel is what gave the conclusion its weight, since the water subplot -- while more substantial than most recent Bond plots -- was utterly insignifcant.

The best part of the film, though, was the international politics playing out around Bond. Instead of having Judi Dench's M simply be a constant nag, we got to see the bureaucratic hoops she has to jump through to cover his ass and defend his actions. I got the impression this time that Bond and M respect each other, which isn't the impression I've gotten since Bernard Lee passed away.

As much as the world becoming more dangerous is a terrible thing for reality, it's proving to be a great thing for Bond. He has enemies again, in a world where the major powers are slicing up an ever-shrinking pie.
 

Nelson Au

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Two things I liked, the jump between shots of Mr. White being interrogated and the horse race and the sequence when Bond infiltrates the Quantum organization's meeting at the concert/performance arena where he has to eliminate the threats as he escapes cut with the stage performance. Nice touch.

Sorry to see Mathis go.

I agree the running and jumping chase on roof tops was a direct rip from the last Jason Bourne film.

The story was hard to follow and some of the dialogue was difficult to understand. I worked with English colleagues and I have no difficulty with Britain's English, but Craig tends to mumble.

I agree with the Ebert review too. If the Broccoli's are so intend on going in a new direction, why not follow the style and qualities of the character and situations in the books.

I got the Goldfinger reference. Was there a second reference to another film?
 

Shad R

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Also, why is the writer/director so damn fascinated with making us watch Judi Dench getting ready for bed in every scene she's in?
Judi Dench is a great actress, but I don't need to see her in a bathrobe, running a shower or putting on skin wrinkle cream.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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It's because: a) it shows us that M's work never ceases and b) they know there's an online obsession with figuring out exactly who her husband is.
 

Tim Glover

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Really disappointed in QoS. Especially having loved Casino Royale and that is a film that has the rare quality of improving with each viewing. Perhaps this one might improve?

Like many here, we had too many action sequences in the first 30 minutes that had no heart in them. It's one thing to have serious action but we need STORY and a little characterization to buy into. If we care a little about stuff, then those action moments-whether great or silly, hold more weight.

I will say Quantum improved in the final 45 minutes or so but it just never felt even. Disjointed throughout.

After the critical and fan VERY positive responses to Casino Royale & the way they re-started the franchise, this entry is a rather big letdown.

Everything was going for them. Bummer.

Not all was bad though. Loved the opera sequence? That was the film's highlight.

I too would've loved more of Mathis. Actually, his character was more interesting than anyone elses.

Not too much positive to recall really and that is such a shame for a film that was among the most anticipated around here this year.

Big, big letdown.
 

Joe Karlosi

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I hope you're right, but I also got that feeling at the very end of CASINO ROYALE when Bond did his famous "Bond ... James Bond" routine.
 

Peter Raber

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I couldn't disagree more with the anti-sentiment for this movie. I thought this film was excellent. A more than solid follow-up to Casino Royale.

I was not let down at all. I thought the action scenes were well-timed, fast paced and full of emotion. The rooftop chase might have been a tad too long and did give me the feel that Bond just did this at the beginning of Casino Royale, but I got over that pretty quick. Personally, I thought that car chase scene at the beginning was great, albeit a tad unbelievable, but that's what you expect in a James Bond movie.

And Bond was more than emotional when he needed to be. The scene with Mathis when he was holding him at his end, and again when he was holding Camille as she was becoming paralyzed in the inferno felt full of emotion to me, not to mention his saving her which started the ensuing boat chase. If he was such a cold calculating bastard he wouldn't have bothered, because moments before she had just tried to shoot him. Or when he sees Agent Fields covered in oil and what he does to the agents after but then goes to M to say Fields didn't deserve that and it was Greene's doing. Obviously, she didn't desrve that, but just the fact that Bond felt compelled to tell M that showed how emotional he was regarding that.

I didn't feel like Bond was just a killing machine at all. He had very personal reasons for doing all that he did and I thought they played out very well. He didn't HAVE to kill the Chief of Police, but just before he did he tells him "You and I had a mutual friend." That made it personal. Not something a cold calculating killing machine would bother doing. Indeed, Bond's reasoning throughout the whole movie for doing what he did was personal, even though he stated otherwise to M.

I didn't miss the gun barrel sequence at the beginning and it was a nice touch there at the end, showing us now that we have our hero as we have known him. His "origin" is complete.

I am ready to go see this again already. I could do without the Theme Song, but after a few listens (I bought the soundtrack 2 weeks before the movie opened here in the States) it is not godawful like I first thought it was. It's by no means my favorite, but it doesn't make me cringe too much anymore.

There are indeed teases throughout the movie of "THE Bond Theme."

Humor was there in the right places, and thankfully not overdone. I have long hated Bond's one-liners as most of them are so very droll. Bond shouldn't make you cringe when he speaks, but so often in the past his one-liners did just that. So I am thankful those are absent.

I also have gotten incredibly bored with all the fancy gadgets from Q Branch. The best Bond movies to me are ones where they are minimal or non-existent. Bond shouldn't have to rely on a laser watch or invisible car to get out of fixes, just his intuition and honed abilities.

I found this to be more than a worthy successor to Casino Royale and can't wait to grab this on Blu-Ray the moment it comes out.
 

Scott Merryfield

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My main problem with the film was the action sequences, too. The quick edit cuts and tight framing made it impossible to follow the action. I hate this current trendy style, and it certainly is not very Bond-like.

We watched Casino Royale before going, too (just got the new BluRay version). It was helpful in following the plot.
 

Robert Crawford

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I still think some people are being unusually harsh on this latest Bond film, but to each his own.

It will be interesting to see if the box office receipts holds up beyond this week.




Crawdaddy
 

Steve Christou

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Same here, whilst not on a par with Casino Royale it was still hugely enjoyable.

After sitting thru dreck like Babylon AD, Bangkok Dangerous, Mutant Chronicles and the godawful Max Payne in recent weeks the new Bond is a gem in comparison. Looking forward to watching QoS again.

I thought the action sequences were state of the art, only difficult to follow if you're sitting in the front row or left your glasses at home. ;)

$300m worldwide already and it's only just opened in the US, wow!
htf_images_smilies_smile.gif
 

Zack Gibbs

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The problem is that Casino Royal was a promise of sorts. They took a risk and played with the formula in ways they had never done before and it payed off, but with the promise that in future installments the audience would get to see this Bond return to classic form-- hopefully in a more natural way (I don't think anyone wants to go back to Die Another Day bond).

Quantum of Solace not only doesn't deliver on this promise, it didn't even try. That's a hard thing to overcome because it wasn't just another weak entry into the Bond franchise--there are many of those--it actively pissed off much of its audience by taking away everything that made Bond unique and introducing nothing new.

Most of the time when a Bond flick comes around it's just another entry, good or bad. This time me and many others came out of the theater thinking "Damn, I waited two years for THAT?"
 

Andy Sheets

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I think the producers are too in love with the characterization of Bond as a scruffy, blue-collar secret agent to allow this.
 

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