Quantum of Solace

Film Reviews and Release Comparisons
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Markgway
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Quantum of Solace

Post by Markgway »

Created a new thread since I figure most users will have an opinion to post.

My verdict?

****/5

Yes - I enjoyed it.

Fast-paced, tough, no-nonsense action-thriller. Packed with stunts, chases and fights that push the boundary of the 12A. The plot isn't fully explained but you get the gist. Wit is lightly sprinkled throughout the film which wisely eschews any "comedy" aspects. This is a serious film and Craig gives a serious performances as Bond. His grit and physical determination are awesome. Some have complained about the lack of gadgets, gags and sex, but to me these are good points. The very critics who slagged off Die Another Day seem to be lamenting its absence? I liked it but Quantum is a different breed of Bond. The women are hot - especially Olga and she's no bimbo either. The tradition of Eva Green continues. Gemma Arterton doesn't have aenough to do I might add. I suspect some of her scenes hit the cutting room floor in keeping this entry exceptionally short (105m). There might not be as much depth or meat in this story as Casino Royale but emotion is not neglected and violence is shown to have consequences; one touching scene (which I won't give away) is among the best dramatic moments in any 007 film. Should you go see it? Absolutely. Will I buy this on BD? Hell, yeah. Bond is back for good. 8)
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Post by Yi-Long »

Would you say this is more of a 'revenge' flick, as in Bond just going after the bad guys for his own personal vendetta!?

Usually I like those kind of movies, but I havent read much positive reviews about the movie. Action is supposedly badly cut, it's too short, etc.

I really have no idea if I'll like this. I dont care about gadgets or worn-out quotes either, but what I loved so much about CR was the time it took to set up the story and the character etc, showing depth in Bond becoming Bond.

I really hope the next director will make a decent 140-150 minute epic masterpiece.
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Post by Markgway »

Yi-Long wrote:Would you say this is more of a 'revenge' flick, as in Bond just going after the bad guys for his own personal vendetta!?
That's the underlying motive (and not just for Bond) but the writers tie it into a plot that gives him a legit excuse to target them for extinction. These villains are up to no good beyond what they did to Vesper. She was a small piece of the jigsaw and we'll be hearing more from Quantum in the future I'm sure.
Usually I like those kind of movies, but I havent read much positive reviews about the movie.
The critics made me a little wary. But I ended up being really entertained. Go see it for yourself. At worst it's not as good as Casino Royale. But that's still pretty damn good in my book.
Action is supposedly badly cut, it's too short, etc.
There's a lot of action; some of it is shot quite tight as is common these days. It draws you in ultimately because Craig makes you want to see Bond survive and kill the bad guys.
I dont care about gadgets or worn-out quotes either, but what I loved so much about CR was the time it took to set up the story and the character etc, showing depth in Bond becoming Bond.
The problem was they couldn't do that again. The story and character had to move forward. Bond is now at a different stage than he was in CR. It's true there's less character development, but don't be fooled by naysayers, the humanity and depth is there. It's just not THE focal point.

I'll be interested to hear your comments.
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Post by Yi-Long »

Thanks Mark. You've been suspiciously helpfull and kind :P

I was going to see it with my girlfriend, but she got free tickets to go see it in her hometown, and for me that wouldnt be worth the travel-price, so she'll be seeing it with her sister... so I'm not sure if I'll be able to catch it in the cinema. I hope so. :)
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Post by Shingster »

If they deliver more entries like this Bond's gonna need another reboot by 2010! It's awful, just soul crushingly boring. There is no narrative, Bond literally just goes dark and investigates the "Quantum" secret organisation a bit, stumbling upon a rich philanthropist who is organising a drought in Bolivia. That's it!

The characterisation is equally non-existant beyond Bond himself and Mathis. Felix is only in the film to remind viewers he's still part of the franchise, and why cast an actor of Mathieu Amalric's ability then dump him in the the most boring, non-dimensional (even the one dimension would be something) villain in the franchise's history? Considering all the press Gemma Arterton has been getting, I was surprised to see she's got about 5min of actual screentime in the film.

As for the action, it's all the film has, the story just stumbles from one set piece to another, and I'm sure Forster shot some great lavish action sequences, but the staccato editing and camera movements are so rapid you don't actually get to see any of it beyond 1 or 2 rather striking shots that Forster pulls out the bag. There is a scene where a tied up Bond takes down 3 agents in a lift that I swear has no choreography at all, the editing is so fast you don't see a single thing. I'm sure they just filmed Daniel Craig shuffling about a bit in a lift!

It's not the worst Bond film of all time - as most of the audience at my showing were loudly proclaiming as they came out of the cinema tonight - it's at least aggressively paced and Bond's character arc develops rather nicely, and played well by Craig, but it is definitely the most bland and ergo dullest. Even the insanely stupid Bond films (ie: the last two Brosnan films) at least had a little charm to them!

Oh and if you're one of the people who thought Casino Royale ripped off the Bourne films too much (I wasn't) then you ain't seen nothing yet!

I'd give it a 4/10 (and that's being generous).
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Post by Markgway »

Yikes. I couldn't disagree more. :o

Let's see what others have to say.......... 8)
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Post by bradavon »

Unlike Casino Royale this does seem like a love it or hate it film. The critic reviews have either loved or hated it.

I'm seeing it tonight. I wanted to see it last night but it was fully booked (a week in advance).
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Post by bradavon »

The good:

The action and Craig were fantastic. Dench was as usual excellent, Olga was good too. Some of the action stunts were fantastic, tough too. I don't have a problem with the Greengrass style of action. I hated it at first but I now think it works very well indeed. I do agree that it can get a bit much at times though.

The opening credit sequence was impressive.

The bad:

It didn't make a whole lot of sense for most of the film, the story was weak and as others have said it basically goes from one action sequence to another, with little time for character or dramatisation. At one point Bond literally appears at an air field to fly a plane. Why is he at "this" airfield in particular? It's not as if the plane he gets is particularly good. That's just one example, where I was thinking "huh, why, what!". The bits between the action Mr Director are there for a reason.

It would've been better if it was 20 minutes longer (provided that was used for a stronger story). It could've probably done with a bit of humour, the small bits of humour in Casino Royale worked very well.

Don't get me wrong I certainly enjoyed it (more than Shingster). It's just a shame it wasn't "special", like Casino Royale is. If this came after Die Another Day I guarantee most of us would be saying how great it is but compared to Casino Royale it cannot compete.

That said as the action and Craig are so brilliant I'm going to give it 6 out of 10. Craig really does save the film. It's by no means a turkey like Die Another Day was, it's a solid (dumb) action film.

Speaking of the Brosnan Bonds. I saw Goleneye the other day, boy it's dated badly. I don't get why it's considered the best of the Brosnan Bonds. Tomorrow Never Dies (camp villain aside) and The World is Not Enough are much stronger.
one touching scene (which I won't give away) is among the best dramatic moments in any 007 film.
What scene was that? I don't recall anything particularly touching. Obviously use spoilers.
but what I loved so much about CR was the time it took to set up the story and the character etc, showing depth in Bond becoming Bond.
Me too. Sadly there is little time spent on it here :(.
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Post by Markgway »

bradavon wrote:What scene was that? I don't recall anything particularly touching. Obviously use spoilers.
When Bond risks being captured to comfort Mathis because he doesn't want to die alone. Very few bits in Bond as sensative as that.

A lot of negative criticism being bandied about so seems I may be in the minority in my high appreciation. I can't wait for the next one. Broke UK box office record for first day opening which is cool.
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Post by gasteropod »

Markgway wrote:Broke UK box office record for first day opening which is cool.
Really? On Halloween?? I thought it wouldn't have done very well on opening night due to many being out at Halloween parties and whatnot. I'm hopefully going to see it tonight, but if not it'll probably be tomorrow, waiting to hear back from my mates.
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Post by Shingster »

I think a lot of people did what me and my m8s did, went out to a fireworks display then hit the cinema. I'd not seen so many people (families included) at a 10pm showing for a good while.

I wish they'd gotten Paul Haggis to direct this one, he's got a greater flair for directing than writing and Marc Forster is not a particularly good action director imo. Saying that though, I can't believe he had that much creative control given how slight the characterisation is in QoS.

Haggis has yet to do a full blown actioner, but his work on Due South proves he reall talent at mixing action and drama.
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Post by bradavon »

Haggis is a good writer but director I'm not so sure. Crash anyone.

Thanks Mark. Agreed, that was a good scene.
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Post by gasteropod »

Oh my God, this film was terrible!. My friend and I are in complete disbelief at what we just saw. The editing in the action scenes beggars belief, I've never been so angered before when watching a film. Daniel Craig might as well have not done any stunts, as I certainly didn't see anything. The editor must have been on amphetamines.

Neither of us understood what went on in the film either, and it was boring as hell.

What the fuck.

1/5
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Post by Shingster »

bradavon wrote:Haggis is a good writer but director I'm not so sure. Crash anyone.
Crash has a horrible screenplay, it's one of the greatest Oscar travesties that it won the screenplay gong! It's the direction, the way Haggis weaves the stories around each other that gave that film its appeal.
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Post by Markgway »

gasteropod wrote:Oh my God, this film was terrible!. 1/5
I AM ALONE!!! :D
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Post by gasteropod »

I'm just so gutted, I was hoping that Casino Royale would be the start to a great new series of Bonds, but QoS has absolutely ruined that prospect already. I've just been watching scenes from Casino Royale to remind me how good that one was.
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Post by luckystars »

Agree whole heartedly with Shingster.

Amazing, and I do mean amazing action for a Bond flick, and Daniel Craig is the man, but was slightly bored throughout the film and was left with an empty feeling at the end. Dialogue was comically bad at times.

Short bursts of thrilling action let down by terrible writing and lack of a decent performance (other than Craig's excellent physicality).

3.5/5
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Post by HungFist »

Quantum of Solace (UK / US, 2008) – 2,5/5
Unpromising development. 13 years ago Brosnan debuted as Bond under Martin Campbell’s direction, and the result was a fairly good film. After that the quality went down. Two years ago Craig made his first Bond, again under Campbell’s direction, resulting in the best Bond film since Goldeneye. And now the quality went down. The cast is still good, though. Craig manages the role well, and Mathieu Amalric could probably make a good villain if the screenplay allowed him to. But the writing is uninspired, mainly just over-dosing action scenes that hit between bad and decent. The problem is at its worst in the beginning, after the that rest of the film entertains alright.
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Post by Markgway »

Made $70m on its US opening weekend. A 007 record (previous holder was Die Another Day). The analysts predicted $50-60m. Will be interested to see how big the drop off is next week. The success guarantees another film with Craig so that's good news.
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Post by Yi-Long »

I love Craig as Bond, but the director of this movie, plus the action-director/editor, should both be shot.
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Post by degeneration »

3.5-4/5

I'm not usually a Bond fan. I'm not really interested in the bond films prior to Casino, and only watched that as the girlf made me as she fancied Daniel Craig coming out of the water. I really enjoyed Casino, so that made me want to see this one.

I thought it was quite good. The action was entertaining, although the editting certainly could have been a lot better. From what I gather though, this was very different for a bond flick in that you absolutely had to have seen the previous film to understand what was going on in this one. The requirement for prior knowledge was definitely a bit of a hinderence for QoS. Yeah, there wasn't the same characterisation etc in this one, but with it being a direct sequel to Casino, how much development could they reaslitically put in?

On the whole, it was just more of an action film rather than a Bond film and that is maybe where a lot of the criticism also stems from.

I enjoyed it though, not as much as Casino, but that is likely partly due to the high hopes and expectations that Casino instilled in any sequel.
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Post by grim_tales »

Quantum of Solace: 3.8/5

Not as good as the brilliant Casino Royale - some might say a disappointment - but I still enjoyed it. Daniel Craig is excellent in QoS, his Bond is cold and out for revenge, and there are some impressive stunts, fights, chases and bursts of pretty strong violence. Exciting :)
However, I felt the story wasnt as good as Casino Royale and Mr. Green isnt nearly as good a villain as Le Chiffre - IMO he didnt seem dangerous enough and there wasnt much motivation to go after him. I mean he was stealing a poor country's water under the guise of an eco-project I thought, and that was about it. Was that it?
Also it occurs to you as you watch Bond chase (like in the superb opening car chase or rooftop free running) or beat people up, you're not really introduced to these people - hence you don't know them or reallly CARE what Bond is doing as much. You understood why he felt how he did - "trust no one" though.
I loved Olga but Gemma (Strawberry Fields? Oh please) was a waste - but there's a neat reference to an earlier Bond classic, see if you can spot it :D
The lack of gadgets, stupid quips and sex is refreshing however, and I liked how it picked up where Casino Royale left off. As Degen said, you really had to have seen Casino to get the best out of this film. Possibly because the film assumes its audience have seen Casino, the character development isnt as evident.
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Post by gasteropod »

Your score of 3.8 made me laugh, how specific of you :D
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Post by grim_tales »

Well its sort of like Degen's between 3.5 and 4 and I couldnt decide on a score :D
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Post by Markgway »

What's wrong with 3.75? :wink:
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