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Quantum of Solace Appreciation Thread- We Found a Better Place to Meet

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  • boldfingerboldfinger
    Posts: 5,767
    Obviously the entry isn't at the level of it's predecessor,
    I would even argue that this is not the case. Sure, it doesn´t have some of the things that made CR so great, but it doesn´t need to, it is a very tight film, standing extremely well on its own (the closure of the Vesper story arc makes sense even if you haven´t seen CR), and by being in many regards kind of the opposite of CR, it actually is on the same level as its predecessor.

  • actonsteveactonsteve
    Posts: 1,492
    I love Quantum of Solace.

    I like the action scenes and the chase across the rooftops of Siena os one of my favourites of the series. You can’t zone out with his action scenes or you will miss something. The whole film requires concentration at all times. Forster does excel at other touches such as art direction and an eye for colour and locale. The performances by the cast are launched off a canvass using a distinctive colour palette of blacks and whites, blues and the warm earth tones of beiges, browns and terra cotta reds. The film is a work of art disguised as a blockbuster.

    Olga Kurylenko as Camille Montes is also very good. Fleming had been experimenting with physically and emotionally challenged female characters and Camille is the hub at which the spokes of Melina Havelock, Honeychile Rider and Holly Goodhead meet. She’s a very rounded character who carries emotional and physical scars and her going after Medrano is the secondary driving force. It’s right that she doesn’t sleep with Bond because that would have cheapened the character – and somehow wouldn’t have fitted

    South America is a character here. I love Forsters evocation of seedy La Paz, a desert inhabited by indigenous peoples and a party in a sweaty villa on the edge of town. You can almost smell the Latin world with this film. There is an establishing shot of a large reptile moving slowly around a rock under a burning sun – a scene Fleming could have described quite vividly on page one of his stories. The last set piece at the terra cotta coloured hotel amid the dunes of the desolate wastes of the 'Bolivian' desert adds atmosphere and lighting not easily captured on the Pinewood back lot.

    Quantum of Solace proves that by removing and reshuffling traditional elements, the franchise is not ruined, nor is it any less of a Bond film. By doing so, the series has received a shot to the arm and it feels like anything could happen. The producers can go in any direction. If people want the same old same old, they have the pre 2006 films. Usually the series is criticized for being formulaic and predictable; here fresh ideas and a new way of going about things thrive. I hope this stance continues with the remainder of Craig’s era.

    I truly believe that is the most underrated of the Bond films, and is quite frankly, a little masterpiece.
  • nethegaunernethegauner
    edited July 2011 Posts: 74
    I truly believe that is the most underrated of the Bond films, and is quite frankly, a little masterpiece.
    I could not have said it better!
    I love how this thread has turned out. It's nice to see so much positive feedback and love for a film somewhat burdened in the franchise.
    Absolutely. Thanks for starting the thread. Before, in my appreciation for "Quantum of Solace", I felt as lonely as a lizard in the middle of a desert (Ha, ha!), but it is good to see that there are many others who, uhm . . . do not hate that movie!

  • RuggedRugged
    edited July 2011 Posts: 1
    when it came out, i wasnt impressed at all with the film as a whole, probably due to massive expectations after CR.

    but now// i see what a masterpiece it is!

    craig's performance.. just incredible.
    the editing and style of the movie is mind-blowing and original!
    some great and unusual shots.
    i suggest slowing the film down in places to appreciate it more (particularly the opening and the bregenz scene).
  • Mr_SterlingMr_Sterling
    Posts: 99
    I really like QOS and always have done. It is a uniquely stylish movie with some marvellous scenes and photography...swooping in over the lake in the pts, the tosca scene...to name but two. Olga Kurylenko is gorgeous but vulnerable in equal measure (a proper Fleming bond girl) and David Arnolds score is his best to date. Also, DC is on fire in this movie and looks more comfortable and assured than in CR.

    Some criticisms this film has received in the past bemuse me though. Confusing plot, for example. Really?!? I found it rather straight forward. Another one is the excessive action scenes. I just dont buy this. Last time i watched it i measured the time between the boat battle and the next action set-piece, the DC3 battle and it ended up being approx. 30 minutes give or take 5. I can except criticism of most things...unless its completely unfounded.

    However, i do find the editing a bit jarring.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited July 2011 Posts: 15,723
    t
    Another one is the excessive action scenes. I just dont buy this. Last time i watched it i measured the time between the boat battle and the next action set-piece, the DC3 battle and it ended up being approx. 30 minutes give or take 5. I can except criticism of most things...unless its completely unfounded.
    I did find QOS has too much action... It is not an unfounded criticm... QOS has twice more action scenes than CR with one hour less of screentime... QOS has a lot of action, fact. Whether it's the right amount of action, or too much action, it's up to opinions. But QOS HAS a lot of action scenes, you can't deny it.

  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    QoS also had one of the best teaser trailers I've ever seen:

  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,723
    Yeah I thought the teaser trailer was pretty good... on par with CR's, actually.
  • Mr_SterlingMr_Sterling
    edited July 2011 Posts: 99
    t
    Another one is the excessive action scenes. I just dont buy this. Last time i watched it i measured the time between the boat battle and the next action set-piece, the DC3 battle and it ended up being approx. 30 minutes give or take 5. I can except criticism of most things...unless its completely unfounded.
    I did find QOS has too much action... It is not an unfounded criticm... QOS has twice more action scenes than CR with one hour less of screentime... QOS has a lot of action, fact. Whether it's the right amount of action, or too much action, it's up to opinions. But QOS HAS a lot of action scenes, you can't deny it.

    QOS has the PTS, the palio chase, the boat battle, the DC3 battle and the finale. Thats only five action scenes.

    CR has the madagascar chase, the miami airport chase and venice...thats only two less (negative a substantial PTS that we'd become accustomed to), for a film i wont even bother saying is quite superior in many ways. However, on the action film front, QOS shouldnt be criticised for having too much action when you compare it to its rivals in the genre.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited July 2011 Posts: 15,723


    QOS has the PTS, the palio chase, the boat battle, the DC3 battle and the finale. Thats only five action scenes.

    CR has the madagascar chase, the miami airport chase and venice...thats only two less (negative a substantial PTS that we'd become accustomed to), for a film i wont even bother saying is quite superior in many ways. However, on the action film front, QOS shouldnt be criticised for having too much action when you compare it to its rivals in the genre.
    QOS had a lot of action scenes for it's small runtime, fact. Whether there was enough action or too much action is up to the viewers to decide. I thought where was too much action. Don't agree ? Fine, but I am still entitled to think there was too much action, so QOS CAN be criticized for that, even if you don't agree.

  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Lets keep the comments positive.
  • Monsieur_AubergineMonsieur_Aubergine Top of the Eiffel Tower with a fly in my soup!
    edited July 2011 Posts: 642
    Lets keep the comments positive.
    Absolutely. :-)
    Just an observation but aggrevation seems to be happening a lot recently across a few threads. This is Bond utopia folks, lets enjoy living in it. :-)
  • NicNacNicNac Administrator, Moderator
    Posts: 7,584
    Just dropped this out of General Discussions and into Bond Movies.
  • Mr_SterlingMr_Sterling
    Posts: 99
    Sorry but my opinion (NOT FACT) is that five action scenes in a 106 minute movie isnt too bad, considering theres over 32 mins without one during the middle act of the film, where the story is allowed to breath and develop itself to a suitable crescendo. End of dit!

    Talking of crescendos...the Tosca scene could possibly be the most beautiful and most dramatic scene throughout the entire series. A real masterstroke in a hugely underestimated entry.
  • OnlyManWhoCanOnlyManWhoCan Greater London
    Posts: 202
    I think the death of Fields is very affecting. Yes, yes, yes, it's a callback to Goldfinger, but I think it matches (or even surpasses) that scene in two important ways:

    Firstly, we spend a LOT more time with Fields in QoS than we did with Jill Masterson in GF, and she is a far more sympathetic character. I'm not saying that Jill deserved to die, but she was an accomplice of Goldfinger, helping him cheat at cards, for money. She chose to work with this villain, and it was pretty short sighted of her not to expect repercussions when be betrayed him (not willingly, but she must have been with him long enough to know how he thinks).

    By contrast, Fields is a younger, less-worldly office worker who has been roped in to escorting a fellow agent onto a plane. Even if she knew going to the Greene Planet party carried some risk, but I don't think she really comprehended what would happen if she caught the attention of Quantum. To be honest, I don't think Bond did either.

    Secondly, when the audience meets her, she's annoying, dressed very strangely (for the weather) and has a cut-glass accent that's quite grating. However, she end's up making the ultimate sacrifice in what must have been a terrifying final hour(s) of her life. Jill must have been unconscious when the gold was applied to her, to have died from skin suffocation (which as we all know is impossible to die from, anyway). For Fields, I imagine that she was very much alive while being tortured for information, and then drowned in oil. The image of her, black as night in a spotless white room, isn't strangely beautiful like the golden girl of GF, but messy, grim and disturbing.

    Bond is also clearly affected by her death: his mission of vengeance for Vesper has directly caused the death of Mathis, and now Fields. In GF, it doesn't seem to register nearly as much with Bond.

    And with that, I've just put on the QoS DVD! This thread has definitely caused me to re-appraise it! Cheers!
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Eh? Jill's death did affect Bond and it was conveyed nicely when Bond was being berated by M for cocking up. Also, Bond in QoS wasn't anywhere near to being in the near hopless situations Bond found himself in GF. Bond had lost 2 girls, both being sisters and before he could really do anything about it, he was at the mercy of his captor(s).
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,723
    Firstly, we spend a LOT more time with Fields in QoS than we did with Jill Masterson in GF
    Que ? Even if Fields' role was bigger in QOS than Jill's in GF, she only had about 4 minutes of screentime...
  • OnlyManWhoCanOnlyManWhoCan Greater London
    edited July 2011 Posts: 202
    @doubleoego I'm not saying that he felt nothing, I just feel that in the scene where Fields died he seemed more personally responsible. In Goldfinger he doesn't seem to act that he was at all responsible, even though she would not have died if Bond had not got involved. He does seem to be more upset by her sister's death, however, which is probably compounded by Jill's death as well.

    @DaltonCraig007 having just finished watching it again, you're right about the screen time! I had forgotten just how little she was in it. However, I still feel more affected by her death than, say, Solange who died in similar circumstances in CR.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Fields had a lot more screen time then is being tossed around. There is the scene at the airport where Bond and Mathis meet her, then the ride to the hotel, then the arrival at the new hotel, then her and Bond in the suite then in bed, followed by Greene's party and then her death a while after. That's at least ten minutes all together. She also helped Bond know that MI6 was present and told him to run.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited July 2011 Posts: 15,723
    Fields had a lot more screen time then is being tossed around. There is the scene at the airport where Bond and Mathis meet her, then the ride to the hotel, then the arrival at the new hotel, then her and Bond in the suite then in bed, followed by Greene's party and then her death a while after. That's at least ten minutes all together. She also helped Bond know that MI6 was present and told him to run.
    Thank god I have the QOS DVD to check... Fields has exactly 3 minutes of screentime. You were saying ?
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    You're 8 seconds off, but nonetheless correct. Thanks for correcting me back into shape every once in a while DC. Though Fields appeared in many scenes, her appearance was brief in all of them. Could have had potential.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited July 2011 Posts: 15,723
    I always thought the scene in the Grand Hotel was longer... Only 1.5 minutes !! And Fields doesn't even appear in the dialogue bit with Bond and Mathis.
  • The_ReaperThe_Reaper
    Posts: 1,092
    Love this movie. It's a great companion to CR and I love watching them back to back for a nice four hour block of Craig's Bond. Editing aside, it's a well paced film that has a few nice moments of space where the action slows down and we see a human Bond, a real person, and feel what he is going through. Pretty rare in the series.

    I like the secondary characters, Mathis and Camille are great allies, the locations are nice and throughout there are some awesome action scenes and a nice retro Bond vibe, like this coulda been made in the 60's. And I love Felix Leiter in this, he is coming into his own and I really hope he is back for Bond 23.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,256
    Could have had potential.
    This would be my major 'remark' (putting things politely here ;;) ) concerning QoS. It's a film stuffed with potential in nearly all respects, but mostly unrealised potential.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,382
    I like Bond's entry into Bolivia--the banter with Mathis and Fields, the score, it all works.
  • timmertimmer
    Posts: 4,622
    I very much appreciated Olga's smokey sassy portrayal of Camille, especially the orange top outfit.
    No Bond sucking-on-fingers this time around was appreciated as well.
    And Bond's boozing on the plane was well done. Those drinks looked real tasty.
    That's about it.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    edited July 2011 Posts: 24,256
    And Bond's boozing on the plane was well done. Those drinks looked real tasty.
    That's about it.
    I wish they had taken that just a little further. Make him a little more drunk and tell Mathis to p-off when the latter decides to talk about Vesper. That way, when a dying Mathis picks up the conversation about Vesper a second time, it would have paid off more for now Bond would listen.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited July 2011 Posts: 11,189
    Just a quick question, was it true that Fleming once said that Bond should never be drunk? I read that in a review somewhere and was wondering if it was accurate.

    I will say this about Quantum, it does sucessfully go ahead with the idea of Bond not getting with Camile at the end. This, I agree, compliments the character more. However IF they wanted to have Bond shag Camile they could have done it somewhere earlier in the film and maybe made it look rather cold and un-romantic (i.e. show Bond and Camile in a hotel bedroom talking seriously about Greene's upcoming party as they put on their clothes). In fact I think I would have rather seen that than the sequence with Fields, and Craig trying to act like he was Sean Connery.
  • thelordflasheartthelordflasheart
    Posts: 1,370
    Don't know if Fleming said that Bond should never be drunk...it sounds reasonable as it would make Bond vulnerable to attack. I do remember several times where Fleming writes that Bond falls into a deep sleep where he can't be roused for a long time instead of his "senses still on alert" type of sleep.

    As for Bond bedding Camille instead of Fields I don't think it would have worked IMHO. Bond bedding Fields was about being able to manipulate her into helping him and showed that he used her as a tool, leading to more guilt about her death. With Camille it would have been more about two adults having a NSA fling, which Bond wasn't ready for because he hadn't let go of Vesper yet (and good on the filmmakers for going there - I think it will play extremely well once we watch, say, 4 of Craig's films in a row 20 years from now).
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited July 2011 Posts: 11,189
    It may have worked. In YOLT I remember it was mentioned that Bond had had lots of sexual encounters in the aftermath of Tracey's death to "regain his manhood". Maybe it wouldn't have been so much a fling as 2 adults releasing their primal urges in a one-off sexual encounter. I suppose that would leave Fields out of the equation though. It just seemed that their sex scene felt a bit...tacked on IMO.

    You could even have had Camile die and then have Bond avenge both her and her parents at the end by killing the general. Bond would have felt guilty about using an already vulnerable girl to fulfill his own selfish sexual desires and that would have spurred him on. I suppose that would be pushing things a bit though.

    Just an idea.
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