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I disagree. The messy car chase, the dull camera angles and the lack of much plot, reduce this PTS to something below-average IMO. It holds nothing against such great PTS sequences as the ones in FRWL, OHMSS, TLD, GE and CR.
I enjoyed it in the theater in 2008 and even more so now. It's a pretty good movie. I was disappointed it wasn't as strong as the amazing CR, but hey. Can't win 'em all.
And the song parody is great!
Hopes were very high for Quantum of Solace when it was released in 2008, given the commercial and critical acclaim of Daniel Craig's debut as James Bond in Casino Royale (2006). While QOS was a major hit, it was viewed as a letdown with some fans and critics such as Peter Travers of Rolling Stone naming it as the weakest film in the Bond canon. Now that we have a trio of films from the Craig-era, QOS is seen by some as a misfire and probably viewed as the weakest of the three, with all the praise going to Casino and Skyfall (2012). While I wouldn't rank QOS as highly as the other two Craig-era films, I still really liked this one.
The main criticisms of QOS were that the plot was confusing and weak, the villains were weak, the camera work was shaky and it was too Bourne-like.
I'll concede that the plot, which involves the clandestine, SPECTRE-like Quantum organization installing a dictator (General Medrano) so that they can secure Bolivia's water supply was a bit confusing. Normally Bond films are pretty straight-forward and one can follow the plot even if one's brain is on auto-pilot, but that's not the case with this film. However, if you pay attention it's not too hard to follow. What was interesting about the plot is that, while far-fetched, it's rooted in the real world. When the boorish CIA agent Gregory Beam (David Harbour) and a prominent minister lecture Bond ally Leiter and M about the need to ignore the Quantum backed Bolivian coup because they think that it is in the West's interests (it turns out not to be, as they think they will be getting oil) it feels very real, as though you could imagine such conversations actually taking place. Yes, the plot is not over-the-top and absurd, which may be disappointing to some, but its realism is what makes the plot so appealing and interesting. The same can be said for the villains in this film. Mr. Greene (Mathieu Amalric) and General Medrano (Joaquín Cosío) aren't over-the-top and borderline cartoonish, like Silva (Skyfall) or Blofeld (from the Connery era); they are like real villains that actually exist in the corporate world and in developing countries. Greene is a seemingly respectable philanthropist with political connections, with no underground lair or doomsday weapon, while Medrano, like a lot of despots, is a rapist, murdering thug. Again, while some may call these characters "bland" because they aren't over-the-top, those people are missing the point as their strength lies in the fact that they aren't over-the-top--these characters are effective because they are like actual people and are not merely your average stock Bond villain.
The cinematography is shaky and Bourne-like, giving QOS a bit of a jarring effect, unlike the subtle majesty of Casino Royale and Skyfall, which may be unpleasant and displeasing to some, although it wasn't a problem for me as I thought it was fitting for the film's frantic narrative.
A subplot involving Camille (Olga Kurylenko), a Bolivian agent out to Kill Medrano for raping and murdering her family, who joins forces with Bond, was very good. Both Bond and Camille are damaged people who bond over the fact that they are grieving loved ones (Bond is still mourning Vesper from Casino Royale). I actually liked that Bond didn't have sex with her, as the two really formed a real, platonic friendship.
The film's finale sees Bond finally meeting Vesper's boyfriend. In Casino Royale we learn that the boyfriend had been kidnapped and Vesper was being blackmailed by Quantum for state secrets and later Bond's winnings. As it turns out he was a Quantum agent who had faked his own kidnapping and was really just using Vesper. Bond coming face to face with him and finding closure as we see him dropping Vesper's necklace in the snow was a touching and poignant way to end the whole Vesper storyline. Bond rekindling his friendship with Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini), whom Bond mistakenly thought had betrayed him, was also a good way to bring the whole Casino/QOS storyline full circle.
As with every Bond film the action is first rate, with Bond jumping out of airplanes, running on roof-tops and going on high speed car chases. The beautiful Bolivian dessert scenes (shot in Mexico) and a scene involving Quantum's nefarious dealings during a performance of Tosca were other high points of the film.
The action, political intrigue, realistic plots and villains, finale and another outstanding performance from Daniel Craig as 007 make Quantum of Solace a very good, underrated film.
Good 'review', though. I agree with most of it. I think the locations were not a high point, and the editing was good in theory, poor in execution.
I'm with you there. I feel DN gets a lot of flak for being dull and boring, but personally, I always enjoy myself when I watch it and never feel like it drags on.
I always thought DN, unlike LTK and QOS is held in high regards (and deservedly so), except from some younger fans maybe.
On a side note, DN and QOS have some striking similarities, but this may be for another thread.
I think it's one of the weaker Bond films with some great moments dotted throughout.
The PTS is not exactly original but I always felt it works well enough and looks pretty good. I like the opening shot across the lake and Arnold's score is pretty decent.
I would never claim it comes close to a classic like Dr No, but it's better than a lot of other entries in the series and has some excellent scenes. And DC's performance is good.
The music is pretty good. The actors all work out. I'll always remember that final battle at the desert hotel.
Really? You find Quantum's plot genuinely interesting? Because I don't find it confusing, just mind-numbingly dull, for precisely the reasons you seem to like it. Bond films are not rooted in reality they are one step removed. As a viewer, why would I care about Quantum's monopoly on water? It's in no way tangible and the film doesn't ask me to care about anyone or anything in particular. It's all just so slight. I don't think many people were confused about the mechanics of it, just confused that Forster and B+M thought it was worth persisting with. There are some redeeming features of QoS and some genuinely great moments, but Quantum's Bolivian plans are vanilla at best.
Interestingly I don't mind the pre-titles. Yes, the coverage and editing cause quite a blur, plus I don't care much for the sound-editing, but on the whole it's pretty snappy and gets us from A-B with minimum fuss. Something the pre-titles should do IMO. I think it's decent up until Mitchell turns, but within minutes we're in Haiti and I'm wondering if this film is ever going to come up for air. The idea of having a short, but relentless Bond film is something I'm not averse to, but you need to have some momentum within the plot, something interesting to drive the narrative. This could have been Bond's journey, but it feels like it's addressed too fleetingly and infrequently for my liking. Instead it brings the inanities of Quantum's role as The Evil Water Board into focus. QoS is too muddled, something exemplified by the action scenes, which seem to perforate rather than punctuate adding nothing but noise and choppy frames.
I think the Craig films are dripping with quality, Craig himself being a reliable and brilliant linchpin who can lift even the weakest scenes.There's more meat on the bone of a Bond these days and I feel compelled to pick through it. That's basically me attempting to justify my criticisms, while accepting we're working on another level, right now, in terms of the production of these movies.
Fair enough. I understand why you and others would say that Quantum's plans to gain the monopoly on water is "dull," but I feel that it works because of the conversations various characters have concerning their plot within the contexts of realpolitik. For example:
--Mr. Greene explaining to Medrano how Quantum was brought in by corporations because an elected priest raised the minimum wage which cut into corporate profits. Mr. Greene later tells Medrano that Quantum will work with the left or right, as long as it suits their interests.
--When Bond and Leiter talk about the West's role as imperialists in South America, i.e, "I wonder what it would look like if no one gave a damn about coke or communism," "amazes me how you boys have carved this place up," "I'll take that as a compliment coming from a Brit," etc.
--When Beam tells Leiter, sarcastically, we should only work with "nice" people and that Felix needs to be "on the team."
--When a minister explains to M that they are going to ignore the Bolivian coup because "right or wrong" doesn't matter because the world is running out of oil and basically tells her not to be a pollyanna.
These conversations are what made the film for me. I found all of these conversations about realpolitik and the West's historic and current role as imperialists to be fascinating. I understand that others would be bored by it, but I loved it.
In the end the West is off the hook as they were duped by Quantum and Beam looses his job, but still, QOS was unique for offering a critical view of Western imperialism.
=D>
I don't totally agree but this is very well put and makes total sense. I disagree because I actually think the plot had the essence of a good ol' crazy Bond baddy 'evil plan'. I mean, what's more evil than stealing all the water? It's a darn site more sinister than irradiating the US's gold stocks. It's almost as if they didn't have the confidence to take the idea the whole way. What I would have liked is that when Bond skydives down in to the desert and lands in the subterranean chamber, he finds a whole army of goons working on this masssive water project - you know the kind of scene I'm talking about. Bolier suits and echo-y tanoy system. It would have given some scale and visual meaning to the insanity of what Quantum were up to. In the final scenes the dams would of course been blown (perhaps with the help of a sub-villain who's been turned to the good side) and we'd have seen the water coursing back through the irrigation chanels and kids splashing around in the sunshine. Or am I just describing a variation on AVTAK...?
Any way, I would have enjoyed it. Add in Green machine gunning a few goons and it would be perfect. Joke (that last bit, any way).
just for curiosity's sake. When you call QoS plot, which has never been used before (well,in a thriller anyway) and is one of the very few Bond film stories that would work as a "real" stand alone espionage thriller plain vanilla I really do wonder what words you use for the likes of SF?
Chinatown?
The SF plot is bat-shit insane, but I'll take that over vanilla any day of the week. Oh and what's the obsession with 'reality'?
Bloody love this idea. Love it. I have a feeling others will not. I'd probably tone down the 'boiler suit' and 'speaker system' angle ;)
I think the idea is amazing. They pulled something like that with the QoS game, and it would've been great for Bond to land, get up, and realize he has a load of enemies to deal with.
Chinatown's plot is exactly the other way around and doesn't circle around gaining control of a country anyway.
About the reality part - well isn't it the supposed reason d'être for Craigs (supposedly realistic) Bond?
The villain is bad, the lead 'ironing board' girl is bad, Dench is bad, and did we really care about the water and the common people? No...so why show it and not do anything with it emotionally? Rubbish film, rubbish soundtrack but I'd still watch it whilst cringing. It was like an episode of Ice Road Truckers....loads could happen but seldom does.
TMWTGG was pretty bad but at least it had a bit of wit and charm...DAD had a good opening 45 mins...so that makes QoS as the worst for me....
Me too - I loved it as well. The world at the moment is very grey, and QoS fits in with that quite nicely.
That's the main problem with QOS I think, there's too much stuff for it's run time. It wants to develop Bond and have him come to terms with the loss of Vesper, it wants to tell the story of Quantums water plot, it wants to tell the story of Camille and her revenge on Medrano, it wants to show how the CIA are corrupt and Felix is the only one who cares about doing the right thing but then there are also loads of action scenes which are only really there for the sake of it because Forster wanted to be all arty with the "elements" idea. And the action scenes aren't even any good! It's mostly just chase scenes where you can't see what's going on. If Forster wanted to make a tight 90 minute thriller then he should've made a different film. QOS is too short for what it is. Add in stupid stuff like Mathis dying, Mathis being a code name, the GF reference and Elvis and you have what I think is a poor film. Not awful like DAF or DAD but definitely a lower league Bond film imo. It doesn't know if it wants to be an action packed thriller about Bond stopping Quantum or a character piece about Bond getting over Vesper so it tries to do both and I think it ended up a jumbled mess of a film. It's stylish and it has a few nice moments but that doesn't make it an underrated gem for me.
This will be controversial but I was watching TWINE the other day and I think that does a better job of developing and examining Bond's character than QOS does.
The White / Keys theme intro surely constitutes as worst ever, and some would argue this could be Craig's 'forgotten' Bond film in years to come. It doesn't feature in many peoples bottom three for no reason. I don't think it's the "worst" Bond release there is, but comes damn close to the bottom of the pile for sure
;)
Regardless, QoS does still study the character a bit more than many past Bond films but even so I think it often finds itself losing that quintessential "Bond feel." It's as if as they're trying to find and develop Bond as a character they're losing a grip on the "Bondian vibe" that is so important.
I'm probably making no sense, but, for me, a lot of scenes in QoS force me to physically tell myself that what I'm watching is a Bond film, where the best Bond films drag you into that world and when the credits roll you're left wishing you were still there.
Enough rambling. I still love QoS overall, don't get me wrong.