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Queen & Country - A Female Bond/Bourne Hybrid?

JWESTBROOKJWESTBROOK
edited September 2013 in General Movies & TV Posts: 5,745
Ellen Page, star of Juno, Inception, and the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past, is set to star in comic-book adaptation Queen & Country.

The film will follow the main character of the comic, Tara Chace, who is a British Intelligence Officer trying to stop an international terrorist plot after her identity is compromised and as her personal demons spiral out of control.

It is said the film, which hopes to spawn a franchise, will try to mimic the Bourne franchise's tone and hype deeply centered around realistic politics and bureaucracy, while introducing the dangerous fantasy elements from the original comic stories.

The comic is inspired by the British ITV television series The Sandbaggers, which ran from 1978 to 1980, and focused on the lives of men and women in the intelligence field during the Cold War.

Along with the comic series, three novels have been published under the titles A Gentleman's Game, Private Wars, and The Last Run, all of which are possible titles for the film.

http://variety.com/2013/film/news/ellen-page-queen-country-fox-1200593234/

If anyone has read any of the Q&C material, or has seen The Sandbaggers TV show, I'd love to know your thoughts.

Comments

  • SirHenryLeeChaChingSirHenryLeeChaChing
    Posts: 3,494
    I find it curious that this female based spinoff was discussed for Halle Berry some 11 years ago. So now it comes to fruition.
  • JWESTBROOKJWESTBROOK
    Posts: 5,745
    SirHenryLeeChaChing wrote:
    I find it curious that this female based spinoff was discussed for Halle Berry some 11 years ago. So now it comes to fruition.

    Indeed. I think Ellen Page is a fantastic actress and I'm interested to see what she does with action. She pulled of an espionage tone well in Inception; hopefully this will be more on that level than, say, Salt.
  • SirHenryLeeChaChingSirHenryLeeChaChing
    Posts: 3,494
    I actually didn't think Salt was that bad to tell the truth. It had some good moments and a nice level of deception about it. I do need to see Inception though.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    SirHenryLeeChaChing wrote:
    I do need to see Inception though.

    Soil the bed. You've not seen Inception? Sorry, I sound like sycophantic fanboy, but it's bloody enjoyable. You should check it out.

  • SirHenryLeeChaChingSirHenryLeeChaChing
    Posts: 3,494
    RC7 wrote:
    SirHenryLeeChaChing wrote:
    I do need to see Inception though.

    Soil the bed. You've not seen Inception? Sorry, I sound like sycophantic fanboy, but it's bloody enjoyable. You should check it out.

    No worries mate, I will!

  • JWESTBROOKJWESTBROOK
    Posts: 5,745
    SirHenryLeeChaChing wrote:
    I actually didn't think Salt was that bad to tell the truth. It had some good moments and a nice level of deception about it. I do need to see Inception though.

    Salt was entertaining, but it was run and gun. Too much of a Bourne mimic and less it's own thing.

    Inception was on a whole other level. Smart, twisting plot with a great espionage feel, and a strong, vein-y and complicated (but not over-complicated) plot. Inception focused more on concept than stunts, but still excelled at both. That's what I want for this. Less of a "Look at these stunts!" and more "Think about this..."
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Interesting how we're now getting all these spy movies.
  • jason_bournejason_bourne
    Posts: 97
    Hmmm never heard of this but the premise sounds ok. Selling a female Bourne certainly sounds interesting. I googled Tara Chace and I have to say Page, who is a good actress, isn't hot enough. How about Amanda Seyfried? She's sexy, petite, blond and a good actress. Anyway, I can't change anything regardless of what I say. I might as well check the graphic novel
  • BentleyBentley
    Posts: 267
    Interesting development. I haven't read the Q&C novels but watched "The Sandbaggers" back in the day.
    The latter was quite 'Quilleresque' in tone and very much was driven from Whitehall with quite limited action. Not quite as heavyweight as Le Carre but more in that vein than Bond.
    Obviously, the success of 'Skyfall' is driving all of these projects and understandably so.
    What I can't, for the life of me, understand is why nobody has gone for the 'Modesty Blaise' franchise - now that would give Bond a run for his money!
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited September 2013 Posts: 12,480
    I have got to read Modesty Blaise. I keep forgetting about it when I order books.

    I think Page is good for this role - I loved her in Inception. Inception is one of my favorite films; I could go on and on about it.

    I think this series has real potential. I have not read Q&C or the comics or seen the tv series The Sandbaggers. But I think going with Page is smart.

    AND by the way, I love SirHenry's avatar pic and especially RC7's from one of my fav films! I want that photo, RC7; how I love Roger in that movie.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,122
    I'm a big fan of both Queen & Country and The Sandbaggers. While I'm happy that Rucka's series will be adapted to the big screen I'm dubious about the casting and the comparisons to Bourne or Bond are ridiculous. Tara Chace is the anti Bond or Bourne. The stories are more focused on bureaucracy and conflicts within various government services than spectacular stunts, badguys are not outlandish and the action is limited in scope. And Chace is not some kind of hottie, she is a serious professional who does not enjoy killing and might throw up after killing in self defence. She is not a superspy, she is a spy. Ten years ago I would have suggested Cate Blanchett in the role.
  • jason_bournejason_bourne
    Posts: 97
    Ludovico wrote:
    I'm a big fan of both Queen & Country and The Sandbaggers. While I'm happy that Rucka's series will be adapted to the big screen I'm dubious about the casting and the comparisons to Bourne or Bond are ridiculous. Tara Chace is the anti Bond or Bourne. The stories are more focused on bureaucracy and conflicts within various government services than spectacular stunts, badguys are not outlandish and the action is limited in scope. And Chace is not some kind of hottie, she is a serious professional who does not enjoy killing and might throw up after killing in self defence. She is not a superspy, she is a spy. Ten years ago I would have suggested Cate Blanchett in the role.

    huh?
    Chace is an agent for MI-6.
    She is a Minder for that agency. In the parlance of this series, a Minder is a person sent in when things have gone terribly wrong and the only way to resolve it is to eliminate someone. Often referred to as wet works, she kills people for "Queen and Country". That term is in quotes because that is the name the author has given the series.

    if she is sickened to kill in self-defense, why would she accept a Minder job?

    http://www.spyguysandgals.com/sgShowChar.asp?ScanName=Chace_Tara
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,122
    In the third graphic novel, she throws up after killing men sent to hit her. Willie Caine in the Sandbaggers abhorred violence the same way. Why accept the job? Patriotism, competence, skills, sense of duty. An operative is not a psycho.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,122
    And Jason, you haven't read it. I did. The whole series, including the novels. And I watched The Sandbaggers which inspired the Q & C series so much it is almost a spin off. Tara Chace is very good at killing when required to do so, she agrees with it as a necessity, but can find the motivations morally dubious.
  • jason_bournejason_bourne
    Posts: 97
    ^ ok i have to grab a copy and read it first hand.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    edited September 2013 Posts: 15,122
    Many of the missions of an operative in both Q&C and The Sandbaggers doesn't involve killing people. In Operation: Morningstar for instance the mission is to retrieve information in Taliban ruled Afghanistan and Tara spends most of the story on a shrink's chair, because of the events of the previous mission... And she goes nowhere near Afghanistan, which frustrates her tremendously. It is a great series, in large part because it is very realistic. No outlandish plots, no larger than life character, but real human beings, real government regulations, real conflicts. You can have two people arguing drinking coffee and it is as gripping as a gun fight. And sometimes they don't fight for their life: they fight for their career when a new C gets in charge and finds little value in Special Ops, they fight against MI5, the competitor who is always jealous of its prerogative within the UK, they have to keep the Special Relationship with the CIA alive while avoiding being manipulated by them...
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,122
    I'm re-reading the series and it struck me that Operation: Morningstar has plot elements very similar to SF. I wonder if the scriptwriters knew about Rucka's series.
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