It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
Agreed on Serra's poor end song though. Never used to mind it but in recent years I've realised how completely un-suited it is to the end of a Bond film.
The song probably sounded better in the 90s as it does have that cheesy soap-opera sound to it that seemed to be a trait of that era in general, but damn its dated horribly.
"nobody screws with Boris Greshinko" (too American-sounding)
"what is it with you and moving vehicles"
"finish the job James, blow them all to hell"
"ready to save the world again?"
I think there's more good in the film than bad though and it's always been an old favourite. Love the atmosphere during scenes like the Seveneya massacre/GoldenEye hijacking and the statue park meeting. Most of the performances are also very good.
This is probably closer to how I feel: the entirety of the song isn't terrible, but when Serra opens his mouth is when I'm scrambling to find the remote.
I can assure you it didn t.
Ha, ok. Maybe I've just grown up then.
Whereas other Roger Moore Bond films needed to grow on me before loving them - I took to FYEO right away and still love returning to it.
The first Bond film of the 80s and the first directed by John Glen, FYEO has a contextual freshness; everything looks and moves in a slightly different direction, yet still has a classic Bond feel. Now, I'm no MR hater (in fact, I consider it one of the most underrated Bond films), but it is nice to see the Bond franchise return to more grounded stunts and Bond surviving on his wits more than gadgets than what had come before. So many great stunt pieces from the car chase (making Bond make due with a junker car), the skiing scenes, raking against the coral, the amazing climbing scene....
There are a number of cheesy elements: the hockey team fight, the end with the fake Thatcher.... Still, there's also a bit more gravitas to the plot here too with Melina's parents' death, Bond's act of detente and the opening at Tracy's grave. Ripped a lot from the pages of Fleming and maybe has the most Cold War-heavy plot since FRWL at the time too yet there's still a lot of room for laughs throughout.
Roger Moore is in top form - he sells every aspect of Bond and, even though he's known for being a comedic Bond, even (or, perhaps, especially) selling the more edgy scenes for Bond like the RVs on the beach ("Lisl come back!"), killing Locque ("You left this with Ferrara, I believe...") and storming the monastery ("Shut him up!"). There's no M but we get a few great scenes with Q - and Bouquet is probably the toughest Bond girl at that time. The villains aren't as strong as the series bests but they make good foil. The bonus is Bill Conti's score - which rocks if you ask me; the early 80s jam band sound dates the film a bit but I'd be lying if I said I didn't love listening to it.
FYEO can't quite break into my Top 10 Bond films and will probably be perpetually stuck in the #11-13 range but I'm a big fan.
Favorite Element: Roger Moore's performance of Bond.
Favorite Scene: Bond vs Locque on the ledge.
It cuts out a lot of the silliness and has many elements of Fleming.
Just love the Keel Haul sequence and the ascent to St Cyrils.
I also like the score!
I like FYEO too but if I were to criticise the film it's that the over-use of soft lighting during some of the night scenes (the casino, Bond in the car with Lisl and Bond and Melina on the boat at the end) is distracting and gives the film a cheaper look.
FYEO is the Mediterranean Bond.
The other big problem with the movie is, of course, the shaky cam. Although it's only in two or three scenes (the PTS, the boat chase, and the plane chase), it makes those scenes nearly incomprehensible, and it ruins two very promising action scenes (I'm still not entirely sure what happens with the truck at the beginning or with the anchor). There are a couple of other minor problems with the movie, including the title, the person of Elvis, and the whole plane sequence, but it's not worth going in depth about them.
Now that I've got that out of the way, onto the good parts! Craig is excellent in this, and while it's not quite on the level of CR and SF it's still a performance he can be proud of, and he blows SP out of the water. Mathieu Amalric is also good as the understated but clearly deranged Dominic Greene, and the emotional subplot/theme of the movie works well.
One thing I had forgotten about this movie is just how funny it can be. Most of the laughs come from Craig's bluntness ("I'm sure they do." "We are teachers on sabbatical, and we have just won the lottery), which is yet another feather in his cap.
Another thing worth noting is that Forster appears very concerned in this movie with how the happenings affect normal people. From the opening chase, where we see a young woman get shot by Mitchell and an old lady lose her groceries, to the scene in the opera house, to the many shots of impoverished Bolivians, they are always there to remind us of the toll the spy game takes. Whether this amounts to anything of substance is another question, but it's not something I see discussed often.
Anyhow, QoS retains its status as a mid-tier Bond movie. It does a lot of things well, but nothing really stands out among the best in the series, and it has a few notable flaws.
Never disappoints, this car chase, cool, visceral with a killer ending!
This scene gets better every time I rewatch QoS and I must admit, Arnold does a spot-on job of amplifying the tension and the chaos.. and who doesn't love Craig's look when he shoots the chasers at the end? One of his most badass moments imo.
I think I'm the only one who really likes that song. I finish the film until the very last credit has rolled.
That makes three. I would not say that it is very Bondian but as a standalone song it is not as bad as people say. I even don't think that Serra's voice is so bad. I like the song much more than Serra's overall score.
I've thought for a while now that the quick editing makes that sequence feel like a big budget tv advert.
This. Haven't sat down and watched TV/commercials in ages, but I don't recall ever seeing an ad quite like the opening of QoS. SP's car chase seems comparable to a TV advertisement, however.
No, the SP one is more like a video game ;)
I remember when I first saw this ad the editing reminded me of QoS. Also, let's not forget the opening of said car chase has close-ups of the Aston.
PS: Brosnan's voice is quite manly in that clip.
*As I type this post, I am listening to the 'Kung Fu' track.