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It’s a longtime favorite of mine, and it stays that way. As good a watch as ever; I love LTK. It comes awfully close to my love for GE, but I had to keep it just underneath. Great villain, good story, good characters, and good job by Dalton. Probably the most unpopular Bond film (by the general public) that is in my Top 10. I love most things about it; a real treat throughout!
2018 Bondathon Ranking
1. Casino Royale
2. Skyfall
3. GoldenEye
4. Licence to Kill
5. Quantum of Solace
6. Tomorrow Never Dies
7. The World Is Not Enough
8. Spectre
9. Die Another Day
And here I was thinking we were going to get along ;)
Quantum of Solace
Is it just me, when Elvis is going up the stairs boarding the plane that will take him, Greene, Felix and Beam from Haiti to Austria, did he readjust his hair piece?
I see QoS is getting a bit of a renaissance round this ‘ere parts. So, I will be contrary to that belief. Makes me an individualist, right?
Bits I did like –
• one got to join Bond on his journey, for once.
• the humour -
“I don’t think he smoked.”
“I don’t have any friends.”
“Well, I missed.”
“Was that a compliment?”
“Are you going to try and shoot me? ”
Bits I wasn’t so keen on -
• the CGI parachuting
• the whole “full cells” thingy - a bit of nonsense that was only in the story to have an explosive denouement.
Quick comment on the editing. Granted, if one taps up the Bourne franchise 2nd Unit director, Dan Bradley, you’re leaving yourself vulnerable to the Bourne comparisons. Which is fair. Yet, the Bourne series has a distinctly documentary film vibe to them, with the shaky cam during the action. While the action of QoS has the hallmarks of being a cinematic film, albeit one with some hyper editing and extreme movements of the camera, to make the viewer disorientated. I see it as Bond reclaiming lost ground. After all, the Bourne style of action is just Peter Hunt’s editing, turned up to 11.
Royale’s Ranking, Bondathon October 2017
1. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
2. Casino Royale
3. Dr. No
4. Licence to Kill
5. Quantum of Solace
6. Skyfall
7. Thunderball
8. Goldfinger
9. For Your Eyes Only
10. Tomorrow Never Dies
11. The World Is Not Enough
12. GoldenEye
13. Diamonds Are Forever
14. Live and Let Die
15. Die Another Day
16. The Man With The Golden Gun
Next up, A View to a Kill. Linked to QoS as it is part of Ian Fleming’s short story collection, For Your Eyes Only. Plus I like the contrast of the most badass, brutal and dynamic Bond in QoS, to the elder statesmen of Sir Rog’s AVTAK.
I mentioned in the Bond comments as you watch thread how TLD is on the verge of being one of my favorite Bond films. It's a really good Bond film for the most part, but two key things prevent it from reaching higher numbers: a) weak villains and b) dull third act until the plane climax. I definitely still prefer LTK, but TLD is a definitely a good one. Had it included a particularly strong villain, it might have had a better chance as a favorite.
Dalton does fairly well in the film, but I think he's better in LTK. Kara is a good Bond girl, and the supporting characters like Saunders and Pushkin are pretty good too. Georgi and Whitaker aren't bad as villains, but for Bond standards, they are definitely on the lower end of the spectrum. Necros is a little more interesting, but still not quite among the greatest Bond villains. John Barry's soundtrack is terrific. The title song is alright. The PTS is one of the absolute best in the series, and in general, the first two thirds of the movie are top-tier Bond material. Unfortunately, it hits a roadblock with the jail scene, and doesn't regain steam until Bond fights Necros on the plane IMO.
Despite a few shortcomings I have with it, there's too much about TLD to like for me to rank it too low. I don't think it can ever quite reach my Top 10, but it has a lot of good stuff in it and holds up well overall in the series. Would have been interesting to see Dalton do a third, but I wouldn't change out Brosnan's GE seeing as I like it even more than Dalton's outings. Anyway, I decided to give TLD a slight edge over QOS in my ranking; it was really close, but that's what I will stick to for now.
2018 Bondathon Ranking
1. Casino Royale
2. Skyfall
3. GoldenEye
4. Licence to Kill
5. The Living Daylights
6. Quantum of Solace
7. Tomorrow Never Dies
8. The World Is Not Enough
9. Spectre
10. Die Another Day
Not sure if I will get to AVTAK tomorrow or not. We will see.
I agree completely about the editing.
And QoS is simply shot from a more extreme style of Peter Hunt's style as seen in his 60s work and in his directed OHMSS, where the action is similarly shot-a lot of rapid cuts, constant shifts in framing and a lot of wide shots with the sound of the action being as important as visuals. While the editing can prove too much for some, I appreciate the work that went into staging those scenes and how visuals and sound are used to really drive home what we see and feel in response to the action. And with how restrained the camera is outside of the action, the dramatic scenes or transitional pieces unconnected from the visceral sequences are a nice breather from the visual chaos, which I think suits the film well. Bourne in comparison hands off its action to more shakiness, and that makes it feel more sloppy to me. QoS on the other hand is far more cinematic and does show restraint, but even in the action scenes the editing is more of a presence than any shaky cam, which isn't as prominent as it is complained about. From a camera perspective it's relatively stable, the cutting is where it shows its wild side.
Thats exactly what I’ve thought but haven’t been able to materialize into words. Spot on. That’s why I also don’t understand the critics that love Bourne but hate the shakey cam of QOS. I find the Bourne shakey cam unwatchable while I kinda like the QOS camera work.
QoS is better because it restrains the style to the action, focuses mostly on cuts there and not on shaky cam, and allows the drama to carry out as any film would, with multi camera shots with variations in close and far photography. Very standard. I don't see what shaky cam in Bourne is supposed to simulate, and that's where I start to get lost with it, on top of the cinematic feel being low and not as artful as QoS. If I wanted to watch a movie that looked as if it was being shot by an obese man holding a camera while running so hard he's constantly stumbling over himself, I'd pay to have an obese man hold a camera and run fast as he captures a scene.
Peter Hunt was a visionary.
The two films couldn't be more apart in quality of directing and especially editing.
Bond fighting Draco's men in OHMSS and Bond fighting M's guard in the elevator of QoS is another example, as both are mini pieces of action that focus on close-ups of the action with rapid cutting and quick shot variations.
For it's time I wouldn't be surprised if OHMSS's editing was held in contempt or criticized, as it released at a time when movies were still developing stylistically. Nowadays its quick editing and shot variations are pretty commonplace, but in the 60s? Not so much. But Hunt is often criticized for just his jump cuts in the early films, so I imagine those same people would be/were upset with OHMSS too, since that quick and messy style is taken up to 11. I personally don't mind it in either film, as those styles work for each tonally.
Moreover, it's not just the way the action is filmed. Rather, it's also in an element of the narrative. In the seminal The Bourne Supremacy, JB watches his beloved Marie die underwater and then spends the rest of the film trying to get answers to who killed her and why. He does this while the CIA thinks he's back for another reason. In the final epilogue scene he visits a young girl in a home in Russia to get something off his chest about what he's done. Most importantly, certain higher ups infer that he must take revenge because that's who he is. "A killer".
In CR going into QoS, Bond views his beloved Vesper die underwater (this time by drowning rather than by gunshot - a scene that wasn't in the novel). Then spends the remainder of the following film (the first direct sequel) looking for answers while following leads. All the while his superiors think he's doing things for other reasons. In the final epilogue scene he visits Yusef at a home to get answers. Most importantly, certain higher ups assume he must take revenge or else he'd be a 'cold bastard'.
The rooftop chase at the start of QoS in combination with the hotel Slate fight is very similar to the better one (imho) in The Bourne Ultimatum which came out in the prior year.
For me at least, in 2008, the influences were quite clear even though they grafted onto the Bond template.
Sacrilage !!!
Heresy !!!
OH HOW I LOVE THIS FILM.
It will interest you @DikkoHenderson that Charles Gray is my favorite actor in the Bond universe.
The Henderson sequence is pure genius from start to finish and of course I adore Charles Blofeld.
YOLT is practically flawless up to this point. Sean in his navy uniform is something I could stare at the whole day. I get a serious man-crush on him when he walks around like that. Damn is he attractive!
Moneypenny in her navy uniform is a sight for sore eyes as well. Oh boy, how I love the whole Navy sequence.
The PTS starts with the suspenseful fantastical Capsule In Space sequence which is accompanied by what must be one of Barry's masterpieces of score.
I give you very best duck.
Yes indeed.
Tiger Tanaka is my favorite Bond ally. And I have to congratulate EoN's talent for casting the right actors for such roles.
The sets are out of this world crazy cool. Just look at Osato's office area, Henderson's apartment or M's office on the ship.
Connery is in tip-top shape here. I can't see anything that would suggest that he has lost his on-screen charisma or presence.
He looks fantastic topless and he looks fantastic in everything he wears. The fight at Osato's office is brutal and relentless. I prefer this much over the train fight.
Aki and her beautiful Toyota 2000 GT has wonderful scenes and a lot of screen time.
The Kobe dock sequence is brilliant. The running/fight scene on the roof of the large building filmed from a helicopter is a work of stunning ingeniousness.
Halfway through the film I feel No 5 in my ranking is not high enough. Of course it's virtually impossible to get higher when OHMSS-DN-CR-GF are in the way.
But maybe, just maybe GF is in danger now.
But I don't want that style in Bond because it goes against what Bond is about. And in QoS I genuinely have a hard time keeping track of what's happening a lot of the time. The boat chase is probably the biggest offender. Still don't understand what happened at the end and can't bring myself to care because it's just another poorly edited chase scene in a film with way too many of them.
@bondjames and @Andi I agree. The Bourne influence is definitely there. Hunt and Glen (he did a lot of work on the ski chase) were legends when it comes to action, QoS doesn't even come close.
For a long while, AVTAK occupied the bottom spot of my Bond ranking. Fortunately, it has made significant leaps since then, as I have come to appreciate the good stuff in it. Ultimately I now see this one as a flawed but quite fun Bond adventure.
Of DAF, AVTAK, and DAD, this is my favorite final Bond film for a long-running Bond by a large margin. Moore is too old, but he still does a pretty decent job. He’s not really believable in the action scenes, but his personality and charm are on-target. Max Zorin is one of the greatest villains of the series, and May Day’s a pretty good villain too. Stacey unfortunately is among the series’ worst Bond girls, and the PTS is also one of my least favorites. I also find the film drags in a few spots (mostly between Bond’s escape from the car up until he meets Stacey). However, there’s a couple more good things: a terrific title song, a great soundtrack, and also a solid climax.
All in all, this one does have a couple noticeable issues, but it’s also equipped with some really great stuff too! If Craig’s exit can be as good as this or better, I’d be at peace with it. This was a tough call between TND and AVTAK, but I’m giving a slight edge to the former since less bothered me. AVTAK isn’t one of Bond’s best, but it’s safely away from the bottom of the pile for me. Fun time!
2018 Bondathon Ranking
1. Casino Royale
2. Skyfall
3. GoldenEye
4. Licence to Kill
5. The Living Daylights
6. Quantum of Solace
7. Tomorrow Never Dies
8. A View to a Kill
9. The World Is Not Enough
10. Spectre
11. Die Another Day
Who the hell is this Bourne, everybody and his Pussy seems to mention all the time?
Marc Forster can be Alfred Hitchcock's stepson for all I care.
Or if there are "important" influences of other films.
QoS after CR feels like drinking Red Bull after Bollinger 69.
Doug Liman has made a few good films over the years.
I watched The Wall a few days ago, I have issues with the writing, though Liman directs the film well. I think Liman and Cruise are still doing a sequel to Edge of Tomorrow/Live Die Repeat