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007 Reviewsh - The Worst James Bond Film
Once again, forgive the shameless self-promotion, but here my review of the worst James Bond film in the series. Which one is it? Well you'll have to watch to find out:
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I have a few comments to make:
1.) Mathis IS NOT a traitor. It is clearly stated that MI6 snuffed him out and he is found not to be the link to why Le Chiffre knew Bond was on to him (that was Vesper who by Quantum's orders played Mathis as a traitor to get to Bond). The whole reason he has that nice villa Bond goes to see him at is because MI6 gives it to him to say "sorry" for all the trouble (and possible torture) they caused. Who knows how much they put him under duress, and all for information he didn't have and couldn't have because he wasn't a traitor.
2.) The reason Camille has these so called bipolar moments where her character switches in emotion/ideology/whathaveyou is because she is playing a part! She isn't some mentally afflicted woman, she is a Bolivian agent playing Greene to get to Medrano, the man who killed her family and who she wants revenge on. She is ACTING like she loves Greene him to get at Medrano (hence her anger at Bond when he saves her, ruining her chances of getting Medrano). She clearly states this in the plane scene with Bond at the controls.
3.) Just because Bond doesn't sleep with the main "Bond girl" doesn't mean it isn't a Bond film. That's one of the most shallow comments I have heard about this film, and as much as it is predictably and unjustly ridiculed on this site and everywhere else, I have heard them all. Bond is at a point at the end of the film where he is drained. He lost one of his great allies (Mathis), faced opposition from his own intelligence service and almost lost M's trust here and there (though she always believes in him) and finds that maybe revenge isn't the answer after all. He says "I don't think the dead care about vengeance." Camille kills Medrano, but is she really any better for it? I mean, yes, she killed a bad man who did her wrong, but in a way she is like him for a lot of reasons for doing that, and her killing him doesn't bring her family back, does it? I think Bond sees this and realizes how stupid it would be of him to risk MI6's security and trust as well as himself just to avenge a woman he couldn't bring back anyway, and as he states to Yusef at the end "She (Vesper) wouldn't want me to (referring to killing Yusef)", further reflecting this point. Bond sees the desperation in Yusef's eyes, his own guilt for leading yet another girl on to be used like Vesper was, and his stark fear of death itself as Quantum could turn on him like they did on Greene, and Bond sees his sorrowful and penitent existence to be punishment enough for his sin. Bond also lets Yusef live because he realizes he is better kept alive and sweated by MI6 so that they can find out more about Quantum from him, since he is no good dead and Bond killing him won't bring Vesper back to him anyway, it will only bring more blood on his hands that have already been too stained. Bond as a whole becomes less and less reckless and by the end of the film begins molding into the concrete model of loyalty and duty to the empire that he is the embodiment of in Skyfall.
4.) Mathis DID have a purpose. He was Bond's way in while in Bolivia (as he had ties to the general who later back-stabs him, though he doesn't see it coming). As for Bond's dumping of his body, many layers could be interpreted from the act. Bond knew more police would be coming hot on their tail from the gunshots being reported (likely) so he couldn't waste time with moving the body far or having a fulfilling ceremony or burial. He puts Mathis's body in a dump bin to possibly make it look like a crime, and maybe show evidence that the police were corrupt and killed him so he could frame them. He needs money, so he takes it from Mathis's wallet as he obviously has no use for it anymore. And I don't find Bond dumping the body in a bin to be very callous at all. They had a wonderful final moment together where Bond simply comforts Mathis and stays with him like a good friend would. I think Mathis really wouldn't care about being dumped in a bin, as I think he would likely make a joke about it himself if he could've, just from the sheer outcome of it all. Besides, since we all end up six feet under anyway, what's so different about him being put in a bin?
5.) You say that the characters have no depth, yet there is tons of deep characterization to be found in this film. We have great moments where Bond completely denies any love of Vesper to make it look like he doesn't care and isn't vulnerable. He even has to sneak her photo away in Siena while M isn't looking to hide this fact further, and his attempt at hiding his love was seen also in CR, where he says "the bitch is dead." This isn't Bond being bi-polar, this is Bond coping with the first stage of experiencing a tragedy: Denial. He doesn't want MI6 or M knowing that he is hurting emotionally, and tries to mask it any way he can, though he isn't successful. He has further denial later on the plane with Mathis (where Bond is staring at the picture of Vesper with emptiness and pain), and another stage of coping is visible in his character: Depression. He is drinking himself into a deep stupor, guzzling down tons of Vesper martinis, the drink he named after him love in CR. When Mathis asks him what it is he is drinking, he can't even utter the name because he is so hurt by Vesper's memory and again doesn't want to appear vulnerable to Mathis. Mathis senses this deep hurt in Bond and tries to comfort him in this time of pain, trying to crack jokes (like when he mentions he has pills for everything). Even his last words to Bond are to forgive her, for crying out loud, because she truly did give her life so that he could go on. This message Mathis gives him is part of what causes a big transformation in Bond and his feelings towards Vesper that he ends up settling at the end.
M is another character that experiences some great development. There are numerous heated times where her colleagues want to fire or capture Bond (because they think he has gone rogue), but even though she has her own doubts she stands by him. Her speech to him when they find Fields dead makes him realize the destruction he can cause when he is reckless, and from that he continues to learn to be a responsible, level headed and competent agent. She reigns him in, has him handcuffed, but lets him go because she trusts him to do his duty, and he indeed does. She and MI6 were worried the entire time that he would kill anyone to get back at Quantum and anyone involved because of what they did to Vesper, but he never once crosses any lines, or risk the security of England to get revenge, none at all even. The revenge is Camille's, and this revenge and the meaningless cause it is could be what prompts Bond to see the pointlessness in trying to achieve it when nothing is gained but an ever-increading body count.
6.) You complain that Bond is too depressing, dark (or whatever), callous and not very suave, cool and collected in this, but tell me: How happy or ecstatic do you think you would be if the woman who you fell in love with while on a dangerous field mission and who you planned to retire to be beside and who was the one way you could protect your soul from further tainting actually turned out to be a traitor all along, yet she really did fall in love with you along the way, genuinely wanted to be with you, made a deal to exchange the money you won at the casino game (that she knew would lead to her death) so that you could live, and then she kills herself because she can't stand being with you and loving you knowing that she caused you so much pain and suffering and may have caused you to become so unfeeling and guarded once again after you opened up your heart for the first time and had it pierced? I think you would be just as depressed as Bond. I know I would.
7.) I wish you would have touched on Felix in your review, as he is an integral part of the film and there is a great theme of trust/distrust as he questions Beam and the CIA's choice of getting "in bed" with Greene. The aspect of him feeling foreign in his own agency is brilliant, and you get to connect more with his character than ever before as he wrestles with his choices in this film about whether to go along with the CIA's wishes or help Bond out. He seems at first to have turned to the dark side to work deals with Greene alongside Beam, but when he agrees to help Bond stop Greene and his plot, a greater loyalty than ever before grows between he and 007, and Felix gets a well deserved promotion for being the only one in his agency to stay on the good path.
8.) Further development in Bond's feelings for Vesper comes at the end (after Yusef's interrogation), as he drops her necklace in the snow after proclaiming to M that he "never left." Bond has spent the whole film grieving and tearing himself up inside over a woman who betrayed him, yet he is able to see that revenge is never the answer, appreciates Vesper's act of sacrifice out of love for him that ended up saving his life, and in accepting this, he drops the Algerian love knot in the snow, signifying that he is ready to let her go and move on. He "never left" M or MI6 because he never once stepped out of line to get his revenge on Quantum for what they did to Vesper, and instead was focused on the mission at hand: Getting track of Greene and his ties to Quantum and stopping his/their plot. Though many in the intelligence service thought he went rogue, at the end of the day Bond was one of the only people at MI6 that kept his head screwed on tight and didn't jump to drastic conclusions based on little or no evidence or make half-baked illogical orders. And M stood by him, no matter what her own doubts or the doubts of her superiors told them, and through this a greater trust grows between her and her best agent, 007 that has become a more maternal relationship at the film's close. This same type of relationship beautifully carries itself into Skyfall, and creates some of the most satisfying (emotional) moments of the franchise. This is why I will forever call CR, QoS and Skyfall The M Trilogy.
Alright, sorry for the novel (if you were nice/patient enough to read all of it). Though I may seem harsh here and there, let me just say this: Your review is your opinion, and that's fine and dandy with me. I in no way shape or form wish to rain on your parade or say "I'm better than you" or "you are stupid for not seeing these themes in Quantum of Solace" or anything like that. I don't expect everyone to share the same opinions as I do, not in the slightest bit, in fact I find the idea to be boring and uneventful for all. Let's face it: Someone, somewhere at sometime and someplace will hate any film you could ever name, for whatever reason, and there isn't a single thing to do about it. From Casablanca or Citizen Kane to any present day romantic comedy or big action filled cash cow, regardless of the drastic jump in quality between the former (classics) and the later (popular films of today) in question, somebody somewhere hates each and every single one, no matter their popularity or historical, cinematic or worldly significance. The truth is, no matter how lauded a film is, somebody on this earth will hate it for whatever reason, whether it is because they hate the lead actor, director, score, the length of the film, its pace, cinematography or any number of other things.
What I am trying to say is this: If I picked a fight with everyone who trashed a film I loved, it would be a pointless exercise, a waste of both our time and simply foolish of us when you consider my previous statements in the last paragraph. The only thing I urge you to do is this: Revisit the films you hate. So, every once in a while, put Quantum in, try to look beyond the editing and some botched sections and attempt to get something more out of it. Whether it is examining Bond's motives or character or maybe trying to spot some stylistic choices or symbolization the director or cinematographer made, all I wish for you to do is revisit, revisit, revisit. It may at first be painful. You may curse and punch the air and sigh and whine, but trust me, you may get something out of it in the long run. I hated QoS when it first came out, and I was angry that it didn't live up to CR's standards. But then one day I realized: It isn't CR, and can never be. Once I knew that in my mind and stopped comparing them, I let QoS stand on its own two feet and grew more impressed and compelled by it after every subsequent viewing. Over time my distaste grew from moderate pleasure to growing comfort and now I have a good natured respect, appreciation, enjoyment and honest love for it. Yes, it has its issues. No, it isn't and never will be perfect. And yes, some things will always be an issue with it even years from now and no matter how many times we watch it, but I still love it and will continue to appreciate it as the years go by. Maybe one day you and I will be sharing our favorite QoS moments in good spirits at a time when you find yourself liking more about it than ever before.
Cheers, mate.
Thank you, and I commend you on your posts concerning it as well. You really should get a medal for reading my full post in all seriousness. ;)
The great thing about QoS is that you can go back and pick up something new you hadn't seen the last time, but even more importantly, it has deep layers to it with deep characters and they in turn are compelling to study. Who they are, why they do what they do, and more makes for time well spent.
http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/369/quantum-of-solace-the-worst-bond-flick-to-date
This thread will only go in the same direction. :)
Exactly, I was going to post the same thing. I just have to add, before this thread is closed (I'm it will be), what a wonderful analysis you did @0BradyM0Bondfanatic7. Well done!
That being said:
1) Traitor, not a traitor, I don't care. He serves no point to the story and it lessens his character from CASINO ROYALE.
2) Well I didn't get the idea that she was acting from the film, I suppose you have a point. Once again, they should have spent more time developing this character and less time on sloppy cut-every-second action scenes. And it still doesn't change the fact that she's boring as hell.
3) You know, we just spend two hours watching these characters together and there is no payoff. Okay maybe she didn't have to sleep with him, but it just felt so anti-climatic ending this relationship the way it is. As for Vesper, how many times in these Bond films has the man lost someone close to him? It doesn't stop the man from going to the next mission. Again, they should have just let the CASINO ROYALE story end where it did and moved on to SKYFALL. And I don't get the feeling at any point during the movie that he's still experiencing grief. It just goes back to what I said before: Daniel Craig has no personality or emotion in the role.
4) Again, if you're going to bring back a character that was so present in the last film, do more with him. Just giving Bond a passport and talking with him in his new villa didn't add anything to the movie. And if the death scene was supposed to be as emotional as it was, throwing his body in the trash disrupts the mood of the scene, and they don't even explain it. It doesn't serve any purpose to the story, it just makes Bond look like an asshole. There's so many scenes in this movie that should have been left out and a lot of scenes that should be IN this movie to clarify things.
5) Yes I loved "The Bitch is dead" moment in CASINO ROYALE, but again, Daniel Craig shows no moments of grieving in QUANTUM. You can write all the dialog you want regarding this subject, but if the actor doesn't evoke any sort of emotion, it doesn't mean anything. As for M, I mentioned that the scene where she finally lets him go "I don't give a shit about the CIA," just comes out of nowhere. Same with Fields going along with Bond without any sort of development to answer the question: "WHY?"
I could pretty much sum this entire movie up with that one word: "WHY?"
6) Again, how many times has this happened in a Bond movie? At least in LICENSE TO KILL, where his best friend almost died and his wife was raped and killed, Dalton still showed moments of emotion and class. He's a secret agent, that's what he does. And believe me, I still don't find LICENSE TO KILL to be like a typical Bond movie, but it is a good movie because the character is more 3-dimensional. LICENSE TO KILL is the exact movie that QUANTUM should have been but is not. I actually said that in my review, but had to leave it out to cut time.
7) Well again, I talked about Felix in the review, but I had to shorten the video. Poor Jeffery Wright looks bored out of his mind in this film. Yeah yeah yeah, that's his character, blah blah blah, he's bored out of his mind and thus not interesting.
8) Honestly, at the end, I just didn't care anymore. I don't even remember what happens at the end, aside from it being a typical 2000s action movie end. The endings to CASINO ROYALE and SKYFALL were much better.
I also respect your opinion, we all have different tastes. But I've seen this film now at least 3 times and it actually gets worse every time I watch it. While I can follow the film a little better than the first time around, I still find there are too many plotholes, unnecessary scenes and the action scenes just drive me crazy.
Excellent idea, friends! Thank you. :-)