Quantum of Solace Appreciation Thread- We Found a Better Place to Meet

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  • edited February 2020 Posts: 6,709
    We haven’t properly seen Craig in NTTD yet. But I feel this Bond film also had his best ‘look.’ He channelled 007 with a touch of Steve McQueen cool…….

    Quantum-of-Solace-0278.jpg
    Quantum-of-Solace-0309.jpg
    Quantum-of-Solace-0865.jpg

    He sure did. Don't forget the shawl collar cardigan, desert boots combo when he's with Mathis at his villa. Classic McQueen.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,136
    By far Craig's most Bondian look.
  • OctopussyOctopussy Piz Gloria, Schilthorn, Switzerland.
    Posts: 1,081
    Craig is by far the best dressed Bond in the series, IMO.
  • 00Agent00Agent Any man who drinks Dom Perignon '52 can't be all bad.
    Posts: 5,185
    Octopussy wrote: »
    Craig is by far the best dressed Bond in the series, IMO.

    Now that's a controversial opinion around here...
    But i'll go with that. He's definitly the most influential to me in that regard.
  • edited March 2020 Posts: 11,425
    Definitely a good looking movie. Craig looks great in this film.

    I realise in SF he is supposed to look haggard but they took it too far IMO. The only part where he looks quite cool is towards the end, in his hunting gear in Scotland.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited August 2020 Posts: 15,718
    The official James Bond Youtube account just posted the Quantum meeting:



    I really enjoy this scene.
  • GadgetManGadgetMan Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 4,247
    Yeah, Brilliant scene from a Brilliant Bond film.
  • Posts: 1,917
    Physically, Green very much reminds me of a Fleming villain. I could imagine his descriptions of the character with bulging eyes and lizard-like movements.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    BT3366 wrote: »
    Physically, Green very much reminds me of a Fleming villain. I could imagine his descriptions of the character with bulging eyes and lizard-like movements.

    Always love the side-eyes glance he gives as his car pulls away from the airport in Austria. Bug-eyed and creepy.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    BT3366 wrote: »
    Physically, Green very much reminds me of a Fleming villain. I could imagine his descriptions of the character with bulging eyes and lizard-like movements.

    I love him-- slimy as hell. And he's a cornered rat at the end. He lashes out wildly and dangerously.
  • ThunderballThunderball playing Chemin de Fer in a casino, downing Vespers
    Posts: 814
    BT3366 wrote: »
    Physically, Green very much reminds me of a Fleming villain. I could imagine his descriptions of the character with bulging eyes and lizard-like movements.

    Indeed, if Mathieu Amalric had been much larger in size, he’d be a pretty spot-on Le Chiffre as described in the CR novel.
  • edited August 2020 Posts: 2,165
    00Agent wrote: »
    Octopussy wrote: »
    Craig is by far the best dressed Bond in the series, IMO.

    Now that's a controversial opinion around here...
    But i'll go with that. He's definitly the most influential to me in that regard.

    For me the Craig era has had the best fashion, though I suppose the 70’s and 80’s fashions looked good at the time and the Craig era will similarly age.

    For me though the introduction of Tom Ford into the series, starting with QoS, has been great and has brought some nice outfits:

    QoS - PTS and Sienna Suit, Third Act Harrington Jacket
    SF - The gorgeous midnight blue Tuxedo, Scotland Outfit
    SP - PTS suit, Rome Suit, Morocco Desert Brown Suit.

    Obviously havent seen NTTD but so far the third act “tactical” outfit and the Jamacia “retired” outfit look best. I do want one of the N Peal Tactical Sweaters but at £345 for an item I will wear maybe once or twice, I cant justify it.
  • OctopussyOctopussy Piz Gloria, Schilthorn, Switzerland.
    Posts: 1,081
    Mallory wrote: »
    00Agent wrote: »
    Octopussy wrote: »
    Craig is by far the best dressed Bond in the series, IMO.

    Now that's a controversial opinion around here...
    But i'll go with that. He's definitly the most influential to me in that regard.

    For me the Craig era has had the best fashion, though I suppose the 70’s and 80’s fashions looked good at the time and the Craig era will similarly age.

    For me though the introduction of Tom Ford into the series, starting with QoS, has been great and has brought some nice outfits:

    QoS - PTS and Sienna Suit, Third Act Harrington Jacket
    SF - The gorgeous midnight blue Tuxedo, Scotland Outfit
    SP - PTS suit, Rome Suit, Morocco Desert Brown Suit.

    Obviously havent seen NTTD but so far the third act “tactical” outfit and the Jamacia “retired” outfit look best. I do want one of the N Peal Tactical Sweaters but at £345 for an item I will wear maybe once or twice, I cant justify it.

    I personally love the more casual looks from Quantum of Solace as I'm not a fan of the Tom Ford Regency suit which Craig wears throughout the film. The Tom Ford O'Connor suit which was introduced in Skyfall is superior and more in the ilk of Connery's suits in the 60's, IMO.

    Quantum of Solace's introduction of Tom Ford was without question where the Craig era began to elevate in relation to fashion. However, their incorporation of other brands like Brunello Cuchinelli, Chuches, Barbour and J.Crew have been instrumental in creating these iconic looks. I think that Bond's upcoming Jamaica looks awkward from a colour perspective and his jeans look like they need to be altered, but I assume that's done purposefully. Aside from that No Time To Die may be one of the most stylish Bond films from a fashion standpoint we've seen, IMO. They've brought back the tab collar from Skyfall and Bond seems to be heavily wearing the Tom Ford O'Connor suit to much the same vain.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    edited October 2020 Posts: 7,553
    Just watched this again for Bond Day and in the credits, under ‘additional voices’ is Alfonso Cuaron and Guillermo Del Toro? What voices were they?
    EDIT: Bolivian army guys it looks like. Cuaron was the helicopter pilots voice? Cool.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Just watched this again for Bond Day and in the credits, under ‘additional voices’ is Alfonso Cuaron and Guillermo Del Toro? What voices were they?
    EDIT: Bolivian army guys it looks like. Cuaron was the helicopter pilots voice? Cool.

    That was new to me. Awesome.
  • I rewatched the film last night for the first time in a few years, and I must admit that my appreciation has changed for the better. While in the past it was one of my least favorite movies of the series, due to its editing, pace, shaky camera, its characterization of the character of Bond at odds with the end of Casino Royale, I was this time much more sensitive to its pretty realistic geopolitical implications and lavish production design, more notably from the reintroduction of Mathis, up to the end in Russia.

    If the flaws I have listed continued to bother me, I realized that there are far fewer things that I would have liked to have seen changed than in my memories. I keep regretting that Fleming's short story was not explicitly included in the plot (I read somewhere it was planned to be told by Mathis to Bond on their flight to South America, is there any truth in this rumor?), that its title was used for an organization that could have gone unnamed, and I would have preferred more stable and clearer editing. Still, the qualities seemed to me this time undeniable and allowed me to put aside the regrets. With a few tweaks here and there, it could ultimately have been one of my favorite film in the series.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    Great stuff, @Herr_Stockmann, happy to hear you've found a new appreciation, of sorts, for the film.
  • GadgetManGadgetMan Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 4,247
    It's still Craig's second best Bond film for me, except NTTD says otherwise.
  • cwl007cwl007 England
    Posts: 611
    I really enjoy QOS, often choose to watch it. I think Craig's performance is very good, possibly his best.
    Quick question, why isn't Mathis a very good cover name! I've never understood that line.
    Oh, also I HATE the story decision to have Bond put him in a dustbin. Why would Bond do something like that to a valued contact? He just wouldn't.
  • DenbighDenbigh UK
    edited November 2020 Posts: 5,970
    For me, Quantum of Solace is a good first draft.

    It just needed a lot more work, and I also think a longer running time would've benefited.
  • Junglist_1985Junglist_1985 Los Angeles
    edited November 2020 Posts: 1,033
    Denbigh wrote: »
    For me, Quantum of Solace is a good first draft.

    It just needed a lot more work, and I also think a longer running time would've benefited.

    This! If they just spent a little more time fleshing out the characters and the action, it would be a top tier Bond film. It’s an amazing first draft I would argue.
  • Posts: 1,917
    I keep regretting that Fleming's short story was not explicitly included in the plot (I read somewhere it was planned to be told by Mathis to Bond on their flight to South America, is there any truth in this rumor?), that its title was used for an organization that could have gone unnamed, and I would have preferred more stable and clearer editing. Still, the qualities seemed to me this time undeniable and allowed me to put aside the regrets. With a few tweaks here and there, it could ultimately have been one of my favorite film in the series.
    Never heard that rumor and I'm actually kind of glad they didn't include that, unless it was just a line or 2 so we could get a quick fanboy moment. The Fleming story is such a forgettable one and it would've been an awkward addition to just insert that into the story.
    cwl007 wrote: »
    Quick question, why isn't Mathis a very good cover name! I've never understood that line.
    Oh, also I HATE the story decision to have Bond put him in a dustbin. Why would Bond do something like that to a valued contact? He just wouldn't.

    Don't know the full story about the Mathis cover name but my guess is he's obviously Italian with a cover name that doesn't match. The dustbin thing, my take is he needed to dispose of the body quickly where they wouldn't know he'd discovered it as they were still onto him and the authorities would've had questions and Bond was on the run.

    Besides that, it kind of fits the Craig Bond's character at the time. There's been discussion on one of the Skyfall threads as to Bond's lack of emotion when Severine gets killed by Silva and that applies here too. He's a hard man who can't let emotions overwhelm him when he's on a mission.
  • RichardTheBruceRichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.
    Posts: 13,811
    cwl007 wrote: »
    Quick question, why isn't Mathis a very good cover name! I've never understood that line.
    Bond: Is Mathis your cover name?
    Mathis: Yes.
    Bond: Not a very good one, is it.
    Mathis: (Laughs painfully.)

    My take: it's the darkest humor between Bond and Mathis. Mathis didn't use a cover name, he used his own name. It was the death of him.

    Oh, also I HATE the story decision to have Bond put him in a dustbin. Why would Bond do something like that to a valued contact? He just wouldn't.
    I've half-jokingly defended this on other forums. It's practical misdirection for the police and Quantum, making the scene look like a mugging gone wrong.

    And Bond couldn't leave Mathis on the street, on the same level with the bad guys. So symbolically he elevates Mathis above them--literally top of the heap.

    Lastly, the "he wouldn't care" line links to the the theme later expressed as "I don't think the dead care about vengeance". It also recalls Mathis's line in the previous film "being dead doesn't mean one can't still be helpful."

    But of course it's not required to like that bit.
  • BT3366 wrote: »
    Never heard that rumor and I'm actually kind of glad they didn't include that, unless it was just a line or 2 so we could get a quick fanboy moment. The Fleming story is such a forgettable one and it would've been an awkward addition to just insert that into the story.

    I guess it's specific to everyone's sensibilities, but personally I'm really fond of this short story. Especially since its is both very bitter but also quiet would have been ideal at this point in the film, to bring down the pace. If we add to this that the sequence takes place in an airplane, the starting point of the discussion, about marrying an air hostess, would come organically. Gemma, Mathis's girlfriend, could even in this context replace the character of Rhoda Llewellyn.

    Sure, it's obvious that I cannot imagine Mathis telling anything else than an abridged version of this tale, summarizing it in a few sentences and allowing its beautiful title to be explained, without diminishing it to name the organization. The movie as a whole would have benefited from such a moment which, in this case, would have been more than just an Easter egg.

    Denbigh wrote: »
    For me, Quantum of Solace is a good first draft.

    It just needed a lot more work, and I also think a longer running time would've benefited.

    I quite agree with this view, although I find that the script has from the start a problem in its representation of Bond which seems to have regressed since the end of Casino Royale. It seems to me that it would have been more logical to have a colder character, at the height of his nature as a blunt instrument, professional to the point of being dehumanized. He would not commit the same recklessness as in the previous film, nor would he be careless, but it would nonetheless be worrying for M who would see his consideration for human life disappear. In this context, Bond would have gradually relearned to express compassion, finding a balance between sentimental vulnerability and inhuman coldness.
  • DaltonFanDaltonFan California
    Posts: 69
    I love Quantum Of Solace! Sure, it definitely wasn't your father's Bond movie and I'm sure a lot of people were a bit unsettled that it was a direct sequel to Casino Royale, but it wasn't a bad movie at all! I liked the comedic elements ("you know Felix, all of the cab drivers know that this the CIA office") and the music was great. One of my favorite parts of the film was how Vesper was a character in the movie Eva Green wasn't in it. Her name gets mentioned several times by different characters, Bond steals the photo of Vesper from the file at the beginning of the film, and Bond gets vengeance on the Spectre agent who got close to her and set her up to be used by Spectre. I really feel that Eva Green has a presence in the movie that you can actually feel. And for some nutty reason I got a kick that part of the movie in the Chilean (or possibly the Bolivian) part of the Atacama desert, the driest place on planet Earth.
  • First of I’ve loved this film since it’s release and always stand up for it any chance I get.
    I love how it feels extremely Fleming .
    I’ve also never had an issue with the editing.

    Now while I know there have been fan edits that have done this before I decided to tweak the opening to my taste. Admittedly I have tried three different musical tracks over the gun barrel. The CR end credit Bind theme, the choral version from CR’s trailers and the orchestral YKMN from BBC proms.

    I also (as others before me) have replaced AWTD with No Good about Goodbye. Previous edits of the song haven’t quite blended together well to fit the run time of the title sequence so I attempted to improve this. I also removed the end Gun Barrel and title card and played Bassey over the end credits too. Oddly the full length version of the song fits the entire credit crawl perfectly.

    Short story long here’s my opening complete with Gun Barrel.

    I had to re jig the sound, timing and edit of the start of the car chase.



    Enjoy!
  • ResurrectionResurrection Kolkata, India
    Posts: 2,541
    First of I’ve loved this film since it’s release and always stand up for it any chance I get.
    I love how it feels extremely Fleming .
    I’ve also never had an issue with the editing.

    Now while I know there have been fan edits that have done this before I decided to tweak the opening to my taste. Admittedly I have tried three different musical tracks over the gun barrel. The CR end credit Bind theme, the choral version from CR’s trailers and the orchestral YKMN from BBC proms.

    I also (as others before me) have replaced AWTD with No Good about Goodbye. Previous edits of the song haven’t quite blended together well to fit the run time of the title sequence so I attempted to improve this. I also removed the end Gun Barrel and title card and played Bassey over the end credits too. Oddly the full length version of the song fits the entire credit crawl perfectly.

    Short story long here’s my opening complete with Gun Barrel.

    I had to re jig the sound, timing and edit of the start of the car chase.



    Enjoy!

    Loved that, great editing.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    +1 Great vid
  • edited January 2021 Posts: 65
    Also my friend who does motion graphics and I are attempting to re do the title sequence. To better fit with No Good About Goodbye.

    Here’s the proof of concept. Fan ideas more than welcome. It’s ambitious and we might not even get it done but it’s something I’ve always wanted to try.

  • Posts: 1,917
    I know it was said they declined to put the gunbarrel at the beginning of SF because of the shot composition and can't remember if they said the same for QoS but I think that works perfectly. No reason it shouldn't have been at the start.
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