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

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  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited March 2012 Posts: 15,713
    Yes I agree Dimi, that scene really didn't belong in a Bond film. Beautifully shot, but just un-Bond to the extreme. I want to escape everyday life when watching a Bond film, not be reminded of the poverty of the world. Where's the glamour, the escapism ?
  • I liked QOS, def. in my Top 10 Bond films.

    I appreciate the producers wanting to do something completely different from everything before. I liked Daniel's performance esp. how his Bond is still getting over the loss of Vesper. And I like how it's a pretty quick film.

    My favourite scenes:
    *Opening car chase- shame about the editing but it nevertheless makes it look chaotic (as I imagine a car chase like that would be!) And at the end, with the camera rising up from Bond's car to overlooking Sienna!
    *Tosca- the whole thing. It's already been talked about enough.
    *Final battle between Green and Bond. There's some really cool shots of Green swinging the axe at Bond with everything exploding around them. Again, if the editing had been less frantic we could've enjoyed such shots a little longer.

    I like how it's a very moody film (not normal for a Bond film). The music helps convey that. The colours too. I've seen discussions in the past about seeing QOS as an art house film. I liked how Forster described the chaos of the opening car chase as symbolic of what was going on in Bond's mind at the time. And later on when Bond says "I don't have any friends," that line can have deeper meaning than how Camille was meant to believe.

    And Bond has a character arc! This is a good thing. Even in the classic Connery films, Bond is the EXACT SAME PERSON at the beginning to the end of those films. If nothing's going to change to the main character, you sometimes wonder "why bother?" That said, FRWL is easily one of my favourites, but seeing Bond change a little is another reason to appreciate QOS.

    Alright, I think I've written enough. B-)
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,355
    Of all the films I look forward to watching again, this one is top of my list. I haven't seen it in two years or so but I like it and want to see what I make of it now. It's a shame it happens to be last on the list.

    June can't come soon enough.
  • Posts: 1,492
    actonsteve wrote:
    The one which wants more meat on its bones.

    There is no meat on the bones of QOS ! It's devoid of any Bondness. When I want meat on the bones I watch DAF, FRWL, TB or TMWTGG.

    Do you know what meat on the bones means?

    It means the characters have progression, it means the characters are rounded, they go through emotional journeys. They change from the start of the film to the end. With QoS Bond initially starts as a bull in a china shop then over the course of the film realises his duty. It was never abour revenge but doing his job. Same with Camille, she doesnt find peace once Medrano is dead.

    As much as I love the ones you mentioned none of them have the character progression that they do in QoS..

  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited March 2012 Posts: 15,713
    There is no character progression in QOS. None whatsoever. And if there was it's buried in lame, pathetic writing.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    There is no character progression in QOS. None whatsoever. And if there was it's buried in lame, pathetic writing.

    Bond...? From the beginning he was an uncontrollable killing machine, at the end he is more disciplined and the James Bond we know and love.

    M: She's finally starting to trust Bond and with Skyfall we'll see how much she trusts him now.

    And pathetic writing? The writers strike was going on, couldn't really fix it on those terms.

    HOWEVER, I think QoS is one of the Best bond movies in the Serious department. I'm not calling it the best in the whole franchise, far from it. But the Craig era is my current favorite followed by Brosnan. :D

  • Posts: 3,274
    Murdock wrote:
    There is no character progression in QOS. None whatsoever. And if there was it's buried in lame, pathetic writing.

    Bond...? From the beginning he was an uncontrollable killing machine, at the end he is more disciplined and the James Bond we know and love.
    There's no question that Bond went through character progession in QoS - that was a major point in the script, Bond evolving - but I guess we will have to wait and see exactly how "disciplined" the character has become in SF.
  • edited March 2012 Posts: 11,189
    Murdock wrote:
    There is no character progression in QOS. None whatsoever. And if there was it's buried in lame, pathetic writing.

    Bond...? From the beginning he was an uncontrollable killing machine, at the end he is more disciplined and the James Bond we know and love.

    Sounds a bit like the journey Bond made in CR ;)

    DC is being harsh on Quantum. As many of you know I'm not really a fan of that film but it does at least TRY to do something a bit different and doesn't have the usual "Bond get's the girl" stuff at the end.

    Some of the shots ARE impressive as Actonsteve said.

    My problem with the film is that it just isn't that much fun to watch. As a result you don't really feel that engaged with the story (at least I didn't). A lot of the supporting characters (mainly Dominic Green) feel underwhelming.

    It has its pretentions above its station aswell. Royale worked because, while it updated Bond, it kept the sense of fun escapism and (above all) had a full, complete narrative. Quantum felt "arty" in comparison.

    The action isn't as epic either. Most Bond films had one, distinctive chase sequence that everyone remembers. With Quantum it felt they were dotted around the film to fill gaps in the story. I suppose the Tosca sequence is the closest we've had to had but frankly its a scene I can take or leave. The boat chase to me still stands as one of the worst action sequence in any Bond film.

    I don't want to rant any further on an appreciation thread because I know a lot of people love that film. It's not the worst like DC says BUT it's always been underwelming to me.
  • Posts: 1,778
    There is no character progression in QOS. None whatsoever. And if there was it's buried in lame, pathetic writing.

    And yet you liked TMWTGG and DAF? :-?
  • SandySandy Somewhere in Europe
    Posts: 4,012
    I personally like QoS a lot. It has it's flaws, it's obvious, but still it is a great film. I watched it again 2 days ago and enjoyed it as much as ever. I like the fact that it is gloomy at times, it reminds me a bit of the cruel atmosphere in the Fleming books in opposite to the films. What I hate the most about it is how fast it goes, you almost don't have time to breath while you are watching it. Yet it is a great Bond-film in my opinion, in fact globally I prefer it to CR!
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited March 2012 Posts: 15,713
    There is no character progression in QOS. None whatsoever. And if there was it's buried in lame, pathetic writing.

    And yet you liked TMWTGG and DAF? :-?

    Because these 2 films are real Bond films. And they are very good Bond films too. There's nothing Bond in QOS. It's basicly a Statham actioner with Craig... and with the same level of character development you'd expect from a Statham film.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    There is no character progression in QOS. None whatsoever. And if there was it's buried in lame, pathetic writing.

    And yet you liked TMWTGG and DAF? :-?

    Because these 2 films are real Bond films. And they are very good Bond films too. There's nothing Bond in QOS. It's basicly a Statham actioner with Craig... and with the same level of character development you'd expect from a Statham film.

    I'm sorry, but I can't keep my tongue. One thing QoS has in a high degree that TMWTGG and DAF lack horribly is strong, emotional scenes where we actually see Bond tense and worried, ie. when he and Camille are trapped in the fire at the Eco hotel. TMWTGG has a great finisher of a battle with Scaramanga, but that is it for me. Moore is so unconvincing as a tough, hard as nails Bond. It is ironic that he gets Scaramanga by pretending to be a wax figure, because his performance was just like wax: stock still, never changing, and dull, just asking to be melted. Same with DAF, or as I like to call it "LOST OPPORTUNITY"! It should've been Laz in a great revenge film, but instead we get a horrible train wreck of a film that unfortunately had Sean on board during the crash. Tiffany is ridiculous and literally the stupidest and most useless Bond girl EVER. All she does is shout JAMES JAMES JAMES HELP JAMES, like Stacey. Tiffany is such a brainless dolt she puts back the right tape that Bond tried so hard to get rid of with a fake, she gets knocked back five feet from the freaking recoil of a gun off the rig, and she tries to save Bond at the end by throwing the cake but misses Wint and Kidd by five feet even when she is right by them!!! And to finish it, Blofeld doesn't die by Bond's hands, he just gets bashed in the rig's buildings until his pod explodes. No hand to hand battle or shootout with Bond, no note of Tracy at all, and what a waste of potential. Both films simply make me want to bash my head off the wall. Two horrible Bond films, two airhead Bond girls, two idiotic endings, and such lost potential between the two.
  • Posts: 1,778
    There is no character progression in QOS. None whatsoever. And if there was it's buried in lame, pathetic writing.

    And yet you liked TMWTGG and DAF? :-?

    Because these 2 films are real Bond films. And they are very good Bond films too. There's nothing Bond in QOS. It's basicly a Statham actioner with Craig... and with the same level of character development you'd expect from a Statham film.

    I understand everyone's entitled to their opinion's of what is good but that's a very bold claim to make. TMWTGG is considered by many to be one of the worst, if not the worst, Bond film. DAF isnt much higher. If you want badly written films than look no further than those two. And if "real Bond film" you mean cartoon than yes I guess you're right. But to me that's not a real Bond film.
  • edited March 2012 Posts: 11,189
    Golden Gun does have Christopher Lee - the king of awesomness ;)

    (after killing Hi Fat) "Mr Hi Fat's just resigned - I'm the chairman of the board"

    I'm not a big fan of that film but Lee is a huge asset.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,275
    There is no character progression in QOS. None whatsoever. And if there was it's buried in lame, pathetic writing.

    And yet you liked TMWTGG and DAF? :-?

    Because these 2 films are real Bond films. And they are very good Bond films too. There's nothing Bond in QOS. It's basicly a Statham actioner with Craig... and with the same level of character development you'd expect from a Statham film.

    I'm sorry, but I can't keep my tongue. One thing QoS has in a high degree that TMWTGG and DAF lack horribly is strong, emotional scenes where we actually see Bond tense and worried, ie. when he and Camille are trapped in the fire at the Eco hotel. TMWTGG has a great finisher of a battle with Scaramanga, but that is it for me. Moore is so unconvincing as a tough, hard as nails Bond. It is ironic that he gets Scaramanga by pretending to be a wax figure, because his performance was just like wax: stock still, never changing, and dull, just asking to be melted. Same with DAF, or as I like to call it "LOST OPPORTUNITY"! It should've been Laz in a great revenge film, but instead we get a horrible train wreck of a film that unfortunately had Sean on board during the crash. Tiffany is ridiculous and literally the stupidest and most useless Bond girl EVER. All she does is shout JAMES JAMES JAMES HELP JAMES, like Stacey. Tiffany is such a brainless dolt she puts back the right tape that Bond tried so hard to get rid of with a fake, she gets knocked back five feet from the freaking recoil of a gun off the rig, and she tries to save Bond at the end by throwing the cake but misses Wint and Kidd by five feet even when she is right by them!!! And to finish it, Blofeld doesn't die by Bond's hands, he just gets bashed in the rig's buildings until his pod explodes. No hand to hand battle or shootout with Bond, no note of Tracy at all, and what a waste of potential. Both films simply make me want to bash my head off the wall. Two horrible Bond films, two airhead Bond girls, two idiotic endings, and such lost potential between the two.

    I agree with you.

    I'd also add that the Scaramanga fun house scenes undermine the prowess of the character. If he's the best shooter in the world, he should have no problem with an actual duel.
  • edited March 2012 Posts: 1,778
    @0BradyM0Bondfanatic7. You pointed out alot of reasons why I rank DAF so low. It's simply insulting to the fan's intelligence that they expect us to simply forget everything that just happened in the previous film without so much as an explanation.

    And you neglected to mention just how bad Charles Gray is as Blofeld. As we really supposed to believe that he's the same powerful criminal mastermind we saw in the previous films? It's just one giant 2 hour slap in the face to the 6 awesome Bond films that proceeded it.
  • Posts: 11,189
    Here's a funny review of DAF:



    The "just a jump to the left" clip is hilarious. Plus, is it just me or does the man in the glasses standing next to Susan Sarandon look like a nerdier version of someone ;)

    Jill St. John is pretty bad. "MY GAAD! You just killed James Baand"
  • Posts: 1,492
    I adore Diamonds are Forever, I adore Quantum of Solace, I adore TMWTGG..

    What I have a problem with is people claiming that some films are not "pure Bond" or "proper Bond" because they do not meet with what they personally want in a Bond film.

    I dont like DAD much but I would never claim it is not a "proper Bond" film.
  • Posts: 1,778
    actonsteve wrote:
    I adore Diamonds are Forever, I adore Quantum of Solace, I adore TMWTGG..

    What I have a problem with is people claiming that some films are not "pure Bond" or "proper Bond" because they do not meet with what they personally want in a Bond film.

    I dont like DAD much but I would never claim it is not a "proper Bond" film.

    I see where you're coming from @actonsteve but IMO there are ways to do more comical Bond films and ways not to. DAF simply misses the mark. It's a Roger Moore film starring Sean Connery. The series was definatly going through an identity crisis that wouldn't be solved until TSWLM.
  • edited March 2012 Posts: 11,189
    For me Diamonds is just a bit dull. It starts ok but when they get into the desert the pacing really sags. It's the kind of film you have on the TV in the background on a Sunday afternoon but don't pay any real attention to it - at least IMO.

    There are some good lines though - such as "smelling like a tart's handkerchief"
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    edited September 2013 Posts: 28,694
    @0BradyM0Bondfanatic7. You pointed out alot of reasons why I rank DAF so low. It's simply insulting to the fan's intelligence that they expect us to simply forget everything that just happened in the previous film without so much as an explanation.

    And you neglected to mention just how bad Charles Gray is as Blofeld. As we really supposed to believe that he's the same powerful criminal mastermind we saw in the previous films? It's just one giant 2 hour slap in the face to the 6 awesome Bond films that proceeded it.
    I thought than one was self explanatory.
    =))
  • SandySandy Somewhere in Europe
    Posts: 4,012
    BAIN123 wrote:
    Here's a funny review of DAF:



    The "just a jump to the left" clip is hilarious. Plus, is it just me or does the man in the glasses standing next to Susan Sarandon look like a nerdier version of someone ;)

    Jill St. John is pretty bad. "MY GAAD! You just killed James Baand"

    I cryed myself to tears with that video, it's brilliant!!! =))
  • X3MSonicXX3MSonicX https://www.behance.net/gallery/86760163/Fa-Posteres-de-007-No-Time-To-Die
    Posts: 2,635
    This is my Favourite Bond movie after Goldeneye. The story's great, lot of action (not at Bond style, but stills worth) the scenes are very well directed.

    However - i know this is an APPRECIATION thread - the use of that 'Field' agent were like useless. She just made 3 scenes within 25 minutes. kinda rough, BUT i still loved Gemma's acting. I never heard of her before, and this first time made me think greatly about her. Same for Olga.
  • edited March 2012 Posts: 7,653
    QoS appriciation................... A turd might have feelings too.
  • Posts: 11,189
    SaintMark wrote:
    QoS appriciation................... A turd might have feelings too.

    A bit harsh Saint Mark
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,713
    There is no character progression in QOS. None whatsoever. And if there was it's buried in lame, pathetic writing.

    And yet you liked TMWTGG and DAF? :-?

    Because these 2 films are real Bond films. And they are very good Bond films too. There's nothing Bond in QOS. It's basicly a Statham actioner with Craig... and with the same level of character development you'd expect from a Statham film.

    I understand everyone's entitled to their opinion's of what is good but that's a very bold claim to make. TMWTGG is considered by many to be one of the worst, if not the worst, Bond film. DAF isnt much higher. If you want badly written films than look no further than those two. And if "real Bond film" you mean cartoon than yes I guess you're right. But to me that's not a real Bond film.

    Que ? DAF is the best written Bond film !!

  • edited March 2012 Posts: 11,189
    There is no character progression in QOS. None whatsoever. And if there was it's buried in lame, pathetic writing.

    And yet you liked TMWTGG and DAF? :-?

    Because these 2 films are real Bond films. And they are very good Bond films too. There's nothing Bond in QOS. It's basicly a Statham actioner with Craig... and with the same level of character development you'd expect from a Statham film.

    I understand everyone's entitled to their opinion's of what is good but that's a very bold claim to make. TMWTGG is considered by many to be one of the worst, if not the worst, Bond film. DAF isnt much higher. If you want badly written films than look no further than those two. And if "real Bond film" you mean cartoon than yes I guess you're right. But to me that's not a real Bond film.

    Que ? DAF is the best written Bond film !!

    Is it?? Shadey Tee opens a coffin literally a few seconds after we see it on fire in the furnise. I call that lazy writing.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited March 2012 Posts: 15,713
    Well the entire dialogue of DAF is full of classic quotable lines, and there's lots of cult classic scenes... apart from a few minor plotholes, DAF is the most memorable script in the franchise, thus IMO it's the best written Bond film. I think the DAF script is spectacular.
  • Posts: 11,189
    I did say there were some good memorable lines but after Majesty's its definitely a missed opportunity.
  • Posts: 3,327
    . I think the DAF script is spectacular.
    Of course you do.

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