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Quantum of Solace - Grading & Discussion

Grade the movie...

  • Total voters
    139
As a standalone Bond movie, Quantum of Solace lacks a lot of stuff including Bond gadgets (and Q), Bond stunts, and a good Bond villain.

However, I believe QoS is still a very good installment of James Bond when viewed as the middle chapter of a story arc that started in Casino Royale. This time, Bond Girl Camille actually serves an important plot point rather than being just a simple sex object. Through her, Bond finally gets over his feelings for Vesper and has finally taken on the full mantel of James Bond. Putting the signature gun barrel at the end was very fitting.

The villain this time, Dominic Greene, is yet another "small fry" villain like Le Chiffre in CR. I can only hope that both Le Chiffre and Dominic Green are merely the Quantum's lower echelon of villain-bosses and as Bond uncovers more of Quantum's core operations, we get to meet better Bond adversaries.
 
I went with above average, they continued the realism of Casino Royale but they upped the action and violence of that movie, the action was dizzying at times but I'm still curious about Quantum. And I liked the little nod to Goldfinger.
 
Tom Servo said:
So a bit off topic...but to anyone who saw it already, was there a Trek XI trailer attached to it?
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YES!!!!!

Looked better than I thought it would. We'll see what happens.

I agree with the posters about Bond's rage. Of course he wasn't showing a huge range of emotions--he was only feeling one, rage. Leading to revenge.

Overall, I enjoyed the film. I wasn't expecting Shakespeare, just to be entertained and move the storyline along.

As for Quantum staying such a mystery--well how could one movie go from "We don't know anything about them, even that they existed" to "Yeah, here's the dirt on Quantum, this is what they're about, who're members, what they're doing and where they're doing it"?

It needs build up.

As for Bond/M--very nice attachment is shown. He says she acts like she sometimes thinks she his mother. And he dotes on her, in his way. And part of his reason for going (besides Vesper) is because "they tried to kill a friend of mine." M, I assume. But she worries about him, worries she's lost him to his rage. His line to her at the end, that he had "never left" was a nice touch: Reassurance that he's still there and that he's past his rage. Reproachment for doubting him in the first place.

I figured the reason Bond let the b/f live was because slow torture for info has got to be worse than a quick death at Bond's hands.
 
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I just got back from seeing "Quantum of Solace" and I enjoyed it immensely. Not as much as I enjoyed Craig's first go in "Casino Royale".... but it was still worth seeing.

There were a few little burps and things that bugged me. For one, if Fields was an office worker of sorts, then why send her into the field to bring in Bond whom they believe has gone rogue?

As a bad guy... Dominic Greene was only okay. He didn't seem to have enough malevolence to him for a villain worth fearing.

Now... what I liked were the little touches. Craig seemed to convey the little nuances in facial expression. The touch of seeing Vesper's necklace left in the snow may have been obvious, but I still liked it as an indication that Bond was ready to move on, finally. Closing the film with the traditional Bond theme and iris effect... man I was a bit worried we wouldn't see it.!

I'm sure there's more I'm not thinking of at the moment, and after reading through the thread I will. But I liked the movie and will definitely get it on DVD when it comes out.
 
Have to agree with the critics on this one. There was lots of great looking action-- and some really stylish and well-edited set pieces-- but the story was so thin and flimsy it was hard to really CARE about any of it.

The movie was also sorely lacking a sense of fun and wit. And the villain was completely forgettable too.
 
^I agree. It looked good, but there was almost no story. I can barely even tell you what the plot was about.
 
I will be quick , so I can exorcise this film from my mind.

The Good: Danial Craig, Judi Dench, and Jeffrey Wright are excellent.

The Bad:Terribly directed, and terribly written.

The Ugly: All that great Casino Royale build up wasted on some bizarre Roman Polanski pun? Really?!?
 
Also, it's a bit more meta, but Greene's M.O. was broadly similar to Goldfinger's scheme. Get a bunch of a resource, and then boost demand for it through villainy.
 
Hugely disappointing, muddled mess of a movie that thinks it needs to out-Bourne Bourne. And enough with the shaky camera work already!

I hope they rehire the creative people from Casino Royale for the next one.
 
Some of the editing and directing decisions are counterintuitive, but I don't think the writing is that bad, especially in comparison to GoldenEye or Die Another Day.
 
It was emotionally similar to Bourne Supremacy, where the plot of both films are driven by the character's rage and desperate need for answers. And they both have similar scenes, the quiet moment in a Russian apartment.

That said, I hated that the car chase was filmed like a Bourne movie, as well as the chase for Mitchell. I do love a lot of the fight choreography, Craig is awesome with the stunts. My favorite is probably when he smacked the handlebars of the Haitian's bike and stole it. I liked Camille, didn't care for Strawberry Fields, in that she was unnecessary and the actress wasn't very good. Greene wasn't much of an imposing villain.

Don't get me wrong I really enjoyed the film. While CR was better, this is still a good sign that Bond films are getting smarter. It was basically what Licence to Kill failed to be. I felt like we had to go on this journey because I was a huge fan of Vesper Lynd but I'm ready for the next one to show a Bond that enjoys his work and has fun. I just hope they don't go overboard.

And my theater didn't show the Trek trailer :(
 
Just got back from it. Y'know... I liked it. Not as good as Casino Royale, but I still liked it. I agree with most of your points, Slim. The comparison to Bourne Supremacy is accurate (even down to the "SLOW THE FUCK DOWN ALREADY!" action sequence editing :lol:) Yeah the villain was weak, but I like that they're back to having a SPECTRE-like organization and Bond's taking down their lackeys one at a time! And yeah, this was definitely Licence to Kill done right!
 
David cgc said:
Also, it's a bit more meta, but Greene's M.O. was broadly similar to Goldfinger's scheme. Get a bunch of a resource, and then boost demand for it through villainy.
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If you compare Quantum of Solace with Goldfinger side-by-side, it would appear as though the overall quality of EON produced 007 films have taken a huge nosedive in the last 44 years.

How can a billion-dollar franchise and a well-oiled machine produce...

It is inexcusable. :borg:

Which is why I give this film a grade of "F" for the script and the lackluster direction.

Marc Forster is a good director when it comes to dramas, but considering how close he shot all of the action sequences and the way he failed to connect the audience emotionally to the surroundings, the atmosphere, and the events surrounding the characters in this plot driven film with barely a plot...words escape me.

This is just dreadful, and would be utterly forgettable if not for the fact that it is an official canon film in the EON produced 007 franchise.
 
Marc Forster is a good director when it comes to dramas, but considering how close he shot all of the action sequences and the way he failed to connect the audience emotionally to the surroundings, the atmosphere, and the events surrounding the characters in this plot driven film with barely a plot...words escape me.
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Reading his background, I have no idea why this guy was given the reigns for the Bond film.
 
Barbara Broccoli says that Camille could come back.

When asked if new Bond girl Olga Kurylenko could return, Barbara confirmed there was a strong possibility.

She told Heart: “I think she’s a spectacular actress and she’s done an amazing job in this movie. She blew us away.”

“We would certainly love to have her back. If it’s not in the next movie, then certainly in the future.”
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Source
 
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