The Daniel Craig Bonds...

[Warped9]

Recently had a chance to watch Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace near back-to-back and it gave me a chance to reflect, particularly with the likelihood of a new Bond film any time soon in question.

I really like Casino Royale. If not in detail I think they caught the sense of the original novel and I thought the film was well balanced throughout and hit just the right tone and sensibility. A big thumbs up for a huge step in the right direction in reviving the franchise and restoring my interest with 007.

Now Quantum Of Solace, not so much. I like the title and I think at the core was a decent enough story and a good followup idea, but in the end I felt like the story was just an excuse to hang protracted action sequences with way too much shaky cam for my liking.

After the smarts of Casino Royale it was as if the director wanted to dial things back to the Brosnan period of Bond films, the ones that previously drove me away from 007 on film.

If Craig returns (and I like Craig as Bond), or even someone else, I hope they return to the Casino Royale like sensibility.

 

[stonester1]

Agreed, though I did enjoy QoS more than you did.

 

[Warped9]

Agreed, though I did enjoy QoS more than you did.

There were parts I quite liked, but in the end it didn't feel like there was much to it.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

Casino Royale was a better film because it was much more of a character piece than Quantum of Solace. QoS decided it needed to replace legitimate story with mindless action -- and the result is that the franchise took a step backward. Craig is very good as Bond and he certainly deserves at least one more solid story before he's replaced with anyone else.

 

[Warped9]

Casino Royale was a better film because it was much more of a character piece than Quantum of Solace. QoS decided it needed to replace legitimate story with mindless action -- and the result is that the franchise took a step backward. Craig is very good as Bond and he certainly deserves at least one more solid story before he's replaced with anyone else.

Agreed. Even in QoS I thought he was good, but not used to good effect.

 

[Warped9]

Looks like good news: http://movies.ign.com/articles/112/1120350p1.html

 

[Greylock Crescent]

Good news for The Hobbit, too.

 

[saturn5]

I think the Craig Bonds were the closest to what Ian Fleming had in mind but right from the start the Bond films deliberately set out to soften what was really a pretty unlikeable character.
I thought Craig's Bonds were technically adroit but rather soulless

 

[Saga]

i was afraid that Craig's Bond legacy would end up like Dalton's. Dalton started off with a solid first film and had a second one that, while still fun, just wasn't as good.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

'Quantum of Solace' wasn't a bad film by any means, but it wasn't particularly good either, and was a major letdown after 'Casino Royale.'

The editing was shoddy, with the rare quieter moments seeming to serve only as a temporary bridge to the next chaotic and forgettable action sequence. There was not one action scene which even attempted to capture the uniqueness and brilliance of the parkour sequence from CR, nor a non-action scene that captured the drama of the poker tournament.

The villain was uninteresting and surrounded by even more uninteresting and un-intimidating henchmen. Uh oh, it's Bowl-Cut Man! I would have preferred to see more of Mr. White myself, since he seemed the smartest of the group at the Austrian opera house.

There was no compelling love interest, which is somewhat understandable given his grief over Vesper, but then they probably shouldn't have bothered with having him sleep with Ms. Fields either. The drama and fun from CR was in watching Vesper reject his advances and size him up before taking him down a notch. Fields requires nothing more than a subtle invitation into the bedroom five minutes after meeting Bond before sleeping with him, which while traditional for Bond films, was a disappointment for the Craig films.

They killed off both Mathis and Fields, who could have remained or became interesting returning characters and replacements for the type of banter you'd normally find between Bond and Q and Bond and Moneypenny, respectively.

A lot of scenes are extremely repetitious, such as the few times Bond kills a forgettable henchman only to have M get pissed at him for killing a potential lead. While Casino Royale was hardly a laugh riot, QoS didn't even live up to that level of humor, either.

If taken on its own, it would probably rate a little higher then it does with most people. But when it is inevitably stacked up against its predescessor, it suffers in the comparison.

 

[saturn5]

i was afraid that Craig's Bond legacy would end up like Dalton's. Dalton started off with a solid first film and had a second one that, while still fun, just wasn't as good.

At the risk of resembling the trio from Buffy I like Dalton and I thought Licence to Kill was his best, up there with For Your Eyes Only and From Russia with Love as the most realistic Bond film, Carey Lowell is GORGEOUS and a great heroine, Davi gives a great performance and of course Benico Del Toro's big break. Dalton is better than Craig because he has more humour and more humanity than him

 

[JarodRussell]

Watched CR and QoS back to back once, and it made QoS look really painfully bad. Even though I like how they both are connected (CR begins with that dirty and rough gunbarrel, and QoS ends with the traditional clean gunbarrel).

QoS should have had the same director. The action scenes would be enjoyable instead of annoying (what's with that fucking shaky cam?!?!).

 

[Nardpuncher]

If you liked the new Bond you should check out that new Star Trek!

 

[Warped9]

If you liked the new Bond you should check out that new Star Trek!

Loved Casino Royale.
Disappointed with Quantum Of Solace.
Cannot fucking stand one frame of film from ST09.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

Cannot fucking stand one frame of film from ST09.

Not even Uhura taking off her shirt?

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, Quantum of Solace almost feels as though it could of been a spinoff since it has such a different feel to it than Casino Royale. I was pretty disappointed by it after the greatness of Casino Royale, and I've even heard it compared to the Borne movies, and I have to agree. It's all in the style used, which seems to work against the Bond movies in nature. What I also noticed was that the movie lacked atmosphere. It felt very flat and stagnant.

 

[Warped9]

A lot compare QoS to the Bourne films, but I don't agree. I thought the Bourne trilogy had some substance to them. Indeed I really like the whole Bourne trilogy and I don't think QoS is anywhere near them in comparison.

The only real thing they have in common is the shaky cam, which is the one thing I could do without in the Bourne films particularly 2 and 3.

 

[bigdaddy]

Just because there are rumors of a new Bond doesn't mean it will happen.

I don't like Craig as Bond. He just doesn't feel / look right.

 

[Gaith]

The only real thing they have in common is the shaky cam, which is the one thing I could do without in the Bourne films particularly 2 and 3.

It was a bit overdone, aye, but it made some sense in that Bourne's mind is fractured, so fractured/jagged editing emphasizes that. In QoS, however, Bond's mind is maybe a bit confused, but certainly not broken in the way Bourne's is.

CR was kinda long in that the main story didn't really start until after the foiled Miami bombing, some forty minutes in, but was otherwise great.

Atrocious acting aside, QoS had two main problems:

- Bond takes the whole movie to realize that he might like a wee bit of vengeance on Vesper's account after all: nope, don't buy it. He could have been ambivalent about her motives yet still out for blood for her murder. This gives him an emotional arc, but it's a silly one.

- Speaking of silly, the notion of an international cabal of world leaders' aides is utterly lame, and destroys any of the real-world credibility the new films are otherwise trying to build.

 

[JarodRussell]

- Speaking of silly, the notion of an international cabal of world leaders' aides is utterly lame, and destroys any of the real-world credibility the new films are otherwise trying to build.

This is not what the new movies are trying to build. Just because they wanted to get away from invisible cars and space stations doesn't mean an organization similar to Spectre shouldn't be in it. World dominating, secretly acting supervillains are part of James Bond.