Quantum of Solace (Spoilers, Many Spoilers)

[BRC]

I just Saw it. My thoughts
The earlier recent bond films were essentially Bond blowing things up, Bond seducing attractive young women, and some annoying plot bits in between. Quantum gets rid of the seduction. The people I saw it with said "It's getting closer to the Bourne Identity, but Bourne did it better". The "Bond Identity" description is actually pretty good, However, Bond has a nice supporting cast, Felix and Mathis from Casino Royale show up again and have some respective moments of Niceness. Hot Bolivian Chick (Whose name I forget) had some pretty good scenes as well. However, those (Like me) who were hoping for another Casino Royale would be dissapointed. The plot, while it made some sense, seemed a little forced, with the Idiot Ball being passed around a good deal. The film started doing a nice job of wrapping up Casino Royale, then threw abunch of plot points at you, and promptly forgot about them. For example, Bond shoots the bodyguard of an adviser to the British PM, and discovers that said adviser is a member of the shadowy conspiracy. M (Who was great By the way) gets annoyed for five minutes, and then forgets about it. Though you can't really blame her, Bond was as useful as a brick,killing potential leads left and right, then not telling her the things he learned, and wanting her to trust him. Also, much of the plot was furthered by the Conspiracy's ability to do pretty much anything, however they wanted without fear. Also, this adrenaline train dosn't have a break, going straight through without the critical drops of humor that lightened up Casino Royale, Shakepeare put the Gravediggers in Hamlet for a reason. Anyway, the Highlights and Lowlights.

Best Action Scene: During the Opera. Flashing back between the fight and the opera was great. If I knew the Opera in question (I'm told it's recognizable as a real and somewhat famous opera), I could probably find more.

Saddest Moment: The Death of Mathis. He was cool, and they have him shot by some random mooks. He then dies in Bond's arms, and Bond throws him in a dumpster and takes his wallet.

Idiot Ball Moment: Bond randomly getting in the conspicuously shiny car with HBC (Hot Bolivian Chick). Then, after she learns that Greene tried to kill her, HBC immediately goes right back to him and it's treated if it was the sort of annoying yet lovable habit you see in a romantic comedy. "
"OOH! SHINY!" moment: Anytime MI6 pulled out their fancy touchscreen interfaces with their shiny graphics.
Stupidest Moment: The Scene with the Plane. Bond gets his hands on a rusty old cargo plane, is able to fly it around, use it to beat a fighter jet, though not before the jet hurts it bad enough that Bond and HBC need to jump out of the plane with only one parachute, losing and regaining their grip on one another, and then randomly pulling the chord only a few meters above the ground. Then landing roughly in a sort of hard-surface belly flop on rocks inside a massive sinkhole in the middle of the Bolivian desert. After this, the biggest problem is that HBC is cold down there. No Pancake-shaped agents, no broken bones, nothing more dangerous than a chill.

The People's Conclusion: It's a good movie if you like your adrenaline rush with a minimum amount of cheesy theatrics. However, if you want another Casino Royale, Quantum will not give you Solace (A Pun! How original!). Between the somewhat forgettable plot and blurring together action sequences, it's not going to make my top 10.

[thegurullamen]

Good review. I agree for the most part (the parachute thing still bugs me, but whatchagonna do?) This is still a great piece of storytelling and after years of BOOMBOOMMICHAELBAYFLICKSBOOM movies, this is just what I want in my films. I'll give it an A-/B+ and say "Good job, but let's get the plot a little closer to Casino Royale. Aw, the hell with it, these are the best Bond films ever. Keep up the good work. (hug)"

Or something less creepy.

[arguskos]

Basically, my thoughts run like so: it was "meh". Good action sequences, very fast-paced, but if you're looking for the trademark Bond wit, charm, and humor, look elsewhere. Not a bad thing necessarily, but not what I was expecting. I hope that the series takes a turn back towards the older style of wittier, more charming Bond films.

Final Grade: A for action, C for charm, D for wit. Overall, C+

[Verruckt]

I had to watch it twice to catch some of the sticking plot points, but once I did some of the dropped plot hooks clean up nicely. The "Conspiracy" is in fact the titular Quantum organization. The money Greene uses to pay off the General and Mathis' friend The Colonel is the money that White got from vesper at the end of Casino Royale. At the end of this film White and the PM's adviser are both conspicuously still alive, leaving a third movie in this sub-series a certainty. The opera is in fact real one called "Tosca", you can see the name written on a billboard as Bond enters the theater and White can be heard saying "Well they say Tosca isn't for everyone..." when Bond spooks the other members of Quantum into leaving. Supposedly the opera has some similar plot elements to both Quantum and Royale, although I can't verify this as the last time I saw Tosca I was around age 5. I really enjoyed the utter lack of stupid gadgets and any and all explosions felt well placed and purposeful. The opening car chase is a prime example. Bond's car seems to be up-armored a bit, but contains no rocket/spike/mortars/lasers/stealth systems, and none of his pursuers brought cars made of magnesium and percussion caps.

The beefs: I had to watch it twice to catch this stuff. It's not so much that the movie has dropped plot hooks as that the direction sacrifices clarity to keep up its frenetic pace. That chute drop bugs the hell out of me too and I hope it's simply an edit of a slightly longer scene. It is possible to B.A.S.E. jump into a sinkhole but those jumpers pop their chutes as soon as they drop in, not 10 feet up. The end was a bit sudden, although it did offer some nice closure on the Vesper end of things it would be nice to see a teaser of the continuing assault on Quantum, much like Bond's kneecapping of White with an UMP at the end of Royale.

Other Stuff: Why did he switch back to the pp7? Why does that oh-so-sexy UMP w/ a suppressor appear nowhere within the movie itself but all over the promotional material? When did Jack White start playing the drums better than Meg?

*looks back at own post* wow, I can be mouthy it seems. All in all I really enjoyed it. Not as good as Casino Royale, but it beats the hell out of some of the super kitsch late Roger Moore and Brosnan installments.

[Samurai Jill]

The People's Conclusion: It's a good movie if you like your adrenaline rush with a minimum amount of cheesy theatrics. However, if you want another Casino Royale, Quantum will not give you Solace (A Pun! How original!). Between the somewhat forgettable plot and blurring together action sequences, it's not going to make my top 10.
Ah, shoot. I was going to go see it too, but action sequences alone tend to tire me. And Royale had me all stoked too.

"Shaken or stirred?"
"Do I look like I give a damn."
Best. Line. In Bond Movie. Ever.

[Tom_Violence]

I really enjoyed it. I didn't find the plot that confusing, though I do admit it did feel a little all over the place at times. Yeah, the parachute thing is silly, but frankly stuff like that appears so very often in these sorts of films that I hardly bat an eyelid at it anymore. Sad, but c'est la vie. I agree that HBC going right back to the bloke that wants her killed was a bit jarring, to say the least. I'd probably have to watch the film again to find out if it makes sense with her overall aims (i.e. 'just get me within murdering range of the big fat rapist'), but then I can't help but feel that when you've got a globe-spanning conspiracy that can do whatever the hell it wants with impunity explanations become a little tricky as a matter of course.

It was definitely darker than Casino Royale, I felt, which is no bad thing in my book. Given that the other Bonds ran over the same silly ground so much that they eventually became pretty much a parody of themselves, culminating in that horror show that was Die Another Day, playing with the formula and mixing things around a bit seems like a good way to go.

[thegurullamen]

People bash Die Another Day a lot and I don't get it. Have these people seen the whole Bond catalog? DAD is no worse than Moonraker, Diamonds are Forever, Octopussy (which had the hilarious line with the Afghani rebels and airport security) or any other Roger Moore movie (how I hate that man...) At least DAD was entertaining, if, as PArcade put it, "brain poison". It's a far sight better than unentertaining brain poison. And this is why Nicholas cage is always going to be a better Hollywoodian than Michael Bay.
Nonetheless, thank God for Goldeneye, CR and now QoS.

[Deathslayer7]

I saw it earlier today, and the plot is confusing. somthing about revenge on a friends death, with lots of similar subplots inside (at least i think so).

Anyway, I particulary didn't like it. Too much happening at once. And it also lacked the witty humor i enjoyed in the old bond films. And charm.

Action was good, but that's not the reason i like james bond. Action you can get anywhere. The charm that is james bond was what i was really looking for. It lacked in this movie.

[Verruckt]

People bash Die Another Day a lot and I don't get it. Have these people seen the whole Bond catalog? DAD is no worse than Moonraker, Diamonds are Forever, Octopussy (which had the hilarious line with the Afghani rebels and airport security) or any other Roger Moore movie (how I hate that man...) At least DAD was entertaining, if, as PArcade put it, "brain poison". It's a far sight better than unentertaining brain poison. And this is why Nicholas cage is always going to be a better Hollywoodian than Michael Bay.
Nonetheless, thank God for Goldeneye, CR and now QoS.

While I couldn't agree with you more I think the reason DAD gets knocked so often is the self parody. Space Lasers? Gene Therapy? A horde of "Bond Cars"? Every other line is the name of another bond movie? A little self awareness is fine, but in DAD it gets so bad you half expect Brosnan to turn to the audience and knowingly wink at the hilarity of his situations.

[Mikeavelli]

Am I the only one that saw the name "Quantum of Solace" - and first thought everyone was talking about a new Castlevania game?

---

On topic, This movie wasn't so much the Bond Identity as it was classic bond channeling Marv from Sin City, he ran around killing people who knew a little bit more than he did until he figured out the whole story. All for one lousy dame.

[thegurullamen]

While I couldn't agree with you more I think the reason DAD gets knocked so often is the self parody. Space Lasers? Gene Therapy? A horde of "Bond Cars"? Every other line is the name of another bond movie? A little self awareness is fine, but in DAD it gets so bad you half expect Brosnan to turn to the audience and knowingly wink at the hilarity of his situations.

You mean like Roger Moore did on more than one occasion? Nothing short of one of the three original Casino Royale's (the one with Peter Sellers no less) will ever dislodge Moore as the worst Bond in my opinion.

And maybe it's just because it's been a while, but I don't remember it being that bad. I guess that means another viewing is in order.

And one more thing: I liked non-Moonraker space lasers, Bond's garage and gene therapy. They were overthetopstupid in every respect, but Bond had been that way since TND. Stealth Boat? War for ratings? Really? Oh, John Bondo, no. The one unforgiveable sin as far as DAD goes, though, is letting the villains spout one-liners as often as Bond did. Destroys the foil characterization thing.

EDIT: Just reread my post and it sounds a little hostile. Totally unintentional, so keep that in mind. Shades out. :smallcool:

[Verruckt]

You mean like Roger Moore did on more than one occasion? Nothing short of one of the three original Casino Royale's (the one with Peter Sellers no less) will ever dislodge Moore as the worst Bond in my opinion.

And maybe it's just because it's been a while, but I don't remember it being that bad. I guess that means another viewing is in order.

And one more thing: I liked non-Moonraker space lasers, Bond's garage and gene therapy. They were overthetopstupid in every respect, but Bond had been that way since TND. Stealth Boat? War for ratings? Really? Oh, John Bondo, no. The one unforgiveable sin as far as DAD goes, though, is letting the villains spout one-liners as often as Bond did. Destroys the foil characterization thing.

EDIT: Just reread my post and it sounds a little hostile. Totally unintentional, so keep that in mind. Shades out. :smallcool:

True true, (that Peter Sellers Bond was pretty funny in my opinion, but I was able to view it as such because it was distinctly non-canon) DAD is not worse, just bad. Madonna? really? The one high point of that movie was the intro song, which I rather enjoyed. It was better then some spoiled NK general's kid in a silly looking VR helmet getting thrown through a jet engine anyway.

Actually re-reading that it sounds pretty damn funny. I don't know, I might have the same problem here as I did with Seller's Royale. If it weren't trying to be a real Bond film I think I would have enjoyed it more.

[harrydresden]

I would be extremely depressed at this point, having not seen the movie yet and having looked forward to it for some time, but all the negative things I have heard seem to come from those who apparently don't enjoy Bond movies for the same reason I do...
What does separate Bond from Bourne after all? Random killing? Nope. High tech gadgets? No. Attractive female co-stars? No, has that too. Ability of the star to kick butt in daring fashion using every available instrument and look good doing it? Both have that.
The main difference that I enjoy (and this is most obviously personal opinion) is the witty banter that makes Bond, well, Bond. Bourne never wooed a woman with subtle language, as a matter of fact, about the closest he comes to a romantic line is "We have to get out of here." Bourne also never slips in a comic barb to an opponent, as a matter of fact he seldom speaks to them at all. It is those subtleties of the English language that seperate Bond from other similar characters.
Craig seems to have gotten the feel for Bond's irony in Casino Royale, and I suppose I will have to go watch Quantum of Solace for myself to discover if it has continued with his role.

P.S. Thanks for the tip on the parachute scene though, I will have to keep an eye out for cut material there.

[BRC]

I would be extremely depressed at this point, having not seen the movie yet and having looked forward to it for some time, but all the negative things I have heard seem to come from those who apparently don't enjoy Bond movies for the same reason I do...
What does separate Bond from Bourne after all? Random killing? Nope. High tech gadgets? No. Attractive female co-stars? No, has that too. Ability of the star to kick butt in daring fashion using every available instrument and look good doing it? Both have that.
The main difference that I enjoy (and this is most obviously personal opinion) is the witty banter that makes Bond, well, Bond. Bourne never wooed a woman with subtle language, as a matter of fact, about the closest he comes to a romantic line is "We have to get out of here." Bourne also never slips in a comic barb to an opponent, as a matter of fact he seldom speaks to them at all. It is those subtleties of the English language that seperate Bond from other similar characters.
Craig seems to have gotten the feel for Bond's irony in Casino Royale, and I suppose I will have to go watch Quantum of Solace for myself to discover if it has continued with his role.

P.S. Thanks for the tip on the parachute scene though, I will have to keep an eye out for cut material there.
I warned you about the spoilers. But yes, that is somthing this movie lacked. Bond's Characteristic wit and charm. In Casino Royale Craig was a darker, edgier bond, but he was still Bond, he made jokes. He occasionally said and did things that relieved the tension. in Quantum, they left out the lulz. The closest he gets is saying that a lead who he killed was "A dead end".

[Philistine]

I didn't see a "fighter jet" anywhere in the movie. I saw a prop-driven armed trainer. It's just barely possible than an experienced pilot in a lightly-loaded DC-3 might manage to fly an inexperienced pilot in a trainer aircraft into the ground. Of course, this leaves open the question of how Bond became an expert pilot of 70-year-old multi-engine aircraft... but hey, he's Bond James Bond. Even with the new reboot, a certain amount of license comes with the license to kill.

[Verruckt]

Yeah, here the "wooing" line is "I can't seem to find the, uhm... Stationary!" and the barb to the villain is the oh so cliche "You killed a friend of mine!" they both fit the movie, but they don't fit the standard Bond archetype. I know it sounds like I hate this movie, I really don't, I like it a lot. I'm just pointing somethings that irritated me and very little of the good. Theme song: Awesome. Action: Awesome. Plot (once you get past the pace) is Awesome.

[comicshorse]

I did like the movie but was really annoyed by the plane-parachuting bit and I found the fight between Bond and M's bodygaurd poor as well being so blurred and chopped up that I often couldn't tell who was hitting who.
Though I was less annoyed by HBC returning to Greene just after he'd tried to have her killed when it was revealed she was packing a concealed automatic.
Good Points: Judi Dench was excellent as M ( and I did like Bond's comment when HBC asked if the woman close to Bond Greene had tried to kill was his mother and he replied " she thinks so")
Felix was good and matched Bond bard for barb in the bar.
Ms Fields was gorgeous and charming as a Bond girl and had me wondering extensively about what she was wearing under her rain coat.

[Muz]

Ms Fields was gorgeous and charming as a Bond girl and had me wondering extensively about what she was wearing under her rain coat.

Then I wasn't the only one who wondered that. :smallwink: And, according to the credits, her first name is "Strawberry." So at least there's SOME element of old-style naming in there. They just didn't have the guts to actually put it in the movie.

I liked Felix better in CR, though. In QoS it looked like someone set his acting switch to "glower - :smallmad:" and broke it off.
:smallsmile:

[Jimorian]

Overall I liked it, but it wasn't as solid as Casino Royale.

I was ok with the plane/parachute silliness, but it's the hotel that made me :smallconfused:

I didn't realize that "hydrogen fuel celled" power systems meant that you had to have pressurized containers of hydrogen in each room. And if an auto accident in your parking garage causes your entire building to 'splode, you have the Worst. Safety. System. Ever.

[Philistine]

I didn't realize that "hydrogen fuel celled" power systems meant that you had to have pressurized containers of hydrogen in each room. And if an auto accident in your parking garage causes your entire building to 'splode, you have the Worst. Safety. System. Ever.

Oh, golly. Is THAT what that was supposed to be? I must have missed something, because I had no idea why the building was going up in a series of explosions; I figured the justification was weak, but I didn't realize it would be that bad. That's much sillier than Bond flying the other pilot into the ground.

[Muz]

I think it was designed by the same folks who make the fuses for Starfleet bridge consoles. :smallwink:

[Klose_the_Sith]

I really enjoyed it. I didn't find the plot that confusing, though I do admit it did feel a little all over the place at times. Yeah, the parachute thing is silly, but frankly stuff like that appears so very often in these sorts of films that I hardly bat an eyelid at it anymore. Sad, but c'est la vie. I agree that HBC going right back to the bloke that wants her killed was a bit jarring, to say the least. I'd probably have to watch the film again to find out if it makes sense with her overall aims (i.e. 'just get me within murdering range of the big fat rapist'), but then I can't help but feel that when you've got a globe-spanning conspiracy that can do whatever the hell it wants with impunity explanations become a little tricky as a matter of course.

It was definitely darker than Casino Royale, I felt, which is no bad thing in my book. Given that the other Bonds ran over the same silly ground so much that they eventually became pretty much a parody of themselves, culminating in that horror show that was Die Another Day, playing with the formula and mixing things around a bit seems like a good way to go.

I was gonna write something, but this has already captured my opinion exactly.

I had this after the first time I'd seen it. Since then I have seen it again, and my third time is next week.

[Irenaeus]

Basically, my thoughts run like so: it was "meh". Good action sequences, very fast-paced, but if you're looking for the trademark Bond wit, charm, and humor, look elsewhere.I'm very much not looking for those thing, so I might give this one a try.

[Project_Mayhem]

It's nice to see that I'm not the only one who liked it. None of my mates irl rated it higher than barely watchable, and most hated it.

I've really been feeling like Butters in that recent Indiana Jones South Park Episode. - 'But I liked the Crystal Skull'

[Moff Chumley]

The action bits were quite awesome.

[Da'Shain]

I enjoyed myself with this movie a lot, although I agree that it was no Casino Royale. Still, I think it has one of the best scenes in any Bond film near the end:
When Bond attempts to kiss Hot Bolivian Chick whose name I also can't remember goodbye ... and she gives him a look that basically says "Uh, thanks, but I don't like you like that" and gets out of the car and probably out of Bond's life forever.
Really drove home how alone Bond feels, in my book.

The shoutout to Goldfinger also made my day. And is Quantum the new SPECTRE? It seemed that way to me.

[SurlySeraph]

@^: Ayup. I'm slightly annoyed that they're calling it "Quantum" and not, oh, SPECTRE, but I suppose they have to have a modern cool-sounding name.

I dunno. The conclusion of the plot seemed to be "Go watch the next movie so you can find out what the plot was!" They didn't give you the slightest hint of what Bond learned from questioning Greene, there were lots of plot threads that went nowhere, and it was just generally confusing.
The action sequences didn't seem as good as usual to me. The knife fight was pretty good, as was the escape from the hotel. But in most of the sequences, there was way too much jump-cutting - you couldn't get an overall picture of what was going on.


Oh, golly. Is THAT what that was supposed to be? I must have missed something, because I had no idea why the building was going up in a series of explosions; I figured the justification was weak, but I didn't realize it would be that bad. That's much sillier than Bond flying the other pilot into the ground.

Hey, at least they explained why the villain's base exploded. In most Bond movies they don't even do that much.

[Mewtarthio]

Oh, golly. Is THAT what that was supposed to be? I must have missed something, because I had no idea why the building was going up in a series of explosions; I figured the justification was weak, but I didn't realize it would be that bad. That's much sillier than Bond flying the other pilot into the ground.

First you people complain that it doesn't feel like a Bond film, then you start complaining about the gratuitous explosions? :tongue:

I agree that the movie's main problem was a lack of wit and charm from Bond, but frankly I'd rather the movie be too serious than for them to err on the side of Roger Moore. Since the revenge plot's over and done with, I've got high hopes that Craig's next film will finally nail the classic Bond.

Side note: Is Camille the first Bond girl to not have sex with Bond? While we're at it, is she also the first Bond girl to get a more dramatic fight scene at the climax then Bond himself?

[Gavin Sage]

I'd point out that its fairly evident that Quantum is an organization full of Smug Snakes and (possibly but not yet) Magnificient Bastards who are all very rich and run a series of Xanatos Gambits/Roulettes to manipulate the world to their own ends. Figured that out as soon as I heard the idea. So I guess I understood the movie going into things.

Oh but whether Quantum wants anything other then to be even more filthy rich I havent' figured out. Possibly world domination via capitalist sumpremacy (and xanatos plots) focusing on resource control since the Russian owned mines in Siberia and Greene was looking to tie up large masses of water.

Now then to review. I like the movie, I felt content seeing it twice when the opportunity came up and did not find a diminishing return. If anything it wore a little better the second time around. However while I feel that Casino Royale channelled the Connery era (Dr No and From Russia in particular) very well and this in particular is what made it succeed. Quantum of Solace largely abandoned subtlety in favor of action, every five minute fight scene could have been used to better effect advancing the plot.

I in particular did not like the most effect driven parts. Obvious CGI of Bond smashing through a glass roof, UGH. Downing the plane was good, parachuting from ten feet into a sink hole, UGH. A hotel blowing up in ten minutes because its run by fuel cells, do I smell reasearch failure? UGH. Also how the hell did Green get out of there so fast, was Bond making out with Bolivian chick in the corner for fifteen minutes or something?

Overall these are fairly small issues but they are the sort of thing that Casino Royale managed to avoid. Solace doesn't do anything to diminish the momentum Royale created (I think anyways) but it doesn't really add to the story. I can only hope that Solace is not a trendsetter (or we are sliding backwards) for the next few movies, because otherwise Daniel Craig is ripe for potential to be the undisputed best Bond ever.

(On a final note so help me I swear that Dominic Greene and his toupee'd bodyguard could have been played by Steve Buschemi and Quentin Tarantino respectively. Though no n-bombs were dropped so it couldn't have been Tarantino....)

[Philistine]

First you people complain that it doesn't feel like a Bond film, then you start complaining about the gratuitous explosions? :tongue:

I agree that the movie's main problem was a lack of wit and charm from Bond, but frankly I'd rather the movie be too serious than for them to err on the side of Roger Moore. Since the revenge plot's over and done with, I've got high hopes that Craig's next film will finally nail the classic Bond.

Side note: Is Camille the first Bond girl to not have sex with Bond? While we're at it, is she also the first Bond girl to get a more dramatic fight scene at the climax then Bond himself?

That wasn't my complaint. I was quite happy to see the Bond films take a more serious turn, without the corn, the cheese, and the camp that have infested the series over the past couple of decades. I thought "it doesn't feel like a Bond film" was actually a selling point, because up until Casino Royale, the Bond films felt like they were on the path to Inspector Gadget-land.

Also, I thought the "non-witty Bond" phenomenon was justified by QoS being set right on the heels of Vesper Lynd's betrayal and death. Few people are at their most charming immediately after losing a loved one. Not to say I don't look forward to seeing Bond return to form - but in this movie, I don't think it would have fit.

[Project_Mayhem]

@^: Ayup. I'm slightly annoyed that they're calling it "Quantum" and not, oh, SPECTRE, but I suppose they have to have a modern cool-sounding name.

SMERSH > SPECTRE

[Fin]

Stupidest Moment: When Bond interrupts the conference call going on at the opera and inexplicably all but one of the gang stand up! Why did they do that. The whole reason they were having the conversation that way was that even if someone was listening in, they wouldn't have been able to tell who was talking. They may as well have put their hands on their heads and lay face down on the floor!

[Dispozition]

I was quite disappointed by Quantam of Solace...I'll admit to not having seen the remake of Casino Royal, so I didn't know where the new bonds were heading. I, for one, quite miss the outrageous gadgets, corny one liners and other various Bond trademarks that seem to have been dwindling since Golden Eye (my favourite Bond movie, btw). All in all, QoS was subpar in my opinion.

Crowning moment of wtf was the fact that Bond, although wielding a sub machine gun in near all the promotions, only fired one, possible two, bursts from an automatic weapon in the whole movie. Just irritates me...

Crowning moment of 'I hate this movie'...The parachute. What the smeg? You all know what I'm talking about.

Last, but not least, the fact that the 'turn and shoot down the bad guy's gun barrel' thing was the last scene and not the first is just...Blah. It's what defines Bond movies, and the fact that it's always first is for a reason. Making it last just seems...wrong.

All in all, 6/10 from me. Not horrible, but I wouldn't see it again.

[potatocubed]

Finally got around to seeing it last weekend. My thoughts, in no particular order, are these:

1. Worst Bond theme ever. :smallyuk:

2. The plot more or less made sense to me.

2a. Although yes, a lot of very stupid decisions were made by people. Not only was the hotel powered by a hydrogen fuel cell in each room (WTF?) but it was situated in the middle of the desert, nowhere near anything. The only business they must get is, like, supervillain conventions or something.

2b. "Hey, someone's hacked our super-secret cellphones. Let's all stand up!"
"Do you think we should do a little dance, too?"
"I'm Spartacus!"

3. There was humour in it, although not as much as in Casino Royale because it lacked the comedy gold interplay between Bond and Vesper. I rather liked the line "We're teachers on sabbatical. And we've just won the lottery."

4. The dialogue felt a lot like it was written by two people who didn't talk to each other. Ever. Overall the movie was all grim and dark and cynical, then there was the occasional line or flash of something else, like it was added afterwards. If my 'two writers' theory is true, then that would also explain the dangling plot threads.

4a. What the hell was with the Evil American? (Felix's boss.) He had terrible lines, badly delivered. I mean... ugh. Get that man out of my film. Also, Felix did nothing but glower, which is a waste of an interesting character and an actor who hasn't had a real chance to strut his stuff yet.

5. I think a lot of the problems QoS has are a direct result of it following Casino Royale. Not in terms of plot, but because Casino Royale was a really good film. QoS had a lot to live up to, and basically failed.

[Joran]

Did anyone else think that as James Bond and HBC were cowering in the corner with HBC of the flaming room whispering "Not like this" and Bond cocking his gun, that Bond was going to shoot her to spare her the fiery death? No matter that he just burst into the scene moments ago, without being hurt at all by the fire. It just seemed like a pretty tone-deaf moment among others in the movie.

P.S. My student class president in college Freshman year was actually named James Bond. He had no middle name and he introduced himself in his first speech as "yes, my name is Bond, James Bond".

P.P.S. In Thai, James Bond is called "soon soon jed", which is basically 007 in Thai. Of course, my poor pronunciation transforms it into "zoom zoom jet", and it's so fun to say that I use it about half the time now to refer to Bond ;)

Props to the OP for coining HBC :)

[Da'Shain]

Did anyone else think that as James Bond and HBC were cowering in the corner with HBC of the flaming room whispering "Not like this" and Bond cocking his gun, that Bond was going to shoot her to spare her the fiery death? No matter that he just burst into the scene moments ago, without being hurt at all by the fire. It just seemed like a pretty tone-deaf moment among others in the movie.HBC's backstory was that the ex-dictator of Bolivia killed her father, raped her mother and then burned her house down with her still in it, while she was a child. So HBC was understandably not keen on dying in a fire, or fire in general.

Bond had just burst into the scene, but right as he burst in part of the structure conveniently collapsed and trapped them in there, with solid things on fire all around them. There really wasn't a way out even if Bond could use his "not get burned for a second or two" power.

[Joran]

HBC's backstory was that the ex-dictator of Bolivia killed her father, raped her mother and then burned her house down with her still in it, while she was a child. So HBC was understandably not keen on dying in a fire, or fire in general.

Bond had just burst into the scene, but right as he burst in part of the structure conveniently collapsed and trapped them in there, with solid things on fire all around them. There really wasn't a way out even if Bond could use his "not get burned for a second or two" power.

Right, but James Bond does not give up. He seems to have given up right then. Even when trapped by a villain's overlying complex method of offing him, he finds a way out. He found a way out, but it wasn't because he was looking for it, just that he was lucky.

[Project_Mayhem]

1. Worst Bond theme ever.

No Way!

Not only do I like it, you can't ignore how crap most of the others were. Is it really worse than die another day?

[Gavin Sage]

Stupidest Moment: When Bond interrupts the conference call going on at the opera and inexplicably all but one of the gang stand up! Why did they do that. The whole reason they were having the conversation that way was that even if someone was listening in, they wouldn't have been able to tell who was talking. They may as well have put their hands on their heads and lay face down on the floor!

Actually this is smarter then it appears on first go round.

See in an exposed location when threatened by an unknown source you have to assume you are already in their sights, otherwise they wouldn't have made such a bold move in the first place. And in that case the last thing you want to do is sit there assuming they don't know who you are. We as the viewers know that Bond doesn't know crap, but they as the secretive and paranoid evil baddies can't know what we know because they don't know the whole situation.

Then focus that through the need to get out of a public place without attracting attention from the public at large and you are left with.... getting up and moving calmly away.

I've just experienced Fridge Brilliance for the first time.

[Mewtarthio]

That wasn't my complaint. I was quite happy to see the Bond films take a more serious turn, without the corn, the cheese, and the camp that have infested the series over the past couple of decades. I thought "it doesn't feel like a Bond film" was actually a selling point, because up until Casino Royale, the Bond films felt like they were on the path to Inspector Gadget-land.

Also, I thought the "non-witty Bond" phenomenon was justified by QoS being set right on the heels of Vesper Lynd's betrayal and death. Few people are at their most charming immediately after losing a loved one. Not to say I don't look forward to seeing Bond return to form - but in this movie, I don't think it would have fit.

I actually agree with everything here. I'd just add that, while the lack of wit and charm is justified, it's still noticable. That's why I've got high hopes for Craig's third movie: Bond's no longer as green as Casino Royale and he's probably not as grimdark as Quantum of Solace.


1. Worst Bond theme ever. :smallyuk:

Really? I hear that comment a lot, and I don't understand it. I'll admit that it wasn't very good, but do you honestly think it's worse than "All Time High," "Moonraker," and "Die Another Day"?

*Peppy pop music was not meant to be played over scenes of torture! :smallfurious:

[Muz]

NOTHING is worse than "All Time High."

...Except perhaps "Underneath the Mango Tree," but that wasn't in the opening credits. :smallsmile:

[lin_fusan]

Actually this is smarter then it appears on first go round.

See in an exposed location when threatened by an unknown source you have to assume you are already in their sights, otherwise they wouldn't have made such a bold move in the first place.

I read it that way too. The fact that Bond was bluffing in order to suss them out, as well as the passing comment from the one Quantum member who remained seated (which was something to the effect of "Some people don't have the nerve for this business.") made me read this as more of Bond tricking them into exposing themselves than bad-guy stupidity.

Now, the fact that you would hold a super-secret meeting in not only a public place but where there would be so much singing as to be hard to hear, is a different gripe I have with the whole scene... :smalltongue:

[Gavin Sage]

I read it that way too. The fact that Bond was bluffing in order to suss them out, as well as the passing comment from the one Quantum member who remained seated (which was something to the effect of "Some people don't have the nerve for this business.") made me read this as more of Bond tricking them into exposing themselves than bad-guy stupidity.

Now, the fact that you would hold a super-secret meeting in not only a public place but where there would be so much singing as to be hard to hear, is a different gripe I have with the whole scene... :smalltongue:

I also noticed that it was White that remain seated, the only one that could possibly know Bonds voice.

The setup for the scene though does bother me more though. Of course aside from the technical problems its not a bad place to meet given the relative insecurity of electronic communication making close contact preferable, yet security making face to face contact less optimal. The real issue is merely technological, but thats not a particularly unbelieveable gadget.

I have more issue with MI6 and their magical touch screen computers personally. It looked dumb and a little too cleanly high tech, not to mention stolen from Iron Man.

[Eldpollard]

I haven't seen the film, but I couldn't understand the title. The quantum of solace. The title just made me think of quantum physics and by extension I thought up "The loneliest Quark"

[Mewtarthio]

A quantum is simply a discrete amount. The title could also be read as "A Measure of Peace," but that doesn't sound as cool. Plus "Quantum of Solace" is the title of an Ian Fleming short story.

[Dervag]

Now, the fact that you would hold a super-secret meeting in not only a public place but where there would be so much singing as to be hard to hear, is a different gripe I have with the whole scene... :smalltongue:The point is that they can murmur what they have to say quietly, possibly using concealable microphones. And hear it clearly because it's transmitted to earbuds. Which, naturally, are wedged in their ears.

Meanwhile, the singing covers the sound of their hushed voices, allowing them to meet in a public place and converse without being overheard, even by specialized surveillance tools. The only way for anyone to overhear the whole conversation is to have access to their earbud network.

They'd have better security if they all met in a private secure location. But if they met in a private secure location then anyone who is tracking any of them (as Bond is tracking Greene) will automatically be able to identify them all with little or no trouble. This way, they're just a few rich and powerful people among the many hundreds of such at the opera.

It's not the best possible decision, maybe, but it's not truly dumb.
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I have more issue with MI6 and their magical touch screen computers personally. It looked dumb and a little too cleanly high tech, not to mention stolen from Iron Man.We're getting to the point where that is actually a plausible technology. You could build screens like that. And it would have some advantages, like letting you lay out lots of images on a monitor the size of a projection screen in such a way that everyone can see it.

You're right that it's kind of over the top, but I don't think it's too bad. Moreover, I'm pretty sure that this movie was in the making well before Iron Man came out, so I doubt they got the idea from Iron Man directly.
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A quantum is simply a discrete amount. The title could also be read as "A Measure of Peace," but that doesn't sound as cool. Plus "Quantum of Solace" is the title of an Ian Fleming short story.Moreover, a quantum is (in science terms) the smallest possible discrete amount of something.

So it's some solace (comfort, peace), but only a very little.

Which, I think, fits in with the theme. Is Bond able to lay some of his ghosts to rest? Yes. How successful has he really been at doing so? Hard to say, since Bond makes a big point of being implacable.

[Callos_DeTerran]

I can't help but say...did anyone else just feel tired after watching this? :smalltongue: Several of my friends said that, watching Craig go through QoS made THEM tired. I also found it a little funny that Bond seems to have acquired UNSTOPPABLE BOND RAGE!

In any case it's my current theory that the third movie really will pick up right after this one. Thus proving the Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and whatever the third is called are actually one hug movie chopped into smaller pieces. If so that'd mean that QoS is supposed to be the rising action part of the plot. Casino Royale established Craig-Bond, the other characters and hints at Quantum, QoS has the majority of the action and gives hints as to WHAT Quantum is after, while the third will have more plot then action and explain the how and the stopping of the how by Bond.

[CyberKat04]

I saw this movie as being a modern day version of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" AKA the movie starring George Lazenby, the Bond nobody remembers. Both deal very heavily with the loss of someone Bond dearly loved/cared about; both deal with the beginning of the end of sorts for a major evil empire (Quantum/Spectre), both are totally about revenge at any cost, and both set you up for the next movie.

In the end, it wasn't a horrible movie, but it wasn't brilliant. Coming out, I felt like the movie just was a set up for the next film in the series. I'm afraid, once everything is said and done, it will become a forgotten Bond movie, much like "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".

[Mewtarthio]

Personally, I saw it as closer to License to Kill.