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

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  • AceHoleAceHole Belgium, via Britain
    edited October 2021 Posts: 1,727
    Venutius wrote: »
    For myself CR and QOS are one Craig era and the other Craig's are another.
    100%. They definitely backtracked and gave up a lot of what they'd created in 2006-08. Big, big shame.

    Agree wholeheartedly. Babs and MickyG just don't have the long-term vision to create a proper arc for James Bond over multiple productions.

    Which is yet another reason (as if we needed additional ones X_X...) that they should be getting back to basics and having 1-film-missions without Jungian-case-studies for a while, until the (hopefully) new creative team has gotten into their groove.
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,985
    I remember how deflated I felt when I heard they were bringing back Q for SF. What a regressive decision to make for a series that was on the right track to be a new more serious James Bond. But back all the needless baggage came...
  • slide_99slide_99 USA
    edited October 2021 Posts: 645
    QOS is the only Bond movie in the entire series that has a legitimate sense of unpredictability and paranoia to it, which is curious for a spy franchise. I credit Marc Forster's direction with this. He said he was inspired by 70s thrillers like The Parallax View, and it shows. He re-contextualizes Bond not as a movie hero, but as an operator who's on his own and just barely managing to survive the situations he's in until he figures out what's going on and manages to bring the fight to the villains in the end. It's the only Bond movie where 007 feels like a real person living in our everyday world, like someone you could pass on the street without knowing who he is.
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,985
    slide_99 wrote: »
    QOS is the only Bond movie in the entire series that has a legitimate sense of unpredictability and paranoia to it, which is curious for a spy franchise. I credit Marc Forster's direction with this. He said he was inspired by 70s thrillers like The Parallax View, and it shows. He re-contextualizes Bond not as a movie hero, but as an operator who's on his own and just barely managing to survive the situations he's in until he figures out what's going on and manages to bring the fight to the villains in the end. It's the only Bond movie where 007 feels like a real person living in our everyday world, like someone you could pass on the street without knowing who he is.

    Agreed.
    It was the last Bond film where he was operating mainly on his own. No scooby gang or gadgets. Brilliant film. Craig is a force of nature in it. David Arnold's score is amazing and far superior to anything since.

    This and CR are my most watched Bond films.
  • Posts: 1,314
    I just rewatched it for the first time in years. It’s a beautiful but confusing mess where character motivations are non existent or poorly explained and defined. Basically 90 minutes of emptiness that looks good.

    I still do not understand Camille and greenes relationship at all.

    Bond barely has any dialogue for the first 25 minutes. We’re just left to try to piece together one action scene after another.

    At no point does it clearly link Greene to vesper to why bond should care about the Tierra project.

  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    Posts: 2,866
    It was the last Bond film where he was operating mainly on his own. No scooby gang or gadgets. Brilliant film. Craig is a force of nature in it. David Arnold's score is amazing and far superior to anything since. This and CR are my most watched Bond films.
    Again, 100%. I really, really (that's 'really'!) wanted more films like this.
    I remember how deflated I felt when I heard they were bringing back Q for SF. What a regressive decision to make for a series that was on the right track to be a new more serious James Bond. But back all the needless baggage came...
    Same. My heart sank a bit, I have to 'fess. To be fair, if they were going to have a new Q, Wishaw was a great choice. But I didn't see the need - they'd hit the motherlode with CR and QOS and there was a rich seam still left to mine. Such a shame they left it untapped.

  • Junglist_1985Junglist_1985 Los Angeles
    Posts: 1,006


    Refreshing to see the guys react quite positively about QOS.
  • Posts: 526
    Wow! What an awesome thread! Just been reading through it. My 2nd favorite movie of all-time.
  • Posts: 526
    Venutius wrote: »
    For myself CR and QOS are one Craig era and the other Craig's are another.
    100%. They definitely backtracked and gave up a lot of what they'd created in 2006-08. Big, big shame.

    Yes it is. One of the great “what if’s” ever. If only they could have kept the QOS and CR Bond on track. Skyfall you start to see some of the silliness come back (Mooreesque-Komodo Dragon scene-the facials, ugh). Spectre, wow. When the helicopter goes upside down it’s like the goofy Moore scene with car and the bridge, or the pigeon double take. I’m like, “what the he**?” But, when he falls on the couch, that was worse probably. And Mickey Mouse. It was like a snowball started in Skyfall, and by Spectre, it was enormous. Won’t even start on NTTD. We needed a completely serious Bond series. I guess that was too much to ask. But for me, the films after CR and WOS gradually declined on likability.
  • slide_99slide_99 USA
    Posts: 645
    Matt007 wrote: »
    I just rewatched it for the first time in years. It’s a beautiful but confusing mess where character motivations are non existent or poorly explained and defined. Basically 90 minutes of emptiness that looks good.

    I still do not understand Camille and greenes relationship at all.

    Bond barely has any dialogue for the first 25 minutes. We’re just left to try to piece together one action scene after another.

    At no point does it clearly link Greene to vesper to why bond should care about the Tierra project.

    Camille was romancing Greene to get to General Medrano, the guy who killed her family.

    Bond cared because he was trying to bring down the people who were behind the events of CR. The stuff with LeChiffre was only the tip of the iceberg.
  • Posts: 526
    When Bond goes into the hotel where M is, doesn’t the note say, “Run”? Who sent that?
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    Posts: 13,877
    When Bond goes into the hotel where M is, doesn’t the note say, “Run”? Who sent that?
    His "wife" Fields left the note.
  • Posts: 526
    QBranch wrote: »
    When Bond goes into the hotel where M is, doesn’t the note say, “Run”? Who sent that?
    His "wife" Fields left the note.
    Ahh, never did figure that out! So she knew that M was coming to the hotel ?
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    Posts: 13,877
    QBranch wrote: »
    When Bond goes into the hotel where M is, doesn’t the note say, “Run”? Who sent that?
    His "wife" Fields left the note.
    Ahh, never did figure that out! So she knew that M was coming to the hotel ?
    Yeah, I would say she discovered the CIA would be after him.
  • Posts: 526
    QBranch wrote: »
    QBranch wrote: »
    When Bond goes into the hotel where M is, doesn’t the note say, “Run”? Who sent that?
    His "wife" Fields left the note.
    Ahh, never did figure that out! So she knew that M was coming to the hotel ?
    Yeah, I would say she discovered the CIA would be after him.

    Thanks! That always evaded me for some reason.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited October 2021 Posts: 2,866
    One of the great “what if’s” ever. If only they could have kept the QOS and CR Bond on track. Skyfall you start to see some of the silliness come back (Mooreesque-Komodo Dragon scene-the facials, ugh). Spectre, wow... It was like a snowball started in Skyfall, and by Spectre, it was enormous. Won’t even start on NTTD. We needed a completely serious Bond series. I guess that was too much to ask. But for me, the films after CR and WOS gradually declined on likability.
    Agreed, totally. I guess EON panicked after critics decided to give QOS a kicking, but I also got the impression that Mendes was largely unaware of why CR and QOS were so great and wanted to tick off some of his Bond wishlist, whether it was appropriate to the new era or not. I think Fukunaga's done the same thing, too. 'One of the great what ifs', absolutely.
  • Posts: 526
    Venutius wrote: »
    One of the great “what if’s” ever. If only they could have kept the QOS and CR Bond on track. Skyfall you start to see some of the silliness come back (Mooreesque-Komodo Dragon scene-the facials, ugh). Spectre, wow... It was like a snowball started in Skyfall, and by Spectre, it was enormous. Won’t even start on NTTD. We needed a completely serious Bond series. I guess that was too much to ask. But for me, the films after CR and WOS gradually declined on likability.
    Agreed, totally. I guess EON panicked after critics decided to give QOS a kicking, but I also got the impression that Mendes was largely unaware of why CR and QOS were so great and wanted to tick off some of his Bond wishlist, whether it was appropriate to the new era or not. I think Fukunaga's done the same thing, too. 'One of the great what ifs', absolutely.

    Yes they did. And it was a terrible mistake.
  • Posts: 526
    Another question. Does the ending deleted scene of Mr. White and Haines dying exist? Not sure if that’s exactly how it went, but I’ve read about it. If so, is it in any special blu-rays etc? I would love to see this.
  • For myself CR and QOS are one Craig era and the other Craig's are another.

    I agree with this. CR and QoS are tonally aligned. The last 3 feel very different especially SP and NTTD.
  • slide_99 wrote: »
    Matt007 wrote: »
    I just rewatched it for the first time in years. It’s a beautiful but confusing mess where character motivations are non existent or poorly explained and defined. Basically 90 minutes of emptiness that looks good.

    I still do not understand Camille and greenes relationship at all.

    Bond barely has any dialogue for the first 25 minutes. We’re just left to try to piece together one action scene after another.

    At no point does it clearly link Greene to vesper to why bond should care about the Tierra project.

    Camille was romancing Greene to get to General Medrano, the guy who killed her family.

    Bond cared because he was trying to bring down the people who were behind the events of CR. The stuff with LeChiffre was only the tip of the iceberg.
    Exactly. Bond was chasing up on leads initiated by the discovery of Mitchell working for Mr White who of course was working with LeChiffre and was outed by Vesper herself. Mitchell had a series of tagged bills that MI6 had planted into LeChiffre's laundering activities in which "Slate" had a whole stack of. Bond follows up on this, meets with "Slate" who tries to kill Bond which then, complete with briefcase leads Bond to Camille who in turn leads to Greene.
  • Posts: 372
    There's one thing that drag QOS down, (apart the awful editing), it's that in no way do I believe the guy at the end was smart enough to dupe Vesper into betraying Bond (or just dupe Vesper at all). He seemed more suited to the woman he was found with, but in no way this look like the mythical boyfriend we were told about.
  • Posts: 14,786
    Stamper wrote: »
    There's one thing that drag QOS down, (apart the awful editing), it's that in no way do I believe the guy at the end was smart enough to dupe Vesper into betraying Bond (or just dupe Vesper at all). He seemed more suited to the woman he was found with, but in no way this look like the mythical boyfriend we were told about.

    We barely saw him operating though. And also, he probably adapt his method to his victim.
  • Is it in any special blu-rays etc?
    Unfortunately not. We know the scene exits because it has been shot and probably edited in an early cut. But it never has been released.
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    Posts: 13,877
    To my knowledge there is but one photo of White sitting in a chair pointing a gun.
  • edited October 2021 Posts: 526
    What a shame. Maybe someday right? I’d pre-order that disc set.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    QBranch wrote: »
    To my knowledge there is but one photo of White sitting in a chair pointing a gun.

    BTS footage. It’s included in this video. Plus some outtakes from the QOS video game.

  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited October 2021 Posts: 2,866
    Yes, Forster said it was all filmed and there's that bit of behind the scenes footage of Jesper and Forster prepping the scene. When Bond entered the room and shot Mr. White, Haines said 'Who the hell are you?', Bond told him by delivering the famous line and then Bond shooting Haines turned into the gunbarrel at the end. Still wish they'd gone with this!
  • Posts: 14,786
    Venutius wrote: »
    Yes, Forster said it was all filmed and there's that bit of behind the scenes footage of Jesper and Forster prepping the scene. When Bond entered the room and shot Mr. White, Haines said 'Who the hell are you?', Bond told him by delivering the famous line and then Bond shooting Haines turned into the gunbarrel at the end. Still wish they'd gone with this!
    It would have looked too much like a carbon copy of the ending of CR. Beside, shouldn't Guy Haines, of all people in Quantum, know who Bond is?
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited October 2021 Posts: 2,866
    That's precisely why Forster cut it - he said it felt like a re-tread. But yes, presumably Haines was the one behind the manoeuvering for the govt minister to put pressure on M, so of course he'd know who Bond was! Good catch, Ludovico.
  • Posts: 526
    Venutius wrote: »
    Yes, Forster said it was all filmed and there's that bit of behind the scenes footage of Jesper and Forster prepping the scene. When Bond entered the room and shot Mr. White, Haines said 'Who the hell are you?', Bond told him by delivering the famous line and then Bond shooting Haines turned into the gunbarrel at the end. Still wish they'd gone with this!

    Oh my God!! That would have been spectacular! Can you imagine how this could have changed the Craig Bonds for the better? I did not know this. Has there been any talk of putting this on a Blu Ray or 4K edition?
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