With the imminent release of Skyfall, pretty much every article or review that gushes its praise includes the phrase “…after the disappointing Quantum of Solace…” and frankly, I’m getting sick of it.
Since day one I’ve championed Quantum of Solace, and I reckon it’s a fantastic addition to the series- it deserves more credit than it gets- much more. I’m not saying it’s the best in the series- it’s not, but it’s better than a lot of the other entries (can you really say it’s worse than Die Another Day or A View To A Kill?). I’m proud to say I like the title, and I love the idea of Quantum buying up as much of the water supply as they can- it’s a dash of science-fiction that makes me desperate for Craig to face them in Bond 24. I like pretty much everything about the film.
So, hopefully I can persuade you to give QoS another shot before sitting down to Skyfall.
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8 Comments
As any epilogue to Casino, it works well enough, but I still think it lacks scope and a decent punch. It seems like the episode of a TV show.
You’ve got to be joking. One of the worst mainstream films ever made. Like watching the rushes to an unfinished Cannon Film with Chuck Norris. And Craig is easily the worst Bond. A monosyllabic block of wood who looks awful.
i think mr. greg plays one of the best 007s we have had in years , he is very professional no matter what he plays and i just loved him in casino royale ~~~~~~ keith taylor
Loved the editing. Thought it made the film feel like a fantasy. The scene where he enlists Mathis ends with a particularly affecting cut. These almost classic fades and rests like an opera.
The action was most definitely a focal point of the film but it worked. It wasn’t the best Bond by a stretch but the idea of making a continuation of the Vesper Lynd storyline was never going to be many people’s cup of tea – including Daniel Craig who expressed his joy at moving on from it for Skyfall. A nice homage and a worthy effort to try to bring people around to QoS though, well done!
A different view:
http://hmssweblog.wordpress.com/2011/05/08/quantum-of-solace-a-reappraisal/
I didn’t like ‘QoS’ when I first saw it, but it really grows on you, and now I like it a great deal, albeit with a few criticisms. It shouldn’t be seen as a Bond film in it’s own right, but rather an extended coda to it’s predecessor, and a very good one at that. Now granted, the hyper-kinetic editing is at times a little too jarring (the opening foot chase through the crowd, the opera shootout), it could have done with another few minutes of character beats sprinkled throughout it’s running time to balance out the relentless action, and they should have included the original filmed ending (albeit played more conclusively) in the final cut, but other than that, it’s a darn good action film, and it will get a deserved reappraisal in years to come similar to what’s happened with George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton…
The name of the DoP for ‘Quantum of Solace’ was Roberto Schaefer, and his cinematography was gorgeous on that film, as it was also on Forster’s highly underrated ‘Machine Gun Preacher’… it would be great if Schaefer was DoP on the upcoming ’24′ movie, the stylized-yet-realistic look of his films would be perfect for Jack Bauer’s big-screen debut, in my opinion.