Tuesday, October 5, 2021

Quantum Of Solace

Well this was mixed at best.



I think right now, at this current moment in time, this is my least favorite James Bond film. But it's surprisingly difficult to explain why. I don't think the story itself is horrible, the cast do fine work and treat it seriously, the action scenes are still well choreographed and have some punch, I really enjoy the dynamic between Bond and M, Mathis, and Camille. So there is undoubtedly positive elements in this movie, but the script itself and more importantly just the execution of the scenes are what really drags this film down. And I know I shouldn't bash the movie's script too hard, it was a horrible year to make movies from 2007 to 2008 because there was a writer strike, so many movies and shows either had to be stalled for an unforseeable amount of time or kind of had to be made up as it went along. This case was the latter, and I can't even begin to imagine filming on set, on a day to day basis, and have no damn clue what will happen next. But again, it's not a total f***ing omnishambles of a dumpster fire disaster. The story picks up like, right off the heels of Casino Royale which has happened a grand total of 0 times in this series to have such flawless continuity, where MI6 has unwittingly discovered an entire organization that has seeped into every government agency that leads Bond on a very long trail, leading him to a philanthropist connected to the organization. It's a very busy plot, a lot of in's, a lot of out's, a lot of what have you's, and it doesn't help at all that the script is very cobbled together and the shooting is worse. I've not to my knowledge seen Mark Forster's work beyond this, so for all I know he could have something going for him, but I hated the editing, and shooting, and even the cinematography isn't all that great. I found it very distracting cause we keep bouncing back and forth between important plot stuff and nothing short of "artistic" wanking trying desperately to be allegorical but comes off hamfisted and irrelevant. We get it. You went to a film class. Stick to the important shit. It wouldn't surprise me for a microsecond if there are videos solely to deconstruct this filming style. It makes me yearn for jump cuts, rubbish back projections, and sped up footage from the Connery era. Now you might be saying well it's a different Bond film because we focus more on his character than the mission so it can be more artsy and different. You'd be wrong though. And an idiot. We've had movies before that focus on Bond himself while still focusing on the mission. On Her Majesty's Secret Service, For Your Eyes Only, Goldeneye, Casino Royale. Don't even try it. The best parts are really the relationships as I've said with our side characters. The fact that Bond goes after our main villain because they tried to kill M, and how their working relationship is strained at the moment because Bond is still a blunt instrument at this phase and M doesn't agree with how he operates is really good stuff. How we get Mathis back which leads to the best relationship building in the entire damn movie, where you can tell they don't hold grudges for each other after Casino Royale but they don't exactly trust one another, yet they work together on thin ice and genuinely have one of the best moments in this whole bloody series where Mathis asks if they've forgiven each other and how they shouldn't hold grudges or seek vengeance. For a brief moment I legit got choked up, cause it is so incredibly sincere and you see that respect and care they have for one another. It's a really short scene but speaks volumes. And I really do appreciate Olga Kurylenko's performance, they share one kiss and that is it, no romance, no end love scene, they meet as sort of kindered spirits with both having the urge to seek revenge on people who lead to the deaths of people they cared about. And they do help each other find that quantum of solace in their lives, I mean that is amazing character dynamics, that is such a great idea for a film, Craig and Kurylenko's chemistry is excellent. It almost enrages me that there is such good things in this movie but it gets bogged down by the story and direction. It even has one of the best endings to any movie in this series, like I'm serious this is right up there with OHMSS, that is how good it is. Cause most Bond movies end with a celebratory aardvarking session, which is all fine and good but then you get endings that actually give you something to remember. Something that sticks out, something that pops, something that you won't forget. It's such a strong ending for an ultimately average movie. That sucks, I've been having a pretty good time with these movies and have been very positive in my ratings but this just gave me hardly anything. 2 stars, 5/10, Skyfall's next so thank your lucky stars and join me tomorrow.

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