James Bond Blogathon | My Least Favourite Bond Film

Thank you to Maddy for organising this Blogathon, give her blog a look if you are love films. I am a HUGE James Bond fan, having seen all the films, read the first 6 Ian Fleming novels, and I have visited the James Bond Exhibition at the London Film Museum, so when I seen Maddy’s Blogathon I was instantly thinking of what post I should do. Despite my love for the James Bond franchise, there are some films that don’t reach the heights of others, and one of those is Quantum of Solace.

Quantum of Solace (2008) ★★☆☆☆

Humpo Show Rating | 4.5

IMDb Rating: 6.6

Starring: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench, Giancarlo Giannini, Gemma Arterton, Jeffrey Wright, Joaquin Cosio

Director: Marc Forster

Plot Summary: James Bond descends into mystery as he tries to stop a mysterious organization from eliminating a country’s most valuable resource. All the while, he still tries to seek revenge over the death of his love. (IMDb)

This will read more as a rant, rather than a review I am afraid.

Most of the issues I have with Quantum of Solace are aimed at the director, Marc Forster, for the way he butchered this film on the editing table. There is no clearer example than the opening car chase scene which is shot and edited into approximately 692 camera angles! The short bursts of 1-2 seconds of different angles that follow the car chase makes it unwatchable and confusion given that we have no idea what the chase is about, who is chasing who, and where they are. This is ominous sign for things to come.

The Daniel Craig era of films has been a good one, and for many he is there favourite (he is certainly up there for me), but out of the films he has been in as our secret agent hero, Quantum of Solace pales in comparison to his others in a very stark manner. Casino Royale is my favourite and is the pinnacle in terms of Bond films in my opinion. It had a clear plot, a wonderful Bond girl, decent supporting characters, brilliant action, humour and a terrific villain. We went from Le Chiffre in Casino Royale, to whatshisname (Dominic Greene) in terms of villains, and that fact demonstrates the failings of QoS. Greene was not close to being menacing enough, and he is probably the most forgettable villain in modern Bond history. The Bond films are defined as much by their villains than by Bond himself. We have been treated to Dr. No, Auric Goldfinger, Ernst Blofeld and Le Chiffre. In each case, the film has been superb, and a part of that has to be down to the villian. Dominic Greene does not live up to the standard, and in effect, QoS suffers.

Next in the firing line is the plot . It is terribly unfocused and unnecessarily complicated. After every mad and messy action scene, the film becomes flat and it meanders aimlessly until the next batch of poorly edited action. Too many times Bond was verbally explaining what was going on, even when he was alone. Besides, QoS isn’t a Bond film. It is a Bourne film. He is hell-bent on revenge for Vesper and also to repair his damaged ego at the end of Casino Royale. Never has a Bond film been about revenge for such and such, it has been about uncovering a villain’s plan which is morally repugnant and either kills many or makes many infinitely poorer.

QoS does not have the James Bond magic that makes these films special.

Thanks again to Maddy for hosting this Blogathon 🙂 it has been fun! Go and check out the other responses to the James Bond Blogathon via the link!

The Humpo Show | Richard

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