So, one year on!, Quantum of Solace! Options

[Mharkin]

I can't believe it's been a year since we all lost our Quantum of Solace virginity. Hell, doesn't time fly!?

I remember it like it was yesterday. I saw it on the 1st November 2008, at the 2:00pm showing. I couldn't see it on October 31st, because I was at a Halloween Party on the night. I went as the Joker.

I loved Quantum when I first saw it. There's nothing like sitting down in the cinema after anticipating a movie for months and months. On November 1st 2009, Bond was back! At least for me anyway!

Too bad it didn't last, well.... It did. But subsequent viewings wasn't as good as the first showing. It's the same for any move really!



EDIT: Could a mod please change the title to 'One Year On!', Just incase i'm criticized on something else.

[Mharkin]

So guys, when was the first time you saw Quantum of Solace, and how did you feel?

[The Shark]

Obviously I wasn't here (I was back at MI6) this time last year, at the run up to Quantum, but still it was a pretty intense time. Particularly the release of the theatrical trailer in September, that was a pretty amazing event. A rare case of the trailer being even better than the film.

[Mharkin]

God, yes. That theatrical trailer was amazing man. I remember when I first saw it as well. It was in spanish, I got hold of it at school, from CBn in fact.

Such an amazing feeling isn't it, when you see new footage from a Bond movie!

[Mr. Blofeld]

I saw it with a friend in late November '08; it was a reeeeaaal experience at the theatre.

[bond 16.05.72]

I saw it on the 31st October day of release, I enjoyed it definitely but didn't feel the same way I had about Royale nearly 2 years earlier.

Having watched it on Blu ray at the weekend I very much enjoyed it and found it was served better bookending Casino Royale.

[Mharkin]

Interesting isn't it. Blu Ray really makes you appreciate the film more.

[The Dove]

Loved it then when it came out in the theatre...One year on and my feelings about Quantum haven't changed one bit... I STILL LOVE IT!

[Mharkin]

It's brilliant to hear that you can still remain faithful to your original viewings, Dove.

I tend to toss and turn at every opportunity.

[bond 16.05.72]

Interesting isn't it. Blu Ray really makes you appreciate the film more.

You're right, I have come to appreciate that PTS so much more, when I watched it on DVD it seemed too fast but watching it on BR I could follow it and appreciate it so much more

I've now come to think of it as one of the best PTS of the series and that opening sweep across the lake is easily one of the best opening shots of any Bond film.

Having viewed it properly on blu ray all the way through, I'd just watched the PTS a couple times before that I found it was only the sink hole sequence that doesn't cut it for me and maybe all the dripping taps and peasants sequence jars me a little but QOS is a damned good Bond film in my view.

This post has been edited by bond 16.05.72: 22 October 2009 - 22:04

[Matt_13]

Have to say my viewing of Casino Royale was far more memorable, but seeing Quantum for the first time was a great experience. Makes me excited about the prospect of another one.

[HH007]

I went to the special midnight screening, I was really excited, and honestly, after the first viewing, I was pretty disappointed. After CR my expectations were REALLY high, and I felt really let down by QoS. I hated the way the action scenes were cut, I thought Camille was a non-entity, and that Dominic Greene was an underwritten villain. Now, I care about none of those things. The movie gets better and better every time I see it, and now it's one of my faves. The action scenes are still cut way to quickly for my tastes, but I've learned to live with that. Now, I find it a very worthy follow up to CR and for the rest of my days I'll have to watch them back to back. But when I first went to see QoS, I found it disappointing.

[sthgilyadgnivile...]

I couldn't get to see it until after Christmas (I was very busy) and when I did the surround sound broke after the PTS in the cinema. Since watched on BR and it's great. Going to watch it again on BR in the Christmas holidays. Like the film very much and feel the series quality was very much maintained after CR.

[Loomis]

Too bad it didn't last, well.... It did. But subsequent viewings wasn't as good as the first showing. It's the same for any move really!

Erm, no, it isn't. Plenty of movies get better with subsequent viewings. Heck, some of my favourite films are films I didn't even like the first time I saw them. Sometimes it takes a couple of viewings to "get" a film. Some films need to "sink in". I wasn't 100% sold on CASINO ROYALE the first time I saw it, but by my third theatrical viewing I knew that it was a masterpiece. Many viewings later, it continues to hold up.

Alas, QUANTUM OF SOLACE loses more charm every time I watch it, although I wouldn't go as far as to say that I dislike it.

[Eric Stromberg]

Saw it opening night in downtown San Francisco and loved it. Had to text friends immediately afterwards, something like "Bond's handlers are taking some chances with him and I like it!"

It's not like CR, though, with regard to multiple viewings. I never get tired of CR but QoS is just not that way for me. I watch it about every six months.

[Loomis]

I almost wish QUANTUM OF SOLACE had been Craig's first Bond film and CASINO ROYALE his second (which would have been possible with surprisingly minor tweaks to those films' scripts).

Had QUANTUM been his debut, I'd have been all over it. Rookie agent James Bond, on his first major mission as a Double-O, is sent to Haiti to investigate a possible dastardly organisation after his botched capture and interrogation of a Mr White in Italy. In Austria, 007 ends up killing a member of Special Branch, causing M to remark that she knew it was too early to promote him. In Bolivia, our hero meets prickly CIA agent Felix Leiter. And so on.

And then you'd have CASINO ROYALE as the EMPIRE STRIKES BACK-ish followup with a dark and shocking ending. This order works better for me not only because I consider CASINO ROYALE a far superior film to QUANTUM OF SOLACE, much richer in characterisation and substance, but also because QUANTUM OF SOLACE is a lean, mean bullet of a film as opposed to the more epic CASINO ROYALE. It's the DR. NO to CASINO ROYALE's THUNDERBALL.

As it stands, I see QUANTUM OF SOLACE as the unsatisfactory "bridging" film between CASINO ROYALE and BOND 23, in which - presumably - Bond's origin story arc and also the story of Quantum will come to an end. I wish QUANTUM were the start of the Craig Bond saga as opposed to the comparatively thin sequel to the mighty CASINO ROYALE. I think it'd play better that way.

[DaveBond21]

As usual, it was a bit later for us here in Australia. We had to wait until the end of November.

I remember seeing it first on a Wednesday afternoon, but the following day was better, because I saw it at the old Ritz cinema in Randwick as part of a red carpet Charity Screening. There was a helicopter and Aston Martin outside the front of the cinema, and inside, we drank champagne and auctioned off a signed QOS poster (signed by Marc Forster).

[Mr. Somerset]

Saw it opening night with a group of friends, and although I feel CR was the stronger film, had more fun with Quantum opening night than any Bond film in years. Loved every frame (though the gunbarrel
should have opened the film !)

[jaguar007]

I saw QoS at a midnight showing on opening day right after a 9PM screening of CR. For me, QoS got alot better with subsequent viewings, but it was that double feature that made me realize that CR is perhaps the best Bond movie ever made (rivaling FRWL).

[Tybre]

QoS...I don't remember much to be honest. I went on Nov 15, day after opening (rarely ever go opening night), and remember thinking it was odd that the theatre was void of everyone but my then-girlfriend and myself. I mean, I'd never been to the theatre for a Bond movie before, but...empty? I was a bit underwhelmed with it upon first viewing. Did I love it tremendously? Yes. And when friends tried to complain about it later, I staunchly stood up for it, but I didn't walk out of it feeling blown away. It really took multiple viewings for me to fall in love with it, and I've found it works infinitely better watching CR-QoS back to back than just seeing it in the theatre two years after the last one and only vaguely remembering the events of the last film (one must bear in mind I didn't really become fanatical until post-QoS).

/end mush

[Bucky]

i saw it at the midnight showing on november 14 with a couple of friends. it was a great experience and i loved it even more because i had no idea what to expect. leading up to the movie i had removed myself from cbn and had avoided any trailers, tv spots, and news whenever possible.

i saw a couple of shots of the film in tv spots like a shot from the car chase and one of bond sitting on the boat and the only news i knew was that olga was the bond girl, alicia keys was doing the song, the possible length (i saw one site list it at the correct length and another list it as over 2 hours), that it was a direct sequel, and the director and writers. beyond that i was ignorant about the story and the rest of the characters.

it made for a real treat as i really loved the film as i think it is one of the most unique bond films in the series. i enjoyed it even more on subsequent viewings and it has probably become one of my most watched bond films. some of my friends also loved the movie while others did not like it as much. it has really been a polarizing film but it is one that i am glad that we have and will continue to enjoy.

[Stuart]

I saw it with my old friend at the 12:01 showing on opening morning here in the States.

We've gone on the first day to each Bond film since GE.

It was great fun as this was our first midnight showing. I've grown to appreciate this movie more with each viewing.

[Turn]

It's kind of sad looking back in that it's always such a rush for Bond fans when a new film debuts, the hype and excitement and all that comes with it. It's almost like the holiday season.

And a year later we have no news on a new film, the series may be out to pasture again and just (mostly) positive memories.

Too bad it didn't last, well.... It did. But subsequent viewings wasn't as good as the first showing. It's the same for any move really!

Erm, no, it isn't. Plenty of movies get better with subsequent viewings. Heck, some of my favourite films are films I didn't even like the first time I saw them. Sometimes it takes a couple of viewings to "get" a film. Some films need to "sink in". I wasn't 100% sold on CASINO ROYALE the first time I saw it, but by my third theatrical viewing I knew that it was a masterpiece. Many viewings later, it continues to hold up.

Agreed, Loomis. I can point out Blade Runner as one of my prime examples of a movie I wasn't thrilled with early on but grew to like more and more. Twenty some years ago, FRWL and DN would have been near the bottom of my list of favorite Bond films, and now they rank near the top of the list.

I don't buy into that Pauline Kael line of only seeing a film once and basing one ultimate opinion on it from that single viewing.

[Qwerty]

I look back fondly at seeing the film for the first time. One can never judge just how good or bad a new Bond film is on the first couple viewings, but this one has definitely held up as a winner over time.

Equally as memorable is the seemingly nonstop overflow of news articles we had to keep up with on the main page. Insanely busy, but fun nonetheless.

EDIT: Could a mod please change the title to 'One Year On!', Just incase i'm criticized on something else.

Done.

[blueman]

Saw it opening night in a packed theatre, very satisfying. Went back again and again, I remember liking CR a lot, Craig was dynamite and the love story was awesome, but QOS touched a nerve or something, was just drawn to it. Very glad EON hired Forster to make this film, very curious what they do next with Bond/Craig.

[Tarl_Cabot]

my first viewing was comprimised by the negative reaction of fans, critics. I took me a while to enjoy the film because I was waiting for the Jinx high dive or the parasurfing scene equivilent to torpedo the film. The worst thing is the skydiving moment but it doesn't come close the DAD's blunders. I loved QOS then and love it even more after many viewings.

[sharpshooter]

I saw Quantum of Solace at an advance screening, a few days before the general Australian release. I liked what I saw initially, but it all came together after subsequent viewings. While I think Casino Royale is better, Quantum of Solace is a splendid Bond film and one I find myself watching often. It's a short and sharp ride that fills in a two hour gap nicely.

[Peckinpah1976]

One year on I've developed a rather unhealthy obsession with this film - I saw it twice at the cinema and loved it both times but since owning the blu-ray I've watched it again and again, each viewing a renewed pleasure; I find the style, atmosphere and performances completely intoxicating but most of all I love the ideas behind it, no previous Bond movie has made me think this much whilst I'm watching (ok and the fighting's cool too...). Whilst CR is great, to me that movie was a refinement of the existing Bond-Movie formula; throwing out some of the excess bagagage but still working within the same comfortable format as most previous entries, QOS on the other hand is concerned with being a good movie first and a Bond Movie second and to me that's the approach that they should have been taking all along but saddly has been lacking since FRWL.

Bond 23 needs to get a move on....

This post has been edited by Peckinpah1976: 23 October 2009 - 07:04

[Safari Suit]

Although the idea of "losing my Quantum of Solace virginity" conjurs up very unpleasant images, my actual experience of seing QOS for the first time was a delight. It was just far more exciting and fun than I expected it to be. We even went for a nice meal afterwards. I was one of the few here who actually prefered QOS to CR, and nearly a year later I still do! Maybe it helps that I've only seen it twice, I don't know.

[The Ghost Who Wa...]

I left the theatre deeply dissapointed after seeing QoS. Action sequences of varying quality, a story that didn't engage me much, and very little of the notable "Fleming-moments" that was such a major thing for me in Casino Royale.

Tremendoudsly enjoyed it second time around on DVD, third time too, but still it is a letdown from Casino Royale no matter how I try to look at it. Bring on Bond 23.