Yes. I think the Bourne comparison has become a lazy shorthand for people to describe confusing action editing... and it's in some of that slightly confusing action that the comparison is valid. I mean, the action was directed by the same guy, it's inevitable really. But I think that's where the similarities end. This feels like Bond through and through. There's one particular kill, where Bond stabs a guy, and then sort of twists his arm and pins him down, and seems to be taking his pulse, and just waits for him to die... well, it was a cracking moment... and maybe it was Bourne influenced, but it feels totally Bond to me. And overall, the film is glamourous and exotic in a way that Bourne definitely isn't.Hey Zod, couple of oddball questions from me (I think everything else has been just about covered!)-
1) The Bourne comparison thing is driving me nuts - personally, I don't believe that "driven hero + fast editing + naturalistic environments = Bourne" like some tend to, but it's obvious that Quantum sort of leans more in the direction of those qualities. From the clips I've seen, the film still seems to absolutely reek (in a good way) of Bond iconography and feeling. Did you find that was the case?
I have to hold my hands up here and answer: "Dunno"2) Might be tough to remember - how was the soundtrack mixing? CR's was great, the right parts of the music could be heard at all the right time's, but DAD's was absolutely atrocious, I found (sound FX always overshadowed Arnold's work). From what you remember, did the score play well behind the movie?
I can't talk with authority in this area. The only times I really noticed the music were in some of the smaller moments, where Bond would be driving at night or something, and the music was very low key and atmospheric and just tonal... and I found myself thinking "well, this is classy, not used to this in a Bond film".Great question. I think the answer is yes. Repeat viewings might make the film slightly easier to follow, but I don't think that will solve the "lack of drama" issue. But on repeat viewings, that isn't so important anyway, you start to enjoy different aspects of the film. I was thinking about the lack of the kind of simple drama you got in Casino Royale, it was always very clear what was at stake "stop that parkour guy, he's a bomb maker!" "ouch he's hitting him in the balls!" "stop that tanker from exploding!" etc etc... QOS is sometimes too subtle for it's own good on this front. I'm still not sure why Bond decides to dramatically give chase in the boat scene. Strangely, it was towards the end of the film, just before Olga confronts General Meldrano when some of that simple drama started kicking in: "OK, he killed her family, she's going to kick his3) I'm forming a pre-judgement that this film was designed with an eye toward re-watchability, as it's become obvious from teh franchise's history that THIS is how many of the films ultimately come to be remembered and some of the real timeless ones have benefitted from it (notably OHMSS, to a lesser extent the early Connery ones). Do you think that some of the complexity issues, etc., will become more palatable with repeated viewings and, ultimately, this film might be remembered "better" than it was initially perceived?
, this is going to be good!". But I digress... yes, I think this film has an unusual personality and mood that will benefit from repeat viewings.Yes, I think I would agree with that, though the summery feel is tempered by lots of night time scenes, and some scenes in London in the pouring rain which are very grey, and there is a scene in the snow too... but overall, pretty "summer-y"4) This is kind of a weird one. I look at Bond with a kind of "seasonal" context, out of some odd sense of personal nostalgia
. Brosnan's films all remind me of winter (due to the snow and cold-looking locations no doubt), whereas Goldfinger, for example, seems to take place in the dead heat of July. CR kind of felt like mid-fall to me. Would you say Solace is a return to the Connery-style "summer-feel" Bond films that we haven't really seen since, IMO, Licence to Kill?
