1981 replies to this topic

[Shrublands]

Check out Damien Walters's Youtube channel:

Thanks. His 2011 show-reel has some rather interesting stuff with moving cars.

[The Dove]

http://www.interaksy...ay-manila-visit

Looks like the honeymoon's over...lol! She goes back to Bourne, and he goes back to Bond..

[Matt_13]

That guy is amazing.

[The Shark]

It looks like they're planning to outdo the opening Parkour chase in CASINO ROYALE, which is no small feat. I say that because Damien Walters is a practitioner of Freerunning, not Parkour like Sebastian Foucan. The difference between the two, is that Parkour is about getting from point A to point B as efficiently and quickly as possible. Freerunning's more about performing acrobatic tricks and generally showing off, which would probably look more impressive on screen.

[Chief of SIS]

Refreshing that someone knows the difference between the two.

[stone7]

this could potentially a great scene. such modern gymastics/acrobatics/stunts call it whatever you set against the backdrop of classic London architecture i'm sure will look immense on screen.

[marktmurphy]

Think this confirms that the VW Beetles which EON was buying up are gonna be the NEW Beetles (1998 onwards) and not the classic VW bugs.. Man, I'm curious as to what the action scene is gonna be like..

I'm a bit baffled; a car transporter of some kind seems to be an explanation- I suppose the new Beetle is just too new to be featured here.
Is there some kind of pun involving beetles or bugs that's appropriate to a load of them falling off a bridge? I dunno.

Yeah, I'm baffled, too. I first thought they might have been after old Beetles, which might have fit in with Turkey. But a whole fleet of them, each with their own camera car? That one's got me stumped.

Of course, we're assuming here that the cars on the transporter are indeed intended for SKYFALL and are not simply a truckload of new cars destined for a showroom.

Well, there's the rub: as Tightpants illustrated, and as I've been saying: these aren't new Beetles. They're old Beetles.

I'd go with the theory that the cars are doubles for a single vehicle, which will be going through some rough times.

I don't think they've ever needed that many doubles before. And surely they'd have prepped them before they'd left the UK? They're all different colours.
And if it were a featured vehicle surely VW would have supplied the new, 2012 Beetle?

[sharpshooter]

Not sure about trying to out-do CR's running sequence. I'd rather they think up something different and exciting as that was back in 2006. But wow, Walters has some serious skills.

[Pussfeller]

The first time I saw footage of that guy, I knew he'd someday be involved with a Bond film. I just hope his stunts aren't too reminiscent of the parkour sequence from CR.

[Captain Tightpants]

If they are getting Walters for his acrobatics, then I don't think EON are necessarily trying to out-do CAISNO ROYALE. There's a few sequences in that highlight reel - like the jump over the car, the backwards leap through the hole and the leap into the car - that could easily be written into a scene in such a way that the film is unique and does not really copy CASINO ROYALE. If he is Ola Rapace's stunt double, then what's to say that Ola Rapace's character isn't some kind of Olympic-level gymnast? I could see him employing some kind of parallel bars routine to access a sniper's perch.

[sharpshooter]

If they are getting Walters for his acrobatics, then I don't think EON are necessarily trying to out-do CAISNO ROYALE. There's a few sequences in that highlight reel - like the jump over the car, the backwards leap through the hole and the leap into the car - that could easily be written into a scene in such a way that the film is unique and does not really copy CASINO ROYALE. If he is Ola Rapace's stunt double, then what's to say that Ola Rapace's character isn't some kind of Olympic-level gymnast? I could see him employing some kind of parallel bars routine to access a sniper's perch.

True. We don't necessarily need a full on sprint off to have these skills implemented.

[Pussfeller]

It would make a certain amount of sense for a guy to be both an Olympic athlete and a supervillain's henchman. Olympians are always short on cash, and who better to chase a spy down a piste?

[Firehawk]

Just read on the website www.thisissouthwales.co.uk today and found an article regarding a major film company has applied permission for a 200 staffed film set near the Usk Resevoir at the Brecon Beacons National Park in South Wales. Rumours from unkown sources have suggested it maybe the upcoming Bond movie 'Skyfall'. However this has not been officially confirmed and it is a rumour. However it does state that filming would last approximately 3 months. Other film companies have been filming in the area in the past such as Ridley Scott's Robin Hood. So could Wales be one of the unconfirmed locations for Skyfall?

[The Shark]

Probably. The Brecon Beacons were rumoured before.

[Captain Tightpants]

It would make a certain amount of sense for a guy to be both an Olympic athlete and a supervillain's henchman. Olympians are always short on cash, and who better to chase a spy down a piste?

I was thinking more of an Olympic-level gymnast, rather than an Olympian. We've already had Olympic villains in Miranda Frost and Erich Kriegler, and they're really quite high-profile people.

If Walters is doubling for Rapace and if he is being used for his gymnastic abilities, then I think I'd like to see them used in a sequence that is closer to the foot chase in QUANTUM OF SOLACE rather than the one in CASINO ROYALE. The reason for this is that CASINO ROYALE's parkour chase was obviously a set-piece, simply because the route Mollaka takes is horribly inefficient. No doubt he was hoping that Bond would not be able to follow him up the cranes, but the whole thing felt like Sebastien Foucan and the stunt co-ordinator looked at the construction site and asked "Okay, how can we make this really spectactular?". The chase in QUANTUM OF SOLACE, on the other hand, uses the geography of the location much more efficiently: both Bond and Mitchell are heading for the same objective, and they take the most direct route. Even when Bond loses his footing and jumps across the street, he still continues towards the belltower.

So I think SKFALL should aim for a mix of the two - a sequence where Walters (as Rapace, assuming he is, of course) does all his gymnastic routines, but he doesn't really detour the way Sebastien Foucan did.

[Matt_13]

It would make a certain amount of sense for a guy to be both an Olympic athlete and a supervillain's henchman. Olympians are always short on cash, and who better to chase a spy down a piste?

I was thinking more of an Olympic-level gymnast, rather than an Olympian. We've already had Olympic villains in Miranda Frost and Erich Kriegler, and they're really quite high-profile people.

If Walters is doubling for Rapace and if he is being used for his gymnastic abilities, then I think I'd like to see them used in a sequence that is closer to the foot chase in QUANTUM OF SOLACE rather than the one in CASINO ROYALE. The reason for this is that CASINO ROYALE's parkour chase was obviously a set-piece, simply because the route Mollaka takes is horribly inefficient. No doubt he was hoping that Bond would not be able to follow him up the cranes, but the whole thing felt like Sebastien Foucan and the stunt co-ordinator looked at the construction site and asked "Okay, how can we make this really spectactular?". The chase in QUANTUM OF SOLACE, on the other hand, uses the geography of the location much more efficiently: both Bond and Mitchell are heading for the same objective, and they take the most direct route. Even when Bond loses his footing and jumps across the street, he still continues towards the belltower.

So I think SKFALL should aim for a mix of the two - a sequence where Walters (as Rapace, assuming he is, of course) does all his gymnastic routines, but he doesn't really detour the way Sebastien Foucan did.

To be fair, Mitchell's only objective was to get away from Bond. The sequence is no less a set piece than the construction site chase. I think we'll be getting a blending of the two. I have no idea what this could possibly entail.

[Captain Tightpants]

I'm not denying that the Siena chase was a set-piece, but I just think it was a little more convincing than the one in CASINO ROYALE simply because they didn't take some haphazard route.

[Matt_13]

It is more organic, yes. I would argue a majority of the action set pieces in QOS are superior to the overlong (but nevertheless thoroughly entertaining) sequences in CR.

[The Shark]

I'd probably agree with that, though the editing really lets them down. Moments that should have been jaw dropping such as the bus jump are cut to pieces, so it looks effortless. There's no tension.

[Matt_13]

The editing does largely eliminate the tension yes, but there is an immersion I've never experienced in a film before. The film really does put you inside the mind of a man who's being pursued. It's hard to explain, but you can feel tiles on the rooftops and the collision between Bond's head and that wall. Even the bus jump, you can feel the metal roof denting on impact. It's impressive and off putting at the same time. I'm a fan of it, I just wish the entire film hadn't been cut in the exact same way.

[MattofSteel]

It's true. Action scenes always need to be shoot based on a balance of authenticity vs. entertainment, and QOS sacrificed practically all of its entertainment value in favour of what Forster etc. believed could be a sort of "constructed intensity". And then, they chopped it all to hell and removed any sense of rhythm or geography.

Stylistcally it was all very cool - it was just simultaneously underwhelming. It leaves you wanting. But then again, it provokes consistent rewatching, if only because you're trying to figure it out! And - admittedly - it feels 'fresh' far longer after repeat viewings. A method to Forster's madness, perhaps.

Then again, years later, I literally still have no clue what happened during that boat chase or even how Bond actually resolves it.

[The Shark]

Then again, years later, I literally still have no clue what happened during that boat chase or even how Bond actually resolves it.

IIRC wasn't there an entire thread about it somewhere?

[Captain Tightpants]

The film really does put you inside the mind of a man who's being pursued.

I find the car chase does the same thing. You're only really aware of about 90% of what is happening at any one time, and I imagine that a real car chase would be similarly chaotic. People criticise the sequence for using steadicam, but it only gets used when the camera is inside the car and the car takes a hit.

[Shrublands]

The film really does put you inside the mind of a man who's being pursued.

Quite the opposite for me, I was with nether character - pursued or pursuer. I was a person in a cinema watching a screen full of chaotically edited images that I simply could not even focus on, let alone identify with in any way. Distancing, not involving. For me, sustained shots are very important when it comes to creating a spatial awareness between the audience and a character embroiled in action in a depicted environment on screen. We are offered none in QoS.

Subsequently, I would argue, the QoS action sequences are amongst the worst I have ever seen.

[Germanlady]

The film really does put you inside the mind of a man who's being pursued.

Quite the opposite for me, I was with nether character - pursued or pursuer. I was a person in a cinema watching a screen full of chaotically edited images that I simply could not even focus on, let alone identify with in any way. Distancing, not involving. For me, sustained shots are very important when it comes to creating a spatial awareness between the audience and a character embroiled in action in a depicted environment on screen. We are offered none in QoS.

Subsequently, I would argue, the QoS action sequences are amongst the worst I have ever seen.

Yes and it leaves you with an idea, of what it could have been, when edited properly, which makes it even more unsatisfying.

[Peckinpah1976]

Personally, I think the editing 'problems' on QOS are massively overstated by people who are just looking for reasons to dislike it and those of a generally reactionary disposition when it comes to modern cinema; true, the whole first half-hour of the film feels rushed, as if they were determined to keep the film at well under two hours regardless but this doesn't effect the qulaity of the individual set-pieces, just that there's little pause for breath between them until the pacing settles down once we get to Bolivia. The opening stuff in Italy, Bond's fight with Slate and the entire climactic dessert hotel sequence are among the most effective action scenes in the entire series IMO and wipe the floor with Campbell's mostly pedestrian (not to say prescription) stuff in the previous film.

[Shrublands]

Personally, I think the editing 'problems' on QOS are massively overstated by people who are just looking for reasons to dislike it and those of a generally reactionary disposition when it comes to modern cinema; true, the whole first half-hour of the film feels rushed, as if they were determined to keep the film at well under two hours regardless but this doesn't effect the qulaity of the individual set-pieces, just that there's little pause for breath between them until the pacing settles down once we get to Bolivia. The opening stuff in Italy, Bond's fight with Slate and the entire climactic dessert hotel sequence are among the most effective action scenes in the entire series IMO and wipe the floor with Campbell's mostly pedestrian (not to say prescription) stuff in the previous film.

I wanted to like it very much (I tried to, more than I would have done had it not been a Bond film) and I have no problem with ‘Modern Cinema’ TM.
I do have a problem however with a director who does not seem to value the material he is working with and has simply decided to rush through it in the hope that people will be too confused to notice. It comes to something when behind the scenes documentary footage and production stills are more thrilling and impressive than the finished film.

Yes and it leaves you with an idea, of what it could have been, when edited properly, which makes it even more unsatisfying.

Agreed.

[SecretAgentFan]

I respect and can understand that opinion. However, I think that editing was properly done, intentionally in that particular way. It is the style one can object to due to personal preference.

I do not like rapid-fire editing. Yes, the Michael Bay movies, of course, are easily an example for cuts that only emphasize speed, and even the Greengrass BOURNEs overdo this effect IMO.

But as I don´t grow tired of saying: the editing of QOS is not a one-trick pony, it is cleverly varying different speeds, slowing down moments, speeding up others, employing sound editing in a creative way also, thus creating a new style for Bond films (the opera sequence).

Do I want every Bond film to be made in that style? Of course, not. But I also appreciate the difference that QOS made. I would find it boring if every Bond film had been edited like DR.NO or THUNDERBALL.

[Shrublands]

You’re quite right, it’s a matter of personal preference. For me, QoS has two fundamental problems, one at either end of the production process and the one compounds the other.

First the script. It’s not an engaging story and the characters are not entertaining or even interesting. I also think it’s badly structured – with its meandering middle act and inadequate (and also muddled) 3^rd.

Secondly the editing. It further distances me from the film. Perhaps, if I were involved by the story and its characters, it would function with its differing rhythms, but I am not.

It seems like an experiment that failed (and I'm glad they attempt new styles). The editing being an experimental and even arty veneer on an infrastructure that was unsound. Perhaps this is why it fractures and crumbles for some. I find it very telling that such a short film, that tries so hard to be fast paced, seems so long. Longer than CR, which is in fact a much longer film.


The opera sequence is an interesting example. I think it’s the best executed part of the film, in every aspect of its filmic form. However, what it communicates (for me it’s beautifully saying, “This is the beginning of an epic showdown between Bond and Quantum in general and Greene in particular.”) is not developed in act 2 and ultimately not delivered in act 3. Therefore, even when the film does do something well, it’s to no over all purpose. Like randomly cutting to the ‘Psycho’ shower murder in the middle of ‘Mrs Miniver’ - Yes, it’s great, but what’s it doing there?

[Ace Roberts]

I agree with Shrublands. For me, personally, it all boiled down to the length and pacing of the film. I view the Bond films as epics, an experience that builds over the course of 2 to 2 and 1/2 hours. QoS was such a rushed experience the whole way through. I fully understand this was purposeful - one because they did not have a finished script due to the writer's strike - and two because the producers chose to mimic the Bourne success in style and pacing. Was it a failure? In our eyes - the die hard fans - yes. To the average movie goer - who doesn't know a Terrance Young from a Paul Greengrass - they thought it was a kick-butt movie and the box-office receipts reflected that. For some odd reason - I have a feeling that Sam Mendes "gets it". I think he understands that this could be a defining moment, not only for his career, but for Bond as well. I think he will deliver a film in the 2 hr and 20 minute range that will have the pace of the early Bonds, with the right mixture of character development and awesome action that we the real fans want so badly.