MovieChat Forums > Quantum of Solace (2008) Discussion > after all this time I STILL do not under...

after all this time I STILL do not understand the hate for this film

posted 4 years ago by LTUM (1033)
64 replies | jump to latest

look. i promise i have tried to see you guys' pov on this. but i just don't get it. i guess something is really wrong with me, that i can't understand A--why this one is 'bad' and B--why skyfall is 'great'

for me, skyfall sucked a truck load of big fat dicks. IT SUCKED. and i can tell you why, again and again. but you guys don't hear me.

then, you guys come on here (for years and years now) and say QOS sucked, was awful, etc. And, i have tried to understand what you mean. but all i know is, i can sit and watch quantum of solace and it doesnt bore me, and i enjoy it. but when i watch skyfall the ridiculous direction the story goes after bardem leaves the island is just so silly i can't keep watching. then the whole home alone sequence happens, etc.

i just dont get it. why is QOS so bad? it's a mystery to me

well, that's my .02

[–] janelsenor (2044) 4 years ago

Me either. It's a decent entry, especially when you consider the chaos behind the scenes. Moore, Brosnan, and Connery all had entries worse than this one.

[–] earl237 (1106) 4 years ago

I also think it got too much hate. It wasn't as good as Casino Royale and Skyfall but I found it better than many later Connery and Moore films.

[–] Ace_Spade (9544) 4 years ago

It almost never felt like a Bond movie at all to me; that's why I dislike it so thoroughly. If I wanted to watch a cookie-cutter action movie, there are any number of them to choose from. I'm coming to this series for a James Bond experience, and (with the exception of the opera stuff in the middle) Quantum failed to distinguish itself from any other humdrum, shaky-cam-infused gun flick.

[–] Ripkens25 (2013) 4 years ago

That's an easy stamp people put on QofS...the whole Jason Bourne, shaky cam stuff. To me, QofS is a very solid Bond film. When you say it didn't feel like a Bond movie, I'm not sure what to make of that. After the abomination that was Die Another Day, the franchise desperately needed a reboot. So...Casino Royale CERTAINLY didn't feel like a Bond film...(at least not like the ones we'd grown used to), and that's a very good thing.

Quantum is a nice, cool continuation of the incredible Casino Royale, and kind of an interesting choice for the franchise (a direct sequel). And not a bad roll of the dice, considering how much everyone liked CR. For me, it was a handful of great scenes, loosely strung together to make a very good Bond movie. The opening scenes, of course. Bond and Mathis toasting Vesper on the plane was cool. The whole opera scene was beautifully done. The cold and brutal way Mathis went out...reminded us about a part of Bond we'd forgotten with Brosnan...he's cold and brutal when he has to be. The final scene...Bond and M talking outside at night, with the snow coming down; wonderful. And perhaps my favorite scene...Bond getting jumped by an assassin in that Turkish apartment....disarming the guy and stabbing him in a main artery...then getting him in a grappling hold on the balcony and just calmly waiting while the guy bleeds out. Fantastic.

Who the hell cares if the action resembles a Bourne movie? The Bourne movies are....GREAT.

Regarding Skyfall, it's damn near as incredible as Casino Royale. The production value is off the charts. It's beautifully shot...scene after scene! That whole sequence in Macau has more production value and beautiful shots than License to Kill and Living Daylights (and all their back lot cheapness) combined. Look at the shots in China...that cityscape at night...Bond swimming in a rooftop pool at night, and having a drink in that rooftop bar: pure secret agent James Bond fantasy awesomeness. How about the silhouette fight with the sniper in the highrise, with the sound of the wind coming through the hole drilled in the window. And people bag on the whole final act. Please...that was awesome. The Scotland highlands are amazing...and in that desolate area, during a cold, harsh winter....was hauntingly captivating. We got a glimpse into Bond's childhood for the first time in 23 films.

After seeing Bond windsurfing on a tidal wave, using a car door for a surfboard...and a parachute as a sail.....these latest Bond films are a welcome change. Just my opinion.

[–] Ace_Spade (9544) 4 years ago

CR still felt like a Bond film. It had the panache. They went with a rougher, nastier Bond vibe, but it still felt like Bond. It had style. It had poker games, culinary snobbery (the ridiculously specific martini), the almost cat-and-mouse vibe between Bond and Vesper (who was a slam-dunk Bond girl), it was slick, Bond was cheeky and charming - it was more-or-less the whole package.

QoS had the water/oil stuff, the quasi-tearjerker "real world" vibe with the geopolitics.

It wasn't that it resembled Bourne, it's that it didn't feel like Bond. But, since we're talking shaky-cam, it doesn't matter if that's "Bond" or not, it made the opening action scene look like crap. And since we're talking Bourne, I like the first one plenty, but I thought the other two were deliberately-convoluted rubbish with terrible shaky-cam action scenes. I like the chaos of the shaken camera when it's conveying, say, the psychological realm of a warzone in a drama, not when it's cluttering up an action scene in a spy thriller. a.k.a., I only think one Bourne movie is great, so I do care that QoS looked like a knockoff PoS.

I'll give the movie this: the opera stuff is great. Agent Fields shows up and she and Bond get that banter going and then there's the opera deal and it *finally* felt like Bond, and then...it's gone again.

Skyfall's great; love that one, too. I didn't say anything about Skyfall. I can nitpick it, but it's great overall.

I'd rather watch 007 surf a tidal wave than a run-of-the-mill action goon do flatline action stuff that's barely visible through the cinematography of a magic eight ball.

[–] Ripkens25 (2013) 4 years ago

The OP is the one who didn't like Skyfall.
Great insight on CR. I think that one is damn near a masterpiece.

[–] Ace_Spade (9544) 4 years ago

Thanks; I forget OP mentioned Skyfall.

Casino Royale is a top-ten for me, and usually I squeak it into the top five. I mean, my list of favourite Bond films is always kinda shuffling around, but CR was a masterpiece.

[–] LTUM (1033) 3 years ago

yeah man, sorry but i agree with you on QS and disagree on skyfall. and listen to me befor eyou criticise....

it's like criticising a jilted loved for feeling disappointed. meaning, i WANTED to like skyfall. you would not believe how excited i was leading up to it. and i was totally digging it during the first half. but when it went off the rails mid way (my opinion) i lost interest and eventually that turned to disdain, for that schmuck mendez ruining my favorite franchise (the craig reboots of bond)

the story was kicking along well until the island scene, imo, when the whole plot changed into that silly revenge thing, and ultimately ended with the home alone scene. (did you see shane black's summary from SXSW? he nailed it)

i have two words to illustrate why skyFAIL sucked:

"Mommy! Mommy!"

[–] Ace_Spade (9544) 3 years ago

I did see Shane Black criticize Skyfall and I disagree with him on that. I really respect Black as a writer, too, but I just didn't see Skyfall that way. So, I respectfully disagree, insofar as I get why you (and Shane Black) didn't like it, but for me it was still pretty great.

Now, it's not perfect. I thought they could have truncated some of Bond running around to get to Silva in the first place, and they should have done something less "Over-Planned Joker-esque bad guy plot" with Silva's capture and escape. But those things didn't bug me too much.

As for the final sequence, I loved it. It was about Bond confronting his past while moving forward. He hated the place he's going to use as a fortress, and he's struggling with being an old dog needing to learn new tricks, but the final sequence lets him confront those problems that he's wrestled with all through the film. The retro-cool stuff (right down to the "classic" arrangement of the James Bond theme) is great. Plus, it mirrors the raging battle between M and Silva, who are also struggling with the past and with moving on. Silva is being eaten alive by his bile for his personal history, and in a way, so is Bond. Who will overcome and move on?

Ah, the Home Alone criticism... Conan the Barbarian had a similar trap-based defense towards the end of that movie. Shouldn't we rip on Home Alone for just being "Silly Conan"?

[–] FootOfDavros (8140) 4 years ago

After the abomination that was Die Another Day, the franchise desperately needed a reboot.

LOL. The most commercially successful Bond film in terms of box office at it's time of release. And that happened with it being FOURTH Brosnan release.

Yes, that shows it "desperately" needed a reboot 😂.

Just my opinion mind you...

[–] Ripkens25 (2013) 4 years ago

Success and quality are 2 different things. People went to see it...because it was a new Bond film. That doesn't mean many liked it. And, it set expectations that the next one (if the direction didn't change) would be even worse.
Flying invisible cars maybe?

[–] FootOfDavros (8140) 4 years ago

People went to see it in ever greater numbers than any previous Brosnan film. That doesn't suggest any "desperation" for the franchise whatsoever.

How about an underwater submarine car?

[–] Ripkens25 (2013) 3 years ago

"How about an underwater submarine car?"

Those exist.

[–] FootOfDavros (8140) 3 years ago

Hey, can you resurrect a discussion from six months ago?

What are the MC rules on that? 🤔

[–] AckbarsRevenge (3800) 4 years ago

Is this the one with the ridiculous editing? Like a 120 DIFFERENT frames per second? Vomit inducing.

[–] LTUM (1033) 3 years ago

you can say that if you want to but believe me i am probably more disconcerting than anyone you know when it comes to shakicam (check my history) and honestly it is not unwatchable at all for me.

so i feel that is a hollow and unwarranted criticism

[–] MovieChatUser497 (18943) 3 years ago

I cannot stand shaky cam, I want to actually know what’s going on in a fight scene, I don’t want a bunch of quick cuts and sound effects then I’m just supposed to assume someone got hit. And speaking of that the way it’s edited it so looks like M got shot in the second scene

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

CR and QoS are pretty good and Skyfall and Spectre suck ass.

[–] LTUM (1033) 3 years ago

Exactly how I feel lol

[–] Enigmaticocean77 (2410) 3 years ago

I Agree!

[–] Drooch (5333) 3 years ago

I hated QoS in the theatre, it was such a let down after the masterpiece that is Casino Royale.

However, I’ve come to view it as a kind of mini epilogue to CR rather than full blown Part II, or even a full blown movie. I’ve also accepted that it’s almost trying to deliberately avoid resembling CR - it has its own distinct style and it runs with it.

With all that in mind, the film gets better each time I watch it. It’s a lean, mean, cold action/spy flick that moves at a rapid pace, hits hard, and has plenty of zippy dialogue. Craig is on great form, and there’s a real sense of menace around Quantum. Greene is a thoroughly toxic little rat, and the rapey general is pretty nasty for a see-it-with-the-family franchise.

Forster commits to his style choices - lots of black and white, and of course the controversial Bourne-style Parkinson’s camera work during action scenes. It’s migraine inducing but it’s undeniably effective at capturing the experience of being in such a fight/chase. Most of all, there’s a Ridley Scott atmosphere of relentless nihilism and hostility. I always think villains get off too easy, but the way Bond dispatches Greene is seriously sadistic!

So yeah, QoS might be a PoS compared to CR, but taken on its own terms, and seen as a little shot of espresso after the luxury three course meal that is CR, it’s got a lot going for it.

I also agree that Skyfall is way overrated, and I don’t think Mendes was the right director for Bond. Campbell behind the camera and Paul Haggis polishing the script is clearly the winning formula, and frankly the producers are idiots for not seeing that. Let’s hope Craig’s tenure ends on a high, his films have been very mixed quality wise, but he has been phenomenal all the way through 🍻

[–] MovieChatUser497 (18943) 3 years ago

The dialogue is horrendous , the action sequences are incoherent and it’s impossible to tell what’s going on, the villains are boring, the plot is ludicrous, it’s beyond obvious they were inspired by the Bourne films, the intended big emotional payoffs don’t work, the acting is so bad, etc. so far I have this ranked 23rd out of 24 with only Diamonds Are Forever lower. This is by far the most boring Bond film ever