17 November 2008

Quantum Quibbles

So, Quantum of Solace was a decent Bond movie, but didn't quite live up to Casino Royale. For me it came down to a couple of things. First, the action scenes are really overedited, in such a way as to potentially induce dizziness. If you or someone you know is prone to seizures, it might be advisable to avoid seeing this movie. This was clearly an intentional choice by the filmmakers, but at times it's almost impossible to discern what is actually happening, which detracts from the overall moviegoing experience.

Second, the movie was devoid of any bit of humor. I'm not suggesting that it's necessary or desirable to return to the corny, campy, lecherous tone of the Roger Moore era, and I realize that this was primarily a revenge story so it's somewhat excusable, but I missed the element of wit. I'm hoping that next time out, Bond will feel like he can lighten up a bit.

2 comments:

A Proper Bostonian said...

What? It had sufficient humor. When the guy on the motorcycle tells Bond he was supposed to shoot Camilla, he replies, "I missed!" And the scene where he and Fields and the other guy walk into the five-star Bolivian hotel and he says, "We are teachers on sabbatical. And we have just won the lottery." And then there was Fields tripping that guy so he falls down hard the stairs and she says, "Oh gosh! I'm so sorry!" There was humor in some of the scenes between M and Bond, too, and even some of the chase scenes had their moments. My head is generally a sieve, as you know, and even I remember things that made me laugh in this movie.

Some Assembly Required said...

Poor expression on my part. I guess I should have said that I felt the movie was lacking in humor relative to the general level of the series. But I didn't think anyone would be watching both the movie and what I wrote so closely.