Fields it is then.

By -

I went to see the new James Bond film last night. Quantum of Solace is the second movie of the Daniel Craig era, in which all the titles have to have two "O"s in them so that they can be used to make up the number "007" on the poster.

I thought that Casino Royale was a fantastic movie for several reasons. As well as being a good film in its own right, it also made a very good job of reinventing the Bond franchise. All the best bits were maintained (car chases, gadgets, puns) but the story was started afresh and the hero still looked more like Mr Bond than Mr Bean by the closing credits.

Unfortunately, the makers of Quantum must also have loved Casino Royale, because they based 50% of the new film's storyline on it. If, like many people in the audience last night, you haven't seen it (or can't remember what happened), you will get lost at some points. It's great to have continuity between films, but the level of assumed knowledge you had to have to fully enjoy Quantum was simply too high.

As a result it felt like the middle film of a trilogy. Lacking a clear beginning and leaving you with nothing even closely resembling a cliffhanger was quite frustrating. If the middle wasn't so good, you'd have felt cheated.

The story was solid, and it's nice to see that the product placement that ruined Casino Royale has been toned down. Sadly, the new Bond was too "new Bond" and felt a little bit too far removed from the traditional formula to be considered a great 007 flick (IMHO). Hopefully the next film will have a considerably larger quantum of cheese.

▫ Idea for a film: Quantity of Soleros. James Bond must battle the Icelandic fridge magnate (boom! boom!) Magnum, aided by the beautiful Bond girl Callipo. No? No?

Popular posts from this blog

Why I'll be watching the FA Cup on Setanta

By -
Image
Screen capture by David Murray, all rights reserved. ITV HD © ITV 2009 How difficult can it be to broadcast a football match? I only ask because ITV have been determined on several occasions this season alone to make a ruddy-great hash of it. They've picked the wrong games to show, they've messed up scheduling, they've missed the only goal of a game... and now they've put on a truly shambolic display in high definition, too. I say high definition, but for the majority of last night's Champions League final, it was actually upscaled-SD that we were watching on the ITV HD red button service (they haven't even opted to make it a fully-fledged channel). With poor quality audio. And no clock. We were even treated to a farcical montage of a bespectacled Steve Ryder, bemused Teddy Sheringham and boring shot of a studio floor - twice . It's bad enough having to listen to their sub-standard coverage at the best of times. So from now on, whenever there's a
Read more

The Italian Job

By -
Image
I've seen it once at the cinema, but I couldn't resist watching "The Italian Job" (2003, USA) one more time, if only to compare it with the original I have on DVD. How they can claim that this film is a "re-make" of the original, I'm not really sure. Yes, there's Mini Coopers and a plot based around messing up the traffic systems, but the 1969 version was never about stealing the gold. It was about Charlie: about his own cunning, wit and charm. Croker's character provided everything, from the memorable one-liners to the tragic fall . OK, perhaps the new version brings the action kicking and screaming up-to-date: but where's the charm? "Remember - in this country, they drive on the wrong side of the road" - Charlie Croker (1969) "You should never mess with Mother Nature, mothers-in-law, and mother-freaking Ukrainians" - Skinny Pete (2003)
Read more

Berlin ePrix 2 qualifying report

By -
Mahindra's dominance and news of Sébastien Buemi's disqualification in round seven set up a fascinating qualifying session for the second Berlin ePrix of the weekend. Stephane Sarrazin was the first to take to the track, but despite improving times from the Saturday sessions, he could only take provisional third. Both Mahindra drivers were drawn in the first group, but had mixed fortunes. Rosenqvist set a time in the low 1:08 range, but Nick Heidfeld suffered a problem with his throttle that put him last. Nelson Piquet Jr. took the fourth slot, Maro Engel in provisional P-2. In contrast to many drivers' strategies, Daniel Abt took to the track as soon as the pit lane opened, hoping to time it right and set a fast lap with an empty track ahead of him. It paid off, although his time wasn't enough to beat Rosenqvist. But with both Renaults in the same group, both men were relegated a place when Buemi set a quicker time. Team-mate Nicolas Prost also reached the top five,
Read more