The Controversial Mathis Death Scene in Quantum of Solace (2008)

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  • Dalkowski110Dalkowski110 Posts: 1,314MI6 Agent
    chrisisall wrote:
    maybe he was Bond's father. :))
    NOOOooooo, nooooo....

    LOL! It would've been pretty darn hilarious to see DC let loose with a big "NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" following Vesper's death. 'Course, it would also have ruined the franchise. :))
    By the way, are you gonna eat that?
  • LastRatStandingLastRatStanding ScotlandPosts: 296MI6 Agent
    I always thought it was in character. It's not shocking to me that Bond did this. He couldn't exactly just take the corpse around with him, could he? I almost think that the feeling of not caring where someones body is dumped is mutual - somewhere down the line Bond could die on a job and need to be abandoned. It just reiterates the point that you can't really have 'true' friends when you are in Bonds field of work. If it had been Felix then I could understand the controversy but Mathis really was just a disposable ally to Bond however fond of him he was.

    It's just like Roger Moore knocking that little boy off the boat in TMWTGG, but a little more intense. Same message though - Bond just needed rid of them.
    Now, they only eat rat.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,062MI6 Agent
    Good point, LastRat!
    Dalton & Connery rule. Brozz was cool.
    #1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
  • Dalkowski110Dalkowski110 Posts: 1,314MI6 Agent
    I always thought it was in character. It's not shocking to me that Bond did this. He couldn't exactly just take the corpse around with him, could he? I almost think that the feeling of not caring where someones body is dumped is mutual - somewhere down the line Bond could die on a job and need to be abandoned. It just reiterates the point that you can't really have 'true' friends when you are in Bonds field of work. If it had been Felix then I could understand the controversy but Mathis really was just a disposable ally to Bond however fond of him he was.

    It's just like Roger Moore knocking that little boy off the boat in TMWTGG, but a little more intense. Same message though - Bond just needed rid of them.

    I also agree with virtually all of this, for what it's worth. It IS completely in-character. My only issues were...

    1) Take the whole wallet or don't take anything since if he just takes cash and leaves credit cards (which are visible), that tips off the Carabinieri immediately.
    2) The musical score doesn't fit well, have it turn darker or slow it down slightly as they pan onto Mathis's body.
    3) Did a dumpster have to be the deus ex machina? Would a culvert or storm drain (and yes, you could see his face from certain camera angles in the former case and see his whole body easily in the latter case) also be possible to make the scene work? I would say yes, it would still have worked. I mean, if throwing a guy into what amounts to a sewer isn't treating his body like literal garbage/gets the exact same message across, I don't know what does.

    The one and only thing I disagree with is Moore pushing the boy overboard being analogous. It was played for laughs ("bloody tourist!") only. This was played for serious character development.
    By the way, are you gonna eat that?
  • chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,062MI6 Agent
    The one and only thing I disagree with is Moore pushing the boy overboard being analogous. It was played for laughs ("bloody tourist!") only. This was played for serious character development.
    I understand your point, but both instances show Bond doing what's best for HIS situation regardless of the moral/humanitarian obligation as a feeling functioning connected human being.... which he clearly is not due to his formative emotional baggage & chosen profession.
    Dalton & Connery rule. Brozz was cool.
    #1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
  • LastRatStandingLastRatStanding ScotlandPosts: 296MI6 Agent
    The one and only thing I disagree with is Moore pushing the boy overboard being analogous. It was played for laughs ("bloody tourist!") only. This was played for serious character development.

    Of course I agree! I'm just trying to make the point that any baggage big or small has to be dealt with. Whether it be pushing the kid off the boat or dumping a body in a dumpster.
    1) Take the whole wallet or don't take anything since if he just takes cash and leaves credit cards (which are visible), that tips off the Carabinieri immediately.
    2) The musical score doesn't fit well, have it turn darker or slow it down slightly as they pan onto Mathis's body.
    3) Did a dumpster have to be the deus ex machina? Would a culvert or storm drain (and yes, you could see his face from certain camera angles in the former case and see his whole body easily in the latter case) also be possible to make the scene work? I would say yes, it would still have worked. I mean, if throwing a guy into what amounts to a sewer isn't treating his body like literal garbage/gets the exact same message across, I don't know what does.

    Perhaps Bond just needed the cash. After what had just happened he can't have exactly been thinking straight, probably just an impulse snatch of something handy and nothing more.

    I've never noticed the score as a problem. I can agree from watching it again that it doesn't stand out as particularly amazing either. Maybe just trying to play it down to emphasize that Bond can't wait around and sympathize.

    I don't think that is HAD to be a dumpster. It just happened to be a dumpster. Obviously though the writers have chosen it to be this way. Had it been a culvert I think the scene would have still worked - as it would also work with a dumpster, a ditch, in an alley way or whatever. It's the act of dumping his body that hits you, not where it's dumped. It just seems that a dumpster would be an obvious choice because it reinforces the whole message.
    Now, they only eat rat.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,062MI6 Agent
    Again, spot-on IMO.
    Dalton & Connery rule. Brozz was cool.
    #1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    I know many make the reasoning that it's what ( In their opinion ) the
    Bond of the novels would do. Although I wonder how this scene plays
    with Non Bond fans, just regular cimena goers.
    I also think the very fact that the reasoning behind this scene is still
    being discussed shows how Badly filmed it was. In the hands of a better
    Director it may well of been self-explainatory and passed with little
    comment. :))
    Oh who am I kidding Fans would be discussing this for years. :D
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,062MI6 Agent
    I also think the very fact that the reasoning behind this scene is still
    being discussed shows how Badly filmed it was.
    M: I came here for a good argument.
    A: No you didn't; no, you came here for an argument.
    M: An argument isn't just contradiction.
    A: It can be.
    M: No it can't. An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition.
    A: No it isn't.
    M: Yes it is! It's not just contradiction.
    A: Look, if I argue with you, I must take up a contrary position.
    M: Yes, but that's not just saying 'No it isn't.'
    A: Yes it is!
    M: No it isn't!
    Dalton & Connery rule. Brozz was cool.
    #1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
  • Dalkowski110Dalkowski110 Posts: 1,314MI6 Agent
    edited March 2013
    Of course I agree! I'm just trying to make the point that any baggage big or small has to be dealt with. Whether it be pushing the kid off the boat or dumping a body in a dumpster.

    In that case, I agree.
    It's the act of dumping his body that hits you, not where it's dumped.

    I think that's what they were going for, but, well...read my prior posts, I'm not gonna type it out again. ;)
    After what had just happened he can't have exactly been thinking straight, probably just an impulse snatch of something handy and nothing more.

    Possible, although it gets a little confusing there. If that's the case, I'd prefer to show him a bit more visibly disoriented (i.e. the same facial expression he has as he lays Mathis in the dumpster). Still, it does make sense. See below.
    I can agree from watching it again that it doesn't stand out as particularly amazing either. Maybe just trying to play it down to emphasize that Bond can't wait around and sympathize.

    Music is always a matter of taste as to what conveys what emotions. To me, they'll never have gotten this one right, especially since as I viewed the scene over a few times (to see if I could ignore the dumpster), it actually started feeling worse and not better. Ironically, though, the "not thinking straight" angle regarding Mathis's wallet becomes clearer.
    I also think the very fact that the reasoning behind this scene is still being discussed shows how Badly filmed it was.

    Probably. :)) Honestly, I think it was a great idea just not all that terrifically executed.
    By the way, are you gonna eat that?
  • chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,062MI6 Agent
    Honestly, I think it was a great idea just not all that terrifically executed.
    It was a little off-putting, but it was meant to be. I think it worked perfectly as a reminder that it isn't all fun & games.
    Dalton & Connery rule. Brozz was cool.
    #1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
  • BlackleiterBlackleiter Washington, DCPosts: 5,615MI6 Agent
    Could you put up your "dead horse" picture again? Thanks! :D
    chrisisall wrote:
    Honestly, I think it was a great idea just not all that terrifically executed.
    It was a little off-putting, but it was meant to be. I think it worked perfectly as a reminder that it isn't all fun & games.
    "Felix Leiter, a brother from Langley."
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Dalkowski110 wrote:
    Honestly, I think it was a great idea just not all that terrifically executed.

    -{ My point exactly. :)) My problem with the scene is it's wasn't filmed very
    well. :)) and Bond's character isn't consistent. In the next Scene he says
    "He'll make Much more when he, sells us Out "
    He says this with a smile, so he's not too worried about it. Which ( To me at least )
    seems at odds with his Bad ass/Cold blooded killer, from the Mathis scene.
    I'm guessing it has to do with the writers strike and two non script writers trying
    to cobble together a half decent script.
    IMHO, They Failed. :007) while others think it's modern Shakespeare. :))
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
    Dalkowski110 wrote:
    Honestly, I think it was a great idea just not all that terrifically executed.

    -{ My point exactly. :)) My problem with the scene is it's wasn't filmed very
    well. :)) and Bond's character isn't consistent. In the next Scene he says
    "He'll make Much more when he, sells us Out "
    He says this with a smile, so he's not too worried about it. Which ( To me at least )
    seems at odds with his Bad ass/Cold blooded killer, from the Mathis scene.
    I'm guessing it has to do with the writers strike and two non script writers trying
    to cobble together a half decent script.
    IMHO, They Failed. :007) while others think it's modern Shakespeare. :))

    Yes, the scene is definitely flawed in its execution, but powerfl nonetheless. We've had 45 replies so far - this is a very interesting topic to many of our members, clearly.
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • don pdon p Posts: 607MI6 Agent
    the screen writers had to come up with something,,, bond is on the run by then,, has no money, and it would have been wrong to have just left the body in the street,

    i always thought it was a shame mathis was killed off, he could have been developed into future films,,

    imagine,,, skyfall, bond rings mathis,, "hello Mate, what you upto ? meet me in scotland for a few days eh?"...
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
    edited March 2013
    don p wrote:
    the screen writers had to come up with something,,, bond is on the run by then,, has no money, and it would have been wrong to have just left the body in the street,

    i always thought it was a shame mathis was killed off, he could have been developed into future films,,

    imagine,,, skyfall, bond rings mathis,, "hello Mate, what you upto ? meet me in scotland for a few days eh?"...

    Yes, Mathis is a great throwback to the great allies of the James Bond films of old - of course this meant that he had to be killed off forthwith!
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    don p wrote :
    i always thought it was a shame mathis was killed off, he could have been developed into future films

    I agree -{ Mathis could of become one of the team Like F Leiter.
    Not in every film but Popping up from time to time.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Ens007Ens007 EnglandPosts: 863MI6 Agent
    don p wrote :
    i always thought it was a shame mathis was killed off, he could have been developed into future films

    I agree -{ Mathis could of become one of the team Like F Leiter.
    Not in every film but Popping up from time to time.

    Absolutely agree with you - really enjoyed Mathis as a character & it's a shame that he won't be in future films.

    Having said that, I thought the 'body dumping' scene was a superb scene and totally in character / playing the situation that Bond was in at the time. The coldness of his character & the so-called blunt instrument approach to his work almost necessitated him doing something like this. Likewise, when in that situation, I think that getting his hands on ready cash would be his priority, followed by a swift exit. After all it was clear that he didn't know who he could trust there.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Once again a fine argument. Although ......

    Ens007 wrote :
    I thought the 'body dumping' scene was a superb scene and totally in character / playing the situation that Bond was in at the time. The coldness of his character & the so-called blunt instrument approach to his work almost necessitated him doing something like this.

    Could someone Please explain how this, Cold Blunt instrument. In the Next scene when he
    Knows the guy who is hiring the Plane to him is "Going to sell them Out " He does NOTHING.
    He doesn't tie him up, or knock him out, Even Kill him. He is after all, A Cold /blunt instrument.
    But NO he smiles and makes a joke about it. IHMO very Inconsistant, CR was all about Bond
    being Betrayed and his agnst at having to deal with it. Yet this betrayal, He's Fine with. :))
    I know many like QOS and Even I have softened to it but I still feel it was a badly made film, I
    do think there is a good film in there somewhere, Given a more talented director and having a
    propper Screenwriter It may of been great. ;)
    So I'll leave it here, I have to go and have this Horse Buried. :))
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • zaphodzaphod Posts: 1,183MI6 Agent
    In TWINE Bond was dumping The body of an Enemy, While in
    QOS is was a Friend. As I've stated in the Past.
    If you can Imagine Bond Dumping the bodies of Quarrel or Kerim Bey
    In to a near by Dumster, Then the scene is Fine with No Problems. If
    on the other hand you think of Bond regarding Friendship very highly
    The scene is jarring.
    As whith all things Bond there is NO right or wrong answer, Simply
    how you Feel about the scene. ;)

    I can imagine Bond dumping Kerim Bey as a necessary operational expedient, however there would be recognition of some sort, a flicker of regret and possibly anger that demonstrated the friendship and value. It needn't be big, a small jesture or expression could have conveyed all that was necessary, but we got nothing at all, and it's that which jars for me, just a step too far in my view.
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
    zaphod wrote:
    In TWINE Bond was dumping The body of an Enemy, While in
    QOS is was a Friend. As I've stated in the Past.
    If you can Imagine Bond Dumping the bodies of Quarrel or Kerim Bey
    In to a near by Dumster, Then the scene is Fine with No Problems. If
    on the other hand you think of Bond regarding Friendship very highly
    The scene is jarring.
    As whith all things Bond there is NO right or wrong answer, Simply
    how you Feel about the scene. ;)

    I can imagine Bond dumping Kerim Bey as a necessary operational expedient, however there would be recognition of some sort, a flicker of regret and possibly anger that demonstrated the friendship and value. It needn't be big, a small jesture or expression could have conveyed all that was necessary, but we got nothing at all, and it's that which jars for me, just a step too far in my view.

    Yes, indeed. Well said, zaphod. I too think that the sequence leaves a lot to be desired and leaves one feeling unfulfilled. It is as if Forster could not wait to get the scene over with quickly enough to move on to the next action sequence. Sometimes, Forster could have done with slowing the bullet's velocity way down and this was one such occasion if ever thwere was one, surely.
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • HalconHalcon Zen TemplePosts: 487MI6 Agent
    I read somewhere that Bond is an existentialist, maybe that had something to do with it.
  • zaphodzaphod Posts: 1,183MI6 Agent
    Halcon wrote:
    I read somewhere that Bond is an existentialist, maybe that had something to do with it.

    Bond is an existentialist, but at it's root existentialism has responsibility (see Sartre Existentialism & Humanism)
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Found this on T'internet. :))

    Q: How many existentialists does it take to screw in a light bulb?

    A: Two. One to screw it in and one to observe how the light bulb
    itself symbolizes a single incandescent beacon of subjective
    reality in a netherworld of endless absurdity reaching out toward a
    maudlin cosmos of nothingness.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,062MI6 Agent
    Found this on T'internet. :))

    Q: How many existentialists does it take to screw in a light bulb?

    A: Two. One to screw it in and one to observe how the light bulb
    itself symbolizes a single incandescent beacon of subjective
    reality in a netherworld of endless absurdity reaching out toward a
    maudlin cosmos of nothingness.
    This assumes we are actually conscious and not in a Matrix.
    Dalton & Connery rule. Brozz was cool.
    #1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 37,868Chief of Staff
    chrisisall wrote:
    This assumes we are actually conscious and not in a Matrix.

    Broccoli was actually planning to have a James Bond movie set in the Matrix, but Kevin McClory claimed it was all his idea and it had to be scrapped... not.


    Q} How many Bond fans does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

    A} 11,287. One to screw it in, and the rest to argue that their favourite Bond could have done a better job.
  • 00730073 COPPosts: 1,061MI6 Agent
    edited March 2013
    chrisisall wrote:
    I also think the very fact that the reasoning behind this scene is still
    being discussed shows how Badly filmed it was.
    M: I came here for a good argument.
    A: No you didn't; no, you came here for an argument.
    M: An argument isn't just contradiction.
    A: It can be.
    M: No it can't. An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition.
    A: No it isn't.
    M: Yes it is! It's not just contradiction.
    A: Look, if I argue with you, I must take up a contrary position.
    M: Yes, but that's not just saying 'No it isn't.'
    A: Yes it is!
    M: No it isn't!

    :)) :)) :)) :)) :)) :)) :)) :)) :)) :))

    Q: WHAT DO YOU WANT!!??
    M: Well, I was told outside that...
    Q: DON'T GIVE ME THAT YOU SNOTTY FACED HEAP OF PARROT DROPPINGS!!!!
    M: What?
    Q: SHUT YOUR FESTERING GOP YOU TIT!!!, YOUR TYPE REALLY MAKES ME PUKE!! YOU VACUOUS, COFFEE NOSED, MALODOROUS PERVERT!!!
    M: LOOK! I CAME HERE FOR AN ARGUMENT! I'M NOT GOING TO JUST STAND AND....
    Q: OH, oh I'm sorry, but this is abuse!
    M: Oh, I see, well, that explains it.
    Q: Ah yes, you want room 12A, next door.
    M: Oh, Thank you very much. Sorry.
    Q: Not at all.
    M: Thank You.
    Q: you stupid git.....
    "I mean, she almost kills bond...with her ass."
    -Mr Arlington Beech
  • 00730073 COPPosts: 1,061MI6 Agent
    1) Take the whole wallet or don't take anything since if he just takes cash and leaves credit cards (which are visible), that tips off the Carabinieri immediately.

    I am first to admit that I am getting a little late into the fray, but let me get just this one bit straight: You are sincerely of the opinion, that by taking the whole wallet, the scene would have been more realistic? And this is because of your understanding of how criminals and law enforcement works?

    So killing of two (2)! motorcycle cops and a former (?) intelligence officer would be dismissed as a robbery in NY if a wallet is missing?

    I know you are kidding, right?
    "I mean, she almost kills bond...with her ass."
    -Mr Arlington Beech
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
    Camille saying to James Bond as an onlooker "Is that how yo treat yor friends?" is also meant to be an indictment on Bond putting his friend and ally Mathis' body in the dumper also, I take it?

    Discuss.
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    I think as Bond answers "He wouldn't have minded " it's a reference to how in CR Mathis says
    something like. "Just because you're dead,doesn't mean you can't be useful "
    Although I think if Bond had repeated this line, it might of helped better explain why he
    was doing it.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
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