To be fair the opening riff is solid bond, and as a whole the tune would benefit from Alicia keys being dubbed out! But I like it only because it signals the start of a rip roaring high octane bond adventure with a seriously kick ass bond -{
I think it's fair to say, AWTD is awful the way it is.
But if it had been an instrumental track or maybe only sung by Jack White, it could have worked much better.
To be honest I was quite dismayed with the final product, as I am a fan of Jack White and The White Stripes. As with Madonna and Sheryl Crow there should have been something way better in store for us from them, considering what great artists all of them are.
Not to mention Alicia Keys, AWTD simply is the most awful single she ever recorded, by far.
Madonna's "Frozen" (the song, not the Disney documentary from my country) would have been a much better title song for DAD.
"You're frozen. When your heart's not open."
"If I could melt your heart."
Somehow, I don't think he fell in love with one of the Koreans and there isn't a love story in DAD (nothing so deep in a film this hollow) but as a title...it could work.
But just as I mentioned, would've worked better for a Spy Who Loved Me remake.
Cons:
There is no gun barrel sequence at the start of the film
The editing is horrible
Daniel Craig looks nothing like James Bond
The title song is horrible
There is no Q
There is no Moneypenny
The villains are boring
The actress playing Camille cannot act
Bond doesn't say "Bond, James Bond"
The climax of the film is dull
The film is too short
LOL … hard to believe the Craig era "rejuvenated" the series to such critical acclaim when there are so many Bond trademarks missing. I actually quite like QoS despite the flaws you mentioned, but I would easily trade all 4 Craig films for just 1 more with Brosnan.
My current 10 favorite:
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,749Chief of Staff
QoS has to be the most polarizing film of the entire series. Fortunately, some of us can look past the lack of superficial elements that "tick off the boxes," such as Q, Moneypenny, gunbarrel, etc. I loved QoS the first time I saw it because it is an incredibly stylish film that both looks and sounds great, and doesn't overstay it's welcome. To me, that's what defines a Bond film. Spectre, a rubbish film, checked off plenty of boxes but just went through the motions. Aside from having better editing and more interesting Bond girls, Spectre is nowhere near as good as QoS in any other respect.
I tend to agree. I really disliked QoS when I saw it at the cinema but have warmed to it somewhat on repeat viewings. I think the basic problem is that the film is underwritten thanks to the writers strike.
This means that the film is (as I'm sure has been mentioned before - I haven't gone through the rest of the thread) too short. The film's climax seems to come out of nowhere, with Bond struggling to defeat a villain who should have posed no physical threat to him whatsoever. Similarly, his main henchman Elvis is just terrible - he seems unable to protect his boss in any way, which leads me to wonder what the point of the character is.
It's a shame, because (despite the absolute worst theme song of the entire series), there really is a lot to enjoy here, especially the Bond/M relationship. It's a wonderful moment when M finally decides to say bollocks to the CIA and trust her man.
If there hadn't been a financial imperative to not delay the film's release until the script could be completed, we could have had something really interesting instead of a flawed but fascinating movie,
Not sure what to think of QoS. I feel there's similarities with the locations and villains of TB, the revenge story and violent action of LTK, and the over-the-top climax of DAD.
Pros:
Mark Forster's direction gives the film such magnificient style.
Camile is a great, strong Bond girl.
Fields is a great addition.
Dominic Green is a good villain.
David Arnold's score is brilliant, and perhaps his best. Pursuit at Port a Prince is one of my favourites.
Daniel Craig really makes the character believable.
The revenge storyline and how it is mirrored in Camile's character arc.
The Bond-M relationship.
One of the series' best title songs.
The return of Mathis.
Cons:
There are gaps in the story so while it mostly holds together, it could have been much stronger than it is. Pity production went ahead despite the writers guild strike.
The jolting editing style makes action sequences hard to follow.
As a follow up to CR, it is disapointing.
Like the Brosnan films, action scenes are dropped in as soon as the story slows.
Bond's pursuit of Greene during the climax seems unnecessary.
Weak and unmemorable henchmen.
Lacks Bondian qualities.
I think QoS was risen slightly in my rankings but not too much.
Furthermore the way coolest kill ever happens in QOS when Craig tells Greene that he wondered how long he would last without drinking the oil in the can that Bond throws before Greene's feet. Then drives away, letting Greene stand there in the middle of the desert looking like a drowned rat.
Going through this thread from the beginning, I'd forgotten all about this scene (really need to see QoS again!). What always strikes me about it is that it's very similar to a scene in the Clint Eastwood spy movie The Eiger Sanction in which (SPOILER AHOY)
.
.
.
.
Eastwood's character Jonathan Hemlock gets rid of his rival Miles Mellough (Jack Cassidy) by driving him out to the dersert and leaving him there.
Interesting film, The Eiger Sanction, parts of it are terrible and cliched, but the climbing sequences are absolutely amazing.
Not sure what to think of QoS. I feel there's similarities with the locations and villains of TB, the revenge story and violent action of LTK, and the over-the-top climax of DAD.
Pros:
Mark Forster's direction gives the film such magnificient style.
Camile is a great, strong Bond girl.
Fields is a great addition.
Dominic Green is a good villain.
David Arnold's score is brilliant, and perhaps his best. Pursuit at Port a Prince is one of my favourites.
Daniel Craig really makes the character believable.
The revenge storyline and how it is mirrored in Camile's character arc.
The Bond-M relationship.
One of the series' best title songs.
The return of Mathis.
Cons:
There are gaps in the story so while it mostly holds together, it could have been much stronger than it is. Pity production went ahead despite the writers guild strike.
The jolting editing style makes action sequences hard to follow.
As a follow up to CR, it is disapointing.
Like the Brosnan films, action scenes are dropped in as soon as the story slows.
Bond's pursuit of Greene during the climax seems unnecessary.
Weak and unmemorable henchmen.
Lacks Bondian qualities.
I think QoS was risen slightly in my rankings but not too much.
As with ALL Bond films the good bits are so good they negate the bad bits for me, QoS is amongst my most watched Bond films, sure there are few niggles but I massively enjoy this one. I think the title song would be better if Jack White had locked Alicia Keys out of the studio.
Also why do you find the climax over the top Icepak? for me it's no where near the excessive level of DAD it's just a burning hotel a few handguns and a fistfight, nearer to the CR sinking venetian palazzo I'd say?
I'd add the final scenes in Russia to any pros list, it's magnificent in its understatement, I also love how they made Camille Bonds equal almost and kept her out of Bond's bed, that adds to her character I think.
One thing that always niggles me is when camille asks bond if he's one of Greenes men during the boat chase and bond replies "Dominic Greene?" why would bond know of Dominic Greene? He's not been on the Radar up to that point! It niggles me as much as the whole " le chiffre has lost all his money and that why he can put on a high stakes poker tournament " dialogue in CR!!! But just minor niggles that in no way detract from a unique and welcome badass entry into the Bond series.
Have to admit while QOS has taken a pounding over the years personally I liked the film and loved the sartorial style. It's a film I really seemed to connect with. My niggle was the lack of continuity between QOS and CR, JB should at least have been in a 3 piece! Sure the story line was not as tight as CR but it was always going to be a tough act to follow. That said situation was recovered well by the time SF was released.
Have to say I preferred the CR title song over the QOS one though.
Cheers :007)
My name is Bond, Basildon Bond - I have letters after my name!
Have to admit while QOS has taken a pounding over the years personally I liked the film and loved the sartorial style. It's a film I really seemed to connect with. My niggle was the lack of continuity between QOS and CR, JB should at least have been in a 3 piece! Sure the story line was not as tight as CR but it was always going to be a tough act to follow. That said situation was recovered well by the time SF was released.
Have to say I preferred the CR title song over the QOS one though.
Cheers :007)
I loved QoS from the first time I saw it aswell, it was also the film that got me into all this bond clothing collecting in earnest. Along with Thunderball it's my most watched Bond film, it helps it comes in a snack sized 90 minutes.
Have to admit while QOS has taken a pounding over the years personally I liked the film and loved the sartorial style. It's a film I really seemed to connect with. My niggle was the lack of continuity between QOS and CR, JB should at least have been in a 3 piece! Sure the story line was not as tight as CR but it was always going to be a tough act to follow. That said situation was recovered well by the time SF was released.
Have to say I preferred the CR title song over the QOS one though.
Cheers :007)
I loved QoS from the first time I saw it aswell, it was also the film that got me into all this bond clothing collecting in earnest. Along with Thunderball it's my most watched Bond film, it helps it comes in a snack sized 90 minutes.
Yeah it was bite sized. But throw in the Aston Martin DBS, TF108's and Omega PO 42mm (a normal sized watch) and QOS has a lot to answer for!
Well I got the PO and 108's the Aston will follow one day
Cheers :007)
My name is Bond, Basildon Bond - I have letters after my name!
Also why do you find the climax over the top Icepak? for me it's no where near the excessive level of DAD it's just a burning hotel a few handguns and a fistfight, nearer to the CR sinking venetian palazzo I'd say?
I'd add the final scenes in Russia to any pros list, it's magnificent in its understatement, I also love how they made Camille Bonds equal almost and kept her out of Bond's bed, that adds to her character I think.
I definitely love the scene in Russia too. It's hard not to love it when Stana Katic is in it but she does very little, sadly. Still, great end to the film, especially the part with M.
I also agree about Bond not bedding Camile. It makes the character more believable. And I love how they first meet.
I don't think anything will ever be more OTT than the DAD climax, however, the building exploding for nearly no reason at all in QoS reminded me of the DAD climax pushing everything to the hilt for maximum effect and overdoing it. It seems unnecessary. Further, Camile's character arc here is far more powerful than Bond pursuing Greene but there is more focus on Bond, sadly.
I remember someone else once speculating:
the fight in the exploding hotel was an unofficial adaptation of Fleming's the Spy Who Loved Me ... seems more like a coincidence to me, after 20 films everything else got blowed up, sooner or later its going to be a hotel, but if true might explain why they needed to have so much blowing up real good while fighting a pair of otherwise mundane villains
the collapsing building in the previous film seems over the top to me, it comes out of nowhere and is unnecessary to the plot, very tacked on, but I get why they did it, structurally: by following Fleming's story so closely they had absolutely no action scenes for a good half hour after the adventure proper ended, they certainly couldn't end an action film with Vesper just OD'ing on sleeping pills
and yes a pro for me is the extra bonus ending of this film: they may have only used the title of one short story, but they actually filmed the mission from an even more obscure short story, bonus points for that
Comments
That bit's ok.
Maybe AWTD is a masterpiece, but not where "tune" and "musical" are concerned.
But if it had been an instrumental track or maybe only sung by Jack White, it could have worked much better.
To be honest I was quite dismayed with the final product, as I am a fan of Jack White and The White Stripes. As with Madonna and Sheryl Crow there should have been something way better in store for us from them, considering what great artists all of them are.
Not to mention Alicia Keys, AWTD simply is the most awful single she ever recorded, by far.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAHu_ZKWcCQ
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
John Barry ;%
"If I could melt your heart."
Somehow, I don't think he fell in love with one of the Koreans and there isn't a love story in DAD (nothing so deep in a film this hollow) but as a title...it could work.
But just as I mentioned, would've worked better for a Spy Who Loved Me remake. Because of Quantum's machine gun pacing, it wouldn't work as well.
I love the song, BTW.
LOL … hard to believe the Craig era "rejuvenated" the series to such critical acclaim when there are so many Bond trademarks missing. I actually quite like QoS despite the flaws you mentioned, but I would easily trade all 4 Craig films for just 1 more with Brosnan.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
Or was it Beethoven ? :v
There is a risk of the universe imploding as AWTD is the anti-matter, because John Barry and Beethoven matter :v
"Better make that two."
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
I totally agree and I wish the title song was Garbage
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
It gets better the more you watch it. -{
Bond: “I must be dreaming.”
This means that the film is (as I'm sure has been mentioned before - I haven't gone through the rest of the thread) too short. The film's climax seems to come out of nowhere, with Bond struggling to defeat a villain who should have posed no physical threat to him whatsoever. Similarly, his main henchman Elvis is just terrible - he seems unable to protect his boss in any way, which leads me to wonder what the point of the character is.
It's a shame, because (despite the absolute worst theme song of the entire series), there really is a lot to enjoy here, especially the Bond/M relationship. It's a wonderful moment when M finally decides to say bollocks to the CIA and trust her man.
If there hadn't been a financial imperative to not delay the film's release until the script could be completed, we could have had something really interesting instead of a flawed but fascinating movie,
Pros:
Mark Forster's direction gives the film such magnificient style.
Camile is a great, strong Bond girl.
Fields is a great addition.
Dominic Green is a good villain.
David Arnold's score is brilliant, and perhaps his best. Pursuit at Port a Prince is one of my favourites.
Daniel Craig really makes the character believable.
The revenge storyline and how it is mirrored in Camile's character arc.
The Bond-M relationship.
One of the series' best title songs.
The return of Mathis.
Cons:
There are gaps in the story so while it mostly holds together, it could have been much stronger than it is. Pity production went ahead despite the writers guild strike.
The jolting editing style makes action sequences hard to follow.
As a follow up to CR, it is disapointing.
Like the Brosnan films, action scenes are dropped in as soon as the story slows.
Bond's pursuit of Greene during the climax seems unnecessary.
Weak and unmemorable henchmen.
Lacks Bondian qualities.
I think QoS was risen slightly in my rankings but not too much.
8. TMwtGG 9. AVtaK 10. TSWLM 11. SF 12. LtK 13. TND 14. YOLT
15. NTtD 16. MR 17. LaLD 18. GF 19. SP 20. DN 21. TB
22. TWiNE 23. DAD 24. QoS 25. DaF
Going through this thread from the beginning, I'd forgotten all about this scene (really need to see QoS again!). What always strikes me about it is that it's very similar to a scene in the Clint Eastwood spy movie The Eiger Sanction in which (SPOILER AHOY)
.
.
.
.
Eastwood's character Jonathan Hemlock gets rid of his rival Miles Mellough (Jack Cassidy) by driving him out to the dersert and leaving him there.
Interesting film, The Eiger Sanction, parts of it are terrible and cliched, but the climbing sequences are absolutely amazing.
As with ALL Bond films the good bits are so good they negate the bad bits for me, QoS is amongst my most watched Bond films, sure there are few niggles but I massively enjoy this one. I think the title song would be better if Jack White had locked Alicia Keys out of the studio.
Also why do you find the climax over the top Icepak? for me it's no where near the excessive level of DAD it's just a burning hotel a few handguns and a fistfight, nearer to the CR sinking venetian palazzo I'd say?
I'd add the final scenes in Russia to any pros list, it's magnificent in its understatement, I also love how they made Camille Bonds equal almost and kept her out of Bond's bed, that adds to her character I think.
One thing that always niggles me is when camille asks bond if he's one of Greenes men during the boat chase and bond replies "Dominic Greene?" why would bond know of Dominic Greene? He's not been on the Radar up to that point! It niggles me as much as the whole " le chiffre has lost all his money and that why he can put on a high stakes poker tournament " dialogue in CR!!! But just minor niggles that in no way detract from a unique and welcome badass entry into the Bond series.
Have to say I preferred the CR title song over the QOS one though.
Cheers :007)
I loved QoS from the first time I saw it aswell, it was also the film that got me into all this bond clothing collecting in earnest. Along with Thunderball it's my most watched Bond film, it helps it comes in a snack sized 90 minutes.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Well I got the PO and 108's the Aston will follow one day
Cheers :007)
I also agree about Bond not bedding Camile. It makes the character more believable. And I love how they first meet.
I don't think anything will ever be more OTT than the DAD climax, however, the building exploding for nearly no reason at all in QoS reminded me of the DAD climax pushing everything to the hilt for maximum effect and overdoing it. It seems unnecessary. Further, Camile's character arc here is far more powerful than Bond pursuing Greene but there is more focus on Bond, sadly.
I do seem to like QoS more every time I watch it.
8. TMwtGG 9. AVtaK 10. TSWLM 11. SF 12. LtK 13. TND 14. YOLT
15. NTtD 16. MR 17. LaLD 18. GF 19. SP 20. DN 21. TB
22. TWiNE 23. DAD 24. QoS 25. DaF
the fight in the exploding hotel was an unofficial adaptation of Fleming's the Spy Who Loved Me ... seems more like a coincidence to me, after 20 films everything else got blowed up, sooner or later its going to be a hotel, but if true might explain why they needed to have so much blowing up real good while fighting a pair of otherwise mundane villains
the collapsing building in the previous film seems over the top to me, it comes out of nowhere and is unnecessary to the plot, very tacked on, but I get why they did it, structurally: by following Fleming's story so closely they had absolutely no action scenes for a good half hour after the adventure proper ended, they certainly couldn't end an action film with Vesper just OD'ing on sleeping pills
and yes a pro for me is the extra bonus ending of this film: they may have only used the title of one short story, but they actually filmed the mission from an even more obscure short story, bonus points for that