Credits Report: Quantum of Solace
Filed under: Action, Music & Musicals, Fandom, James Bond, Daniel Craig, Trailers and Clips
I've been a bit of a lapsed Bond-ophile as the series has evolved over the years. I grew up with Roger Moore's slightly more campy Bond, and as an adult I worked my way through the Connery years for a little historical perspective...and yes, I even gave Timothy Dalton a try. But by the time Pierce Brosnan had stepped in I had tuned out. The arrival of Daniel Craig as our new Bond was the chance to reignite a franchise, and say what you will about Casino Royale, (and there is plenty to complain about, which for the purposes of time and brevity, I won't get into here) Craig proved that he could hold his ground as 007. But no matter what I may have thought about Royale, by the time the credits rolled on Quantum of Solace, all was forgiven.
So today's Credits Report might be a bit of a cheat because really, it's about two scenes: the opening car chase, and the iconic Bond theme by Alica Keys and Jack White. So first let's get to that car chase. Well, you can't have Bond without a little vehicular mayhem and Forster delivers with expert uses of sound and stunts. We even get Bond delivering a rare moment of cheekiness before those opening chords of Solace's theme.
After the jump; a few words about Keys and White's 'Bond Song' and two worthy additions to Bond's canon of car chases and snazzy credit sequences...
So now on to the music: I might be in the minority, but I enjoyed White and Key's collaboration, Another Way to Die. The song mixed just enough of that old fashioned Bassey swing with the rock and roll vibe that seems to work so well with Craig's macho Bond. So when MK12's title sequence kicks in, with a custom font no less, you get all the usual Bond tropes like slo-mo bullets and half-naked silhouettes, but it's all just a little bit, I don't know...different. So maybe that's why I like these credits so much; maybe because just like the film that is about to come, it's Bond alright, but thankfully, it's not like any other one to come before.
The Opening Car Chase
Quantum of Solace's Opening Credits.
Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams Reunite for 'Mission Impossible 4'
'Big Top Pee-Wee': The Original Benicio Del Toro Wolfman
Spin-ematical: New on DVD and Blu-ray for 2/9
Watch This: Brilliant Oscar-Nominated Short 'Logorama'
Chris Nolan to Lead 'Superman' Reboot!?
_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-04-2009 @ 3:28PM
Nicholas Lundgren said...
You must be completely, bat-shit insane to claim that Quantum of Solace is a better film than Casino Royale.
Insane.
Reply
9-04-2009 @ 5:02PM
gamesix said...
Agreed. Makes me think that Jessica had the titles confused? QoS was horrendous, not one redeeming quality. All I remember from that movie is the crappy, blurry-as-all-hell car chase..and that the entire movie was about 10 minutes long.
IIRC over at Ain't It Cool they mentioned that QoS is supposed to be an appetizer to the 3rd movie...but that 3rd movie is going to need to be spectacular to wash the taste of QoS out of my mouth. Just...not good, nothing memorable. Ooh yeah, goldfinger nod w/the death-by-coating.
9-04-2009 @ 3:32PM
Alastair Foster said...
I loved Casino Royale. LOVED IT!
Quantum of Solace however was one of the worst Bond films i have ever seen.
It was atrocious. I literally hated everything about it. I couldnt believe that they could take everything i liked about Casino Royale and destroy it.
Reply
9-04-2009 @ 4:10PM
Squidward Tentacles said...
How can you like the abomination of the song that Alica Keys and Jack White perpetrated? You disqualified any other comments you made with that horrible misstep. People like you are the reason why we do not have good music anymore, only lukewarm half-musicians and regurgitated clones of one hit wonders, replaceable by a dozen. Where are today's Elvis, Queen, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Tom Jones, Led Zeppelin...?
We have a barrage of forgettable wannabes and not a single high quality act.
Reply
9-04-2009 @ 5:07PM
Ricky said...
Yes, the title song was pretty bad. But you know what was worse? Your dig at kids and their music today. I'm sure everyone down at the retirement community agrees w/you, though...so you've got that going for you. Which is nice.
9-04-2009 @ 7:06PM
Mr.R said...
I once dreamed that Golfrapp would make a sexy bond song but then I woke up to that crap. And I agree, there is some great music today, just not that crap.
9-04-2009 @ 5:16PM
Troy said...
Gotta echo the sentiment: Casino Royale is hands-down one of the best Bond films, if not 'the' best. On the other hand, Quantum of Solace was a monumental letdown, despite Craig's best efforts to make it work (he's the best thing about it).
Reply
9-04-2009 @ 5:34PM
JEREMY said...
screw you guys I thought QoS was awesome i dont know what you guys are talking about. their both like relativly the same film they have the same writers and actors. you guys are a bunch of a-hole critics that think that everythig sucks except for the dark knight and the godfather.
P.S. i thought casino royale was better but i love them both
Reply
9-04-2009 @ 5:47PM
shadowracer said...
QoS was 90mins of non stop action and it was boring as hell. How the hell does one accomplish that?
The villain alone was such a downgrade that it can't be called bond, that was the wort casting decision ever.
Reply
9-04-2009 @ 8:52PM
Wayne said...
The reason QoS stunk out loud was because it destroyed all of the "real world" credibility of Casino Royale. Casino Royale spent the entire movie establishing Bond as more "Jason Bourne-like" character in the real world and then QoS made him a typical superhero-like cartoony action figure. That's why the action was boring. It wasn't realistic and it ruined the efforts of the previous movie.
9-04-2009 @ 5:48PM
Ross said...
Why all the hate for Quantum? As a fan of Bond on the screen and on the page I thought it was a well-done entry...
Reply
9-04-2009 @ 6:04PM
Ant said...
QoS was a god awful flim. I think the person who said "QoS was 90mins of non stop action and it was boring as hell. How the hell does one accomplish that?"was spot on.
On the flip side, I think QOS mixed it up with a unqiue title song \ sequence - something that has been lacking from the bond series as of late.
Not that I would ever want to go back to Duran Duran or Shirley Bassey but some of you hard-liners need to lighten up on the "Damn kids and their rock music" attitude.
Reply
9-04-2009 @ 7:12PM
Frohike in STL said...
Damn. . . here I thought I was the only one that had real issues with QoS.
Loved the chase. . . then came the title sequence.
Knew things were in trouble there. . . did not care for the titles graphics and feel and absolutely despised the song!. . . CASINO- THERE was a title song and sequence!
Now, I will say, QoS was better/is better than most of the remake garbage coming out of Hollywood, tho that is not saying much.
Reply
9-04-2009 @ 8:59PM
Ben said...
Yeah, you're definitely in the minority on this one, Jessica. The theme song is hardly "iconic" - I'm sure it will become as forgotten as the entire movie over the next couple of years.
I agree with the general consensus of the commenters here - QoS took all the wind out of a series that had been given fresh air with Casino Royale.
Reply
9-04-2009 @ 11:52PM
Johne Cook said...
I found a lot to like about QoS. Yes, it's not as good as Casino Royale, but it /does/ have the virtue of acting as the conclusion of the storyline begun in CR. I had a /lot/ of thoughts about QoS, and a lot of fun writing about just how good this film is (if you only pay attention to Marc Forster's subtle mastery and not the Bourne-inspired action scenes filmed by others).
http://phywriter.com/?p=150
Reply
9-05-2009 @ 2:33AM
Wendy said...
Casino Royale was definitely the better film of the two, but I have to say that there are many Bond films that are worse then Quantum of Solace. I wouldn't put it in a list of my top Bond films, but it's not among my worst ones either.
As for the song, I wasn't a fan. It had high points, but I don't think that their singing styles worked well together, especially for the "climax" portion of the song.
I didn't much like the credit sequence either. It almost looked like bits of it were unfinished CGI outlines. I think they tried too hard to make it look spy/action like, but forgot to maintain the classiness.
Reply
9-05-2009 @ 4:17AM
BloodwerK said...
QoS is a better action film than CR, imo. It was shot out of a cannon...
Reply
9-05-2009 @ 8:40AM
David said...
QofS was the only Bond film EVER that made me ANGRY. It was a disoriented, chaotic mess, and that car chase is a perfect example of it. I know, they were clearly trying to capture the "Bourne" energy here -- I believe they even hired the same editor -- but I had no sense of anything but a manic flurry of cuts. I am no fan of overcaffeinated cutting -- I'm an editor myself -- which is why I'm so astonished at how Paul Greengrass does it. It's just as assaultive as the QofS chase, but somehow he maintains GEOGRAPHY -- you ALWAYS know where you are, what's the relationship to the other vehicles and landscape, AND makes it emotional for the story as well. This... well, enough. I'm still looking forward to the next one, and I hope they take Daniel Craig's advice (I'm paraphrasing, couldn't find the exact quote): "I want to be sitting by the pool, drinking a f***ing martini."
Reply
9-06-2009 @ 1:43AM
Aston Martin Fan said...
Can you help me out here, I wonder if he has one more chance to drive An Aston Martin again. Problemly he might be switch away from the Aston to another cool brand car. Some of the Bond fan want him out of the Aston but I don't. I want in an Aston Martin. I was hoping he drive another new Aston Martin V12 Vantage. Do you hope he'll drive an Aston Martin or you want him switched in Anther Brand car. Q will be returning with Miss Moneypenny in Bond 23. Q might put gadgets in his next spy car.
9-05-2009 @ 9:55AM
This is Me said...
Loved CASINO ROYALE; it was great getting excited about seeing a Bond film again. I grew up in the 70s and the cheese that was the Moore films, was happy they tried a new direction with Dalton (which fell flat of course) and, like the reviewer, had pretty much given up when Bronson came in.
But ROYALE came along, and there was all this flap about a new Bond and I started following its progress. Excited as hell about it opening; my wife and I went on opening weekend. Loved that they held the full theme, and the "Bond... James Bond" line to the very ending when it was so utterly proper to use it.
QUANTUM OF SOLACE I honestly don't really remember that well, though I did see it within a week of its opening. I found it a decent coda, if you will, to the story set forth by ROYALE. A good part of the story, but maybe not quite enough to hold its own.
But that's what worries me a bit, honestly; the "independent" writing of a Bond story. I keep thinking that maybe Bond films should stay within Ian Fleming's "storyverse"; keep the thread there but update as needed for modern filmmaking. Hoky lasers and grandiose supervillans notwithstanding, of course.
(It's a lot like STAR TREK fandom, in a way; those of us who are fans of the original series know it was often silly and over-the-top, but it was the characters that kept us coming back.)
Reply