Tag: Casino Royale

Quantum of solace

I don’t think there was a soul on this planet that wasn’t disappointed with Quantum of Solace upon its release, especially after the Bond franchise was riding high with Casino Royale two years earlier. But I have since changed my view. While I’d never argue that it’s the best Bond film, I will certainly argue that it might be the most interesting one.

But we should get this out of the way: the editing is atrocious. While the action makes more sense on second or third viewing , it presents itself as a mess on the first. Which is a shame because Quantum of Solace is a very fine looking film. It’s up there with one of the best in the franchise. While I think the filmmakers were going for a more rugged and frantic style that I think was in vogue at the time, they did themselves a disservice. Even by 2008, that look had overstayed its welcome. My biggest complaint with the movie is that they didn’t let shots linger and worse yet I hated some of the clunky transitions. Some have often wondered if there is missing material that, to my knowledge at least, has not been shown to the public. If that’s the case, then Marc Forster deserves to have his director’s cut.

But most of the complaints from the time were with the script and the rather low stakes that Bond finds himself in compared to other films. It’s not about world domination this time. The villain just wants control of Bolivia’s water supply. That’s pretty unsexy all things considered. But in retrospect, it’s the script (that I think was “hampered” due to a writer’s strike) that I quite like. Bond doesn’t go to his usual uppity Mediterranean stomping grounds. This time he’s in often overlooked locations like Port Au Prince and the aforementioned Bolivia. And I think that these unusual places (for Bond) works in the movie’s favor. This isn’t the usual travel log that we’re used to seeing. One thing that was never explored in these movies is the often cynical and political nature of clandestine operations. We’re only shown the sexy side. So I think Marc Forster did an excellent job at contrasting the luxurious high life of James Bond with the poverty stricken lives of real, discarded nations that we typically want to ignore.

But this leads me to a problem: should James Bond be political? While I don’t have an issue with the film itself being political, I could argue that it would be somewhat out of character for James Bond to be cognizant of these issues. As I’ve always said, James Bond is a dangerous man who’s found a profession that works for him. There shouldn’t be a political bone in his body. Obviously they wanted to expand the character under Daniel Craig, which I think was a rousing success. But some of the issues brought up in the script sounded like they were from Craig personally (I believe during the writer’s strike he had some input into the screenplay) and not something organically from Bond. But I digress. I can see both sides of the issue.

But what I liked best about Quantum is how many of the trends in Bond pictures are bucked. Despite killing numerous people, Bond doesn’t directly kill the bad guy OR the object of his revenge. Additionally, he doesn’t sleep with the leading lady (a very underrated Bond girl in my opinion) and the one woman he does sleep with, he later gets yelled at by M for taking advantage of her. There are many times where this outright doesn’t feel like a 007 picture and it works for me.

I think the best way to view Quantum of Solace is to see it as an extension of Casino Royale. In fact, watch it immediately after Casino Royale. While I praise Marc Forster, I think it was a shame that Martin Campbell didn’t return for Quantum. I think that would have added a degree of stylistic continuity that viewers missed in 2008. But as it is, I think Quantum of Solace deserves a rewatch.

the last temptation of christ-a film by martin Scorsese

A lot of people don’t know this about me, but between laughing hysterically at shit and cum jokes I obsess over the historicity a man named Jesus of Nazareth, aka our Lord and Savior.

I even read the New Testament in Koine Greek (it’s a lot easier than you think).

For the record, I’m not a “mythicist”-or those that believe Jesus was a myth that the Romans or later believers fabricated. That’s stupid. Modern archeology and scholarship affirm that Jesus almost certainly existed.

Sure, some of my opinions my be a little bit outside the mainstream. I tend to agree with John Dominic Crossan’s assessment that perhaps Jesus’s ministry needs to be viewed in light of Roman authority. The Roman’s notoriously ruled with an iron fist. Jesus, by contrast, appeared more as a pacifist that appealed to neighborly love. His “Kingdom of God”, which Jesus almost certainly believed was going to be on earth rather than in some supernatural realm, directly challenged Roman Rule. So in many ways, Jesus was more than just a religious figure-he was a political one (not that anyone distinguished between the two in those days). Could this be wrong? Sure. But I think this view is worth taking seriously.

When viewed in this light, Jesus’s message remains just as radical today as it was in the first century AD: it was a direct challenge to the violence of the era.

But another interesting perspective on early Christianity is how it provides insight into the nature of radical politics: it starts off as fringe then branches off into rivaling sects before becoming mainstream. Once it becomes mainstream, it becomes orthodox and therefore conservative-if not authoritarian-in nature.

I’ve always thought that this subject, the “real” Jesus, would make an excellent film.

Unfortunately no such film has been made.

So the next best thing is Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ, based on the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis.

Is it a perfect film? No. I can appreciate some of the modern characterizations of Jesus, the Apostles, Judas Iscariot, and so on. But Paul Schrader’s dialogue comes across as academic, which at times undermines the effectiveness of the story.

But Scorsese’s frenzied take on a familiar story is refreshing. Of course Peter Gabriel’s soundtrack might be one of the best in film history (a hill I’m willing to die on).

What I love most about this movie though is it’s influence on my favorite film franchise: the James Bond series.

“The fuck are you talking about?” you might ask.

Think I’m crazy? Well you’re right. But I’m also correct.

Watch the final act of The Last Temptation of Christ. Then go watch the final act of Casino Royale.

Coincidence? I think not.