We went to see Quantum Of Solace at the cinema last week. After having heard somewhat mixed reviews I have to say I quite enjoyed it. The new Bond films are still rather uncomfortably in the shadow of the Jason Bourne films, so there's a slight unevenness of tone between the ramping up of the bone-crunching brutality and the ditching of the camper aspects of the Brosnan Bonds like John Cleese's gadgetmeister and the one-liners, and the retention of the recognisably Bondian features like the cars and the absurd plot MacGuffins - in this case we are required to believe that someone could build a couple of enormous reservoirs in the Bolivian altiplano without someone noticing by, say, having a look on Google Maps. Other noteworthy things: a nicely understated in-joke with the Gemma Arterton character's name (revealed only in the closing credits of the film, but also on her Wikipedia page, just in case you don't want the joke spoiled), and one of the more tuneless Bond themes, despite being written by the estimable Jack White. To be fair Casino Royale's theme wasn't great either, only being redeemed by Chris Cornell's gravelly tones.
I watched Underworld: Evolution on TV last night. One of the more stupid films I've ever seen, and the final speech (delivered by Kate Beckinsale in a voice-over as the camera skims across a lake) is a breathtakingly cheeky almost word-for-word rip-off of the speech at the end of Terminator 2 (delivered by Linda Hamilton in a voice-over as the camera skims along a road - about 4:40 into the linked clip). Also, the main male protagonist appears to be essentially Wolverine from X-Men (miraculous self-healing and all) with a less tragic haircut. But no film is without any redeeming features, and Kate does appear in skin-tight black fetish gear throughout, except for the brief moments where she slips out of it for an entirely gratuitous (and probably NSFW, though you don't really get to see anything) sex scene. I suspect in real life getting out of a black rubber catsuit and boots would involve a bit more yanking and squeaking, but, hey, artistic licence I suppose. A several-hundred year old vampire assassin having sex in a metal packing crate with a vampire-werewolf hybrid? Move along, nothing to see here.The only cheekier bit of film plagiarism I can recall recently was 28 Days Later nicking its entire plot, wholesale, from The Day Of The Triffids.
2 comments:
So who do you prefer: Gemma or Olga?
I have to say I was a bit disappointed with the film, just because of the Jason Bournesque scenario. Even if it was a pure pleasure to watch a couple of hours of Daniel Craig.
I'd have to say Olga, really. Though that porcelain-skinned English rose thing with the haughty exterior concealing a heart of pure filth is quite appealing.
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