In Quantum of Solace, James Bond Gets With The FLOW
No, Quantum of Solace, the 22nd film in the James Bond franchise, doesn't qualify--not even remotely--as a documentary. However, as underpinning to the film's highly anticipated high octane chases and fight sequences rife with bloodied bodies, 2008's 007 (Daniel Craig) slickly delivers to the bad guys--and to us, for that matter--a fundamental and important message: you can't drink a can of motor oil.You knew that, right? Still, if after seeking Solace you want to test the waters to see how closely the film's plot line comes to reflecting fundamental truths, turn your Bond watching into a double bill, selecting the documentary entitled FLOW: For Love Of Water as your second feature, and discover that at present six multinationals own and control most of the world's fresh water, the singular substance without which we surely cannot live.
Does that bit of information present a new perspective on current events, and give the new Bond flick greater relevance? Does it indicate that in real life--as in Quantum of Solace--oil-based paranoia is merely a distraction? What a thought!
The DVD of FLOW won't be released until December 9th, so if you can't watch the documentary in conjunction with Quantum of Solace, make sure you watch the documentary's trailer and read my full review of the film.
(PHOTOS: Bond and companion survive the dessert in 'Quantum of Solace,' courtesy Columbia Pictures; Water under the bridge in 'FLOW: For Love of Water,' courtesy Osilloscope Laboratories).
Comments
Quantum of Solace is entertaining at least… a lot of high quality visuals, but the movie as a whole could stand to lose six or seven fewer chase scenes
Hey Patrick…
I completely agree with you about the actions scenes, which I found quite hard to follow. I had the opportunity to ask the film’s producer, Barbara Broccoli, about them–and she said that Marc Forster was trying to show the action from James Bond’s point of view, rather than from the perspective of someone watching from outside the action (like the audience, for example). That sort of makes sense to me, but I still found the sequences quite confusing. I admire Marc Forster’s work enormously, but I think this particular choice wasn’t his finest–although I do respect him for challenging himself to find a new way of creating action sequences.
I did find it really interesting to note that this Bond flick seems so much more connected to the real world in its theme and the actual threat it goes up against. I wonder whether there’s a trend to make even movies that so unabashedly appeal to the thrill-seeker in us all more socially and politically relevant. And I wonder whether the increased success of documentaries and the focus on them has contributed to the change in tone. Hmmmmm….
Jennifer Merin
Spot on comment in the connection between FLoW and QoS. Halfway watching QoS last night I thought “wow, they’ve redone FLoW as a Bond pic!”. Using documentary aesthetics in the Bond franchise is a good thing; Bond gets more relevant and we get more invested in rooting for him.