Sunday 11 December 2011

Quantum of Problems

Garth Franklin wrote a few days ago, for Dark Horizons, on the problems with Quantum of Solace:
"Asked about scripts being an after-thought on huge productions, Craig responded "Yes and you swear that you’ll never get involved with shit like that, and it happens. On “Quantum”, we were fu**ed. We had the bare bones of a script and then there was a writers’ strike and there was nothing we could do. We couldn’t employ a writer to finish it. I say to myself, “Never again”, but who knows? There was me trying to rewrite scenes – and a writer I am not.’"

I have watched Quantum of Solace a few times and my analysis of the film is already written up - in detail.

Suffice to say, I have never been too frustrated with the script. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the difficulties the film had and I completely understand the frustrations Daniel Craig and Marc Forster may have had with writing the script on set. But it wasn't the script that was the primary problem - it was the editing. It felt like it was spliced together with no knowledge of what was on the screen. In fact, only after a few watches do I understand what is going on. I knew something was "off" during the opening car chase ... and when it says "[car chase]" in the script, then it is clear that aspect of the script which was not going to change in the slightest. The buck stops firmly and squarely on Forsters head - and no amount of "writers-strike" talk will change that. 

Large Association of Movie Blogs

2 comments:

  1. Its truly a trainwreck. I watched it the first time a week ago and I got to say I had a really hard time keeping up with the plot. I do agree that the editing is really bad but I do think its tied together with them not having a decent script on set.

    Preproduction problems never go away you jut push them forward.

    I'll read your thoughts on Quantum tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh yeah, like I said, the script aspect didn't help in the slightest. But, many people don't like THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, but the fact remains: the boat chase on the Thames is possibly one of the best openings to a James Bond film ever. If an action film has good action in it, at least you walk away positive about that. The action in QUANTUM OF SOLACE is forgettable and unclear. The great sequences when tehre is attempt to juxtapose the opera and action slows down the pace of the action, the cutting between the horses in spain i think? and the action, again, disorientates. A real shame.

    ReplyDelete

Copyright 2008-2015. All posts & reviews are property of www.simoncolumb.wordpress.com/Simon Columb and should not be reproduced in whole, or in part, without express permission from the author.