Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Quantum of Derivation Solace

It's the Quantum of Solace trailer. We'll call it a teaser since it stars Daniel Craig... even if it is 2 full minutes long.



It's clear that for Craig's second outing as 007 the filmmaking team hasn't once been discouraged by the notion that they've been heavily influenced by the Bourne franchise. In November's performance, the role of "dead girl who must be avenged" normally played by Franka Potente will be played by Eva Green. The role normally played by Joan Allen will be played by Judi Dench. The role normally played by Matt Damon will be played by Daniel Craig. Watch out Daniel! Judi is not as frail as she appears. Have you seen Notes on a Scandal or Shakespeare in Love? She will cut you! With an imperious stare maybe but still... it'll hurt.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

As a long time Bond fan (of the films and the Fleming novels), I appreciate what you're saying here... but these notions of revenge and betrayal aren't specific to the Bourne films (which I also love). I think both franchises have learned from each other - certainly Bourne Identity was really the anti-Bond and Casino Royale was a post-Bourne 007.

But these issues of revenge are a staple of the Fleming books - and while direct revenge for Vesper's death isn't lifted from Fleming, it's the franchise's version of Bond seeking revenge for his dead wife in Fleming canon. And certainly Fleming's second book is about finding who was behind Le Chiffre's operation. And Vesper's death is mourned in the books - even a decade later (in the tenth book, Bond visits Vesper's grave).

Yes, there are similarities and I adore both franchises - but I don't think Quantum is lifting as much from Bourne as it is from Fleming's original source material.

Just so you know.

Anonymous said...

Well, since Casino Royale was better than any Bourne movie I'm hoping this one will be too.
I'm anticipating this one even more than The Dark Knight.

NATHANIEL R said...

crossover man --that's a good point. Thanks for keeeping me on my toes.

But the pitch of the trailer has so many other Bourne elements, too ... it really does seem to cast Dench in the Allen part

Agent69 -- you have more faith in Marc Forster than I but i'm excited for it too (on account of Craig). And I like Casino Royale better than the Bourne movies too. An unpopular critical opinion perhaps but that's how I feel.

Robert said...

I perferred it when Bond was a hit-it-and-quit-it kinda guy. None of this getting hung up over a woman.

Deborah said...

Crossoverman hit most of the highlights. But really; Judi Dench has been playing M since 1995; the casting was inspired when a real life woman was made head of MI5 Stella Rimington).

Fleming's revenge-for-a-woman novel was You Only Live Twice (written in 1964). The film of the same name bore almost no resemblance to the novel.

Vesper Lynd's suicide as a motivation to drive Bond harder and make Bond edgier and more committed to the service was written in 1953 in the original Casino Royale novel.

These aren't new ideas. Fleming didn't invent them. Attributing them to Bourne is very short-sighted, very 21st century, and kind of beneath you.

Janice said...

I get everyone's points about the themes and so forth but, just from watching the trailer I certainly see Nat's point. Just because the themes predate the Bourne films doesn't mean the filmmakers cant have picked up a trick or two from the Bourne series (how can anyone making an action series today ignore it?) Or perhaps the film is very little like the Bourne series but the trailer is a bit of marketing and if the studio thinks that it can fill seats by creating trailers that remind audiences of Bourne, of course they will do that. Far more people (especially the under-40 crowd) know the Bourne films that either the Bond films or books.

Neel Mehta said...

I perferred it when Bond was a hit-it-and-quit-it kinda guy. None of this getting hung up over a woman.

Ah, but maybe this Bond is evolving into a hit-it-and-quit-it kind of guy.

(I'm sure at some point, Bond will like to hit it and quit it. But I'd rather stay and play.)

NATHANIEL R said...

I had no idea people would take this post this way. All I'm trying to say is that they're inviting comparison.

YES Dench has played M forever. But M has never before been treated in the trailer like the Joan Allen Bourne antagonistic kind of role ... and this time she is.

so yes though Bond and every action and plot theme in BOURNE predates BOURNE... I really and truly believe that the BOND series has been influenced by the BOURNE series. But this is hardly an original notion from me. Everyone was saying it when Casino Royale came out.

this trailer looks like a BOURNE trailer to me.

but yeah, I prefer Bond. Just cuz it's more fun.

Deborah said...

I think the Bond films are always keeping up with the times, and since they're not period pieces, they have had to. Damn, people used to LIKE the Roger Moore silliness.

We know that Moonraker was influenced by Star Wars. We know that Licence to Kill was influenced by Die Hard.

I distrust the frequent Bourne comparisons, because I suspect that Bourne isn't as original as people think. The queasi-cam didn't start with Bourne, and a whole lot of Bourne stuff seems to be standard 21st century spy/action stuff—or earlier. Bourne reminds me of Condor.

I'm a Bond expert, not an action expert, but I bet an action expert could look at Bourne AND Craig-era Bond and identify the common precursor.

I like Bourne, don't get me wrong, I've seen all the movies and rated them highly, but the constant comparison gets on my nerves. Maybe that's just me being touchy.

NATHANIEL R said...

I get ya and I hear you. my love to Bond (especially Bond, Craig Bond) and you! ;)

Anonymous said...

I love the Bourne films, but I agree with Deborah - the comparisons seems too easy. In a way, I think they have influenced each other - and I can see what Nat's saying about this looking more like a Bourne trailer. Although this is a teaser, too - I'm hoping the full trailer is more specifically Bondian.

Even Bourne and Bond share the same initials - JB - so obviously Ludlum was reacting to Bond and to Fleming when he wrote his Cold War series. I think that's interesting, given Fleming's novels are more clearly post-WW2 stories - and Ludlum's are very much stories of the 80s.

Whereas both the Bourne trilogy and the Daniel Craig Bond films are post-9/11 spy thrillers - filtered through their source material. Bond is still bound by duty first; Bourne by chasing his own demons. And I think that is key.

Even as a long-time Bond fan, I love the Bourne trilogy so much it's hard to say which I prefer. Casino Royale is the Bond film I've waited all my life for, but the Bourne trilogy is the spy thriller I've been waiting for. (In a way, Identity was how I always wished a Bond film would look - and then Casino Royale came along and there was no need for that wish fulfillment anymore.)

Anonymous said...

i don't like craig as bond.