Thursday, April 19, 2012

Q is for Quantum of Solace (#390)

Quantum of Solace (2008) is effectively the first James Bond sequel, Daniel Craig's second go-around as 007, and still manages to work as a standalone experience if you want to view it that way, too, with Bond simply trying to survive a miserable set of circumstances, the death of his girlfriend, while also dueling with the latest villain.  I'm not the biggest Bond enthusiast out there (mostly limited to a little bit of Connery, more Brosnan, and now two Craigs), but I am a big fan of Daniel Craig, who brings a uniquely studied ruthless intelligence to film.  I also like that his Bond Girls aren't already famous, but can still keep step with the tradition.  The featured ladies this time around are Olga Kurylenko (later to be featured in Neil Marshall's Centurion) and Gemma Arterton (later to be briefly ubiquitous and generally awesome).  Also featured are Judi Dench, Mathieu Amalric, and Jeffrey Wright.

Star Trek bonus!

Q is for Q!
(from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager)
"What a Q?"  It's a letter of the alphabet as far as I know."  The signature of John de Lancie's signature role is that you never see him coming.  All-seeing and all-obnoxious, Q was the god figure taken from the pattern established in the original series to the nth degree, an imp who felt entitled and surprisingly chummy with both Captains Picard and Janeway, neither of whom were amused for one second (also, Sisko hit him; Picard never hit him!), even though clearly he was a fan favorite from the start.  The best thing about Q was that he had considerable range, having managed to introduce the Borg, pose as the Sheriff of Nottingham, walk Picard through a near-death experience, and even have a philosophical debate on the merits of suicide.  The fact that he was never featured in a movie baffled some fans.

A-to-Z Challenge!

5 comments:

Michael Abayomi said...

Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan were my two favorite Bonds too. But I was really impressed by Daniel Craig's take on the character. I really hope he can keep the ball rolling with Skyfall.

Sean McLachlan said...

I think pretty much everyone loved Q. He gave some of the characters a much-needed dressing down.

Jarm Del Boccio said...

I used to keep up with the Bond films, until they became too 'racy'...thanks for the plot descriptions! Just stopping by from the Challenge..
MakingTheWriteConnections

SpacerGuy said...

Its always good fun watching Captain Picard getting so worked up over Q's shenanigans.

Tony Laplume said...

The only time Picard was frazzled was around Q. You'd almost think he was in love...

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