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Mathieu Amalric Calls 'Quantum of Solace' "very dark"

New Bond villain also reveals details on the film's finale

Apologies if this is already common knowledge, but an interview with Almaric in today's Sunday Times has a couple of slight spoilers re: QoS.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol...icle3241218.ece

Almaric says the film is "very dark". Okay, so we all knew it wasn't exactly going to be OCTOPUSSY, but it strikes me that "very dark" might hold quite a bit of weight coming from someone like Almaric - don't know much about his career, but I get the impression (which may well be wrong) that he acts in and directs fairly "serious" and "worthy" fare, so it's a little like Eli Roth calling a film violent - you sit up and take notice.

Apparently, Almaric's role is extremely physical, and here's the big spoiler (relatively speaking, anyway):

It's physical because

of a big fight with Bond at the end.

So, will QoS end like

GOLDENEYE, with a massive punchup between 007 and the villain

?

Whoa! Nice Find! One of the greatest scenes in the franchise is Bond letting out all of his anger out on 006 in GoldenEye. Now, that was violent and Bond was only betrayed. imagine what it would be like if Bond were to let all of his anger out on Greene? Not only was he betrayed but he lost his lover. This is going to be pretty gripping stuff!

Interesting. It could be that EON are addressing one of the few complaints, or should I say "complaints" about CR in that there was no showdown between Bond and the villain.

Though honestly, I can't imagine a fight between Craig and Almaric lasting too long, Craig would whup his in five seconds

Something that has struck me is how small Mathieu Amalric is. If there is to be a fight between Bond and Greene, I really cannot imagine it being a genuine contest. Bond would destroy him.

Edit: dinovelvet beat me to it!

Exactly. Maybe RAMBO will have some serious competition this November in the opening-up-a-can-of-whupass stakes (albeit not in terms of explicitness - Eon can't unleash the claret in anything like Stallone style). I'm picturing the GOLDENEYE brawl extended to the length of the African Rundown with much more inventive and acrobatic fighting moves.

Sure, a match between Bond and Greene initially seems ludicrously one-sided, but perhaps Greene is some kind of ultra-amazing martial arts guru. Or maybe Bond is in some way(s) incapacitated, levelling the playing field.

There's a BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat interview where Craig says that the Greene character isn't a skilled fighter but the fight will be very 'nasty'. He gives the impression (and I can imagine the scene) that Greene will be sufficiently enraged by whatever Bond does to him that, possibly, fuelled by nothing more than pure anger he becomes a match for Bond.

I don't know why but Craig's comments makes me envision a fight scene that will resemble less GOLDENEYE more THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL (the vicious fight between Olivier and Gregory Peck at the film's climax). Except hopefully better.

Talking of Bond being incapacitated, that would fit in with what I'd like to see for the conclusion of QUANTUM OF SOLACE. An injured Bond summons all his reserves of energy to eventually overcome Greene. He is left a wreck, and welcomes the back-up forces who come to retrieve him from the final showdown with Greene. Yet as they load him into transport to a hospital, Bond realises that these are not friendly figures at all and the organisation has captured him. Thus leading to a cliffhanger ending to BOND 23, and possible future use of the brainwash plot from 'The Man With the Golden Gun' novel.

Curious that they're talking so openly about this fight at this early stage, especially if it ends the film. Could it be one of the major action sequences? Of course, every Bond flick has a scrap or two, but perhaps this one'll be African Rundown in scale.

Well, the fight could involve weapons. We've all just assumed here that its going to be fisticuffs, but something like a knife fight would level the playing field a bit, and it would be more about who is the most skilled rather than who is the most buff

Superb.

Funnily enough, there was a recent rumour among Bond fans that the film will end with

Bond missing in action

.

Which I find very easy to believe.

I read this in the paper this morning. I wonder if this fight ties in with Dr Shatterhand's grapevine info about Bond being missing in action at the end of the film?

I say thats a good idea!

Interesting. Not too concerned with the fact that Almaric may be physically outgunned here; like some have already said, it's very possible he's just a nastier, dirtier fighter than Bond, or more skilled at a certain kind of weapon than Bond. Perhaps he was just trying to throw us off with the bit about working out, and it'll be a NSNA-style videogame fight (or not).

And when one takes into account the fact that Bond fought (well, sort of) a midget in TMWTGG, it makes it a bit easier to picture Bond and Greene bruising each other up. Perhaps Craig will try to stuff Almaric into a carry-on.