I posted this over in the game thread but I figured I’d make a new topic out of this. I recently stumbled across a scene from the PS2 Quantum of Solace video game. It appears to show an adaptation of the original ending from the QoS film. We’ve previously seen photos of Daniel Craig in a gray suit with a silenced pistol and a quick clip of Jesper Christenson behind the scenes raising a handgun while in a chair and saying the line, “It wasn’t your fault, but they know who you are.”
Well, that line is present in the clip below, followed by the long rumored exchange between Guy Haynes and Bond. While the voices of Mr. White and Haynes are performed by other actors, Daniel Craig does his own lines. I know games don’t always directly take dialogue straight from the script of the movie they may be adapting, but the fact that Mr. White’s line is identical in both the BTS Jesper Christenson clip and here, as well as rumors that the film was going to end with Bond saying THE line or simply offering a wry grin, point to this being as close to the original ending as we’re likely to ever see. I still hold out hope to see the film version at some point (especially given Daniel’s rushed line reading of “Bond, James Bond” in this clip) but still, this is neat stuff.
It’s pretty amazing to think that Daniel’s first two movies may have almost ended both times with him shooting Mr. White.
This is the most consequential deleted scene in the series. If White was killed right then and there it’s possible the story would’ve moved on and the Madeleine subplot wouldn’t have even happened. Who knows if they would’ve gone for a OHMSS style romance which then led to Bond’s death scene. Even if they did, I’m unsure if there would be a White connection.
Seeing how this scene roughly would have played out, I’m inclined to agree. It feels too similar to the ending of Casino Royale, without enough substance to it for a reasonable argument to be made that it’s thematically a mirror of that scene. It feels likes an effort to tie up the Guy Haynes loose end more than anything. It also would have taken away from the dramatic weight of the fade out on Vesper’s necklace, with the movie ending on a plot note rather than an emotional resolution to the overarching story. Again, having never seen this cut scene before, it’s cool to get a window into what probably could have been. I’m very glad they went in the direction that they did, though. And to sharpshooter’s point, the cutting of that single scene ultimately determined the path these films went down. Pretty consequential edit.
That and then just completely ignoring CR and QOS when it came time for SF. This cut and the absurd decision to go from rookie Bond to old man Bond completely derailed the Craig era and kept it from reaching the heights that it was on pace to reach.
I like the gunbarrel as much as anyone, but I probably would’ve removed it from QoS completely. If they had Crawl, End Crawl playing from the moment Bond drops the love knot into the snow it would’ve been highly effective, amplifying the mood rather than breaking it.
It’s worth noting the deleted scene is another cliffhanger, having the potential for Bond 23 to pick up shortly afterwards as well. Imagine a Bond story that segued into one another with little time passing in between, especially if filming delays weren’t so prevalent.
I still remember the gunbarrel leading to the film title and then fading to black, and a girl a few rows in front of me in the theater saying quite loudly, “Wait, that’s it?” I think the brevity of the whole thing was always going to raise eyebrows, but the smash to the gunbarrel called back to OHMSS in the worst way. I agree, they should have let Arnold’s music carry the audience outside.
I personally would have been fine with Mr. White dying at the end of QoS. Having him being the father of Bond’s love was always a little too Marc-Ange Draco to me. This would have allowed that story to forge a fresh path.
Also, it would have finished up the story, and allowed a clean break from, the Quantum organization, allowing Spectre to be a little less burdened by retconning.
I suppose they could also have moved the scene of White’s death and the confrontation with Haynes to before Bond visits Youssef and Corrine. That could have sealed the plot hole and left the dramatic ending with the necklace as is. I guess they were underwhelmed by the handling of White’s death and saw more potential down the line with his escape.
A plot hole is a moment in the plot which connects two story beats with no logical explanation.
Not giving a plot thread an ending or at least closure is a decision to leave it for a future story or to imply that there is more to the story than this particular part of the story can disclose.
Things could have even been wrapped up at the end of CR, if Bond stood over White with a gun, holding the briefcase of money in the other hand - the money being a big plot line that wasn’t really resolved. The viewer could have assumed White was put in the diplomatic bag and the mission was completely closed.
But the story continued and White took on a life of his own. The idea he was this mysterious phantom who regularly evaded capture, to the point he travelled to the middle of the desert to shoot Greene.
In the end White’s future use amounted to one extra scene inside the cabin, with the rest of it being his legacy via Madeleine. There’s an attempt to humanise him with his illness and the urge to protect his daughter. By that point my initial interest with the character was gone, and so was he.
White being the father of a love interest could have still been an option, but appearing one last time definitely made that more timely after his absence in Skyfall.
