My Name Is Modesty: A Modesty Blaise Adventure (2004)

I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

Fantastic!

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

I did not know the comics whatsoever, I watched this because it was a Quentin Tarentino Presents DVD, knowing that not all the QT presents movies are any good.I watched this film and enjoyed it. The storyline was OK, the conversation between Modesty and Miklos was entertaining. The flashbacks however were a bit messy sometimes and this made them less fun to watch. This is kinda a big deal, because the flashbacks are a big part of the film.In summary this film did not surprise or disappoint me. It could have been better, but certainly could be worse. Actually, it should have been better, I saw a lot of potential in a cool action film, sadly, this just didn't make it.If you have enough time, watch it, if not, watch something better.

This is a creditable stab at telling Modesty Blaise's origin story by way of flashbacks forming part of a robbery / hostage story while Modesty is on her way to forming The Network in Tangier.As a stand alone film for someone who has never read a novel or comic strip, I think it is probably quite successful, if a little lacking in production value.The reservations I have derive from the portrayal of Modesty herself. On one hand, she is very self assured, which is good: conversely, she doesn't seem (yet?) to have developed the moral sensibilities she often shows in the novels, whereby she will happily use sexual tricks to win strategy points: here she sometimes comes across as prudish. Also, while actress Alexandra Staden looks the part, particularly facially, she never quite convinces in combat scenes: she very clearly comes across as someone who is delivering moves in a choreographed routine, not someone who's movements are fluidly derived from almost subconscious processing of all relevant elements.A worthy attempt, but not entirely successful.

It has been years since Modesty Blaise was a homeless girl living out on her nerves and luck in the bombed out shell of the Balkans and it is years before she would form her criminal gang "The Network". We find her working as a skilled croupier in the casino of Henri Louche. When her employer is murdered by a gang led by criminal Miklos, Modesty and the other staff are held in the casino while they await colleague Garcia, who has been called to return and open the casino vault. With Miklos threatening to kill staff until he gets what he wants, the cool-headed Modesty buys time for as long as she can.The fact that this film was made to retain Miramax's rights to the character and allow them to make more films in the series, and the way that this film was just dumped onto DVD in Europe and was hardly pushed in the US suggested that this film would not be made to any high standard and indeed was just a commercial move by the studio who had their eye on future films rather than this one. Despite this though, with a passing knowledge of the character, I decided to give it a try; plus, like many others, the link to Tarantino caught my eye.Indeed my suspicions were found to be warranted because, although not without value, it is hardly any good. Others have already said it, but it does feel exactly like a TV pilot that is setting up backstory and character to then run a series. Of course released as a movie and with no series coming off the back of it, you do have to wonder what the point is for the viewer (like I said – we already know what point the film does serve, but it is to Miramax's benefit, not mine). The concept is interesting enough, with the casino scenes actually working reasonably well. However the flashbacks fail to really engage and, giving these are the heart of the film, then it is a problem. The end result is a rather dull and talky affair that is slightly interesting but ultimately doesn't feel like it is doing anything other than just filling time.The cast aren't really given a lot to do. I'm not so familiar with the character of Modesty that I was fussed by Staden for those reasons. However I did find her performance limited. She works well in "cool-headed and confident" mode but when asked to go below the surface she is unable to do it and in the flashback scenes she is clunky at best. Coaster-Waldau is a very simple character but he works it well and has a good presence and an easy sexuality that I thought worked well with Staden. Pearson is an obvious "wise old man" cliché – not all his fault perhaps as his material is weak, but he can't do anything to counter it. Teodosiu, Yuan, Cruz and others all provide basic fillers but nothing else.Overall then a basic film made for studio reasons and thus tends to not really have the audience in mind. It is vaguely interesting but doesn't really hang together and, like many others have said, it does feel like a pilot for a television series rather than a movie in its own right – which is a shame because it is as the latter that it has been presented to the audience.

This is what happens when you're living in China and the local video store is running thin on English-language titles—you are blessed with this work of what appears to be, yes, Romanian cinema. Nevertheless, I think that it has real comedic potential.Spoilers technically follow:Though I don't think that it would in fact spoil anyone's viewing pleasure to ask why a film set in a casino has a scene of beach archery, even in flashback. That mystery, and many other conundrums, remain to be exploited by desperate comedians, perhaps when they're stuck in Bucharest.Let me also wonder aloud why perfectly good-looking people allow themselves to abuse themselves on film like this. It's sad.