My Name Is Modesty: A Modesty Blaise Adventure

Rented and watched this short (< 90 minutes) work. It's by far the best treatment Modesty has received on film -- and her creator, Peter O'Donnell, agrees, participating as a "Creative Consultant." The character, and we who love her, are handled with respect. Spiegel's direction is the best he's done to date, and the casting was very well done. Alexandra Staden is almost physically perfect as a match to the original Jim Holdaway illustrations of Modesty. A terrific find by whoever cast her! Raymond Cruz as a young Rafael Garcia was also excellent. I hope that Tarantino & co. will go on to make more in the series -- I'm especially interested to see whom they'd choose to be the incomparable Willie Garvin!

In the Comic, Modesty is strong. Alexandra Staden who plays Modesty Blaise looks more like an anorectic fashion model. She does not either have the moral or personality that Modesty have in the comics. Modesty would never give a woman an advice to show more skin to earn more money. I cannot see any similarities with my comic books with Modesty and this movie. Its like a Mission Impossible movie would be about Ethan Hunt locked in the detention room in high school talking with the janitor about when he went to junior high school and Hunt would have been played by DJ Qualls (in Road Trip). Soo if you are an Modesty fan do not see the movie you will just get angry. If do not know much about the Modesty comics rent an other movie do not wast your time with this one.I cannot understand how Quentin Tarantino can put his name on it. I will ask for a refund at my DVD rent store tomorrow.

If you are already a fan of Peter O'Donnell's wonderful Modesty Blaise books from the sixties, you will really enjoy this movie. If you have ever seen the 1966 "Modesty Blaise" film, forget it! That was camp. This is the real Modesty Blaise. The story and character are both true to the Modesty that fans of the books know and love. It's a long way from Joe Losey's 1966 travesty, and it takes our Modesty quite seriously. Alexandra Staden is quite good and believable in the part, and yes, we do get to see her kick butt. chuckle

This is likely meant to be the first movie of a series and as such it serves to introduce Modesty, her childhood and her days with Lob.

Since Peter O'Donnell was the creative consultant on the movie, everything really rings true. Even the story O'Donnell told of how he conceived the character is just as he told it. Having read all the books, I enjoyed the movie even more for that.

Now that Miramax has kept their option on the property by having Quentin Tarrentino make this film, I do hope to see more of the Modesty stories asap. Especially as the wonderful character of Willie Garvin makes Modesty's character really come alive. To that end, I really hope the film does well in Europe. I have no idea if Miramax intends to ever distribute the DVD in the USA. I suspect it might not do that well in the USA in general distribution. I wonder how Miramax decides where and how to distribute it's films.

In the story, Modesty is in her early 20's, working at Louche's casino in Tangier. The flashback sequences are artfully done and take Modesty from about 9 years old, through her teens up to her current age in the movie - about 21-22, I'd guess. I really don't think there's a "perfect actress" for Modesty. For many of us Modesty fans, she's much too powerful a presence in our imaginations already. Alexandra Staden is credible. She is very slim, graceful and poised. She has lots of closeups. She has a great face - one that sticks in your mind well after the movie is over. According to O' Donnell's illustrator, Romero, Modesty has rather a fuller figure than Staden, but I'm willing to overlook that. If Staden continues in the role, I think she will mature into it - just as Modesty grows more powerful and skilled as she gets older. Staden already conveys Modesty's humor and absolute assurance very well. Go ahead and rent this movie, it's not like anything else you've seen and even though it was directed by Scott Spiegel, it is full of Tarrentino touches, great camera moves, lighting and well-done action sequences.

There was a Modesty Blaise film in the 60s, and Quentin Tarantino produced this low budget version to preserve the rights until he could direct a big budget film.

It stars Alexandra Staden as Modesty. No shame in not knowing who she is, as she has no great credits.

More likely, you will recognize Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau (Nightwatch, "Game of Thrones"), or Raymond Cruz (Training Day, "The Closer"), or even Eugenia Yuan (The Eye 2, 3 Extremes II).

Lots of talking and little action until the very end. Staden is just a bit too skinny to be believable.

I actually enjoyed the Modesty Blaise adaptation from 1966 more, even though it was extremely campy. The reason spells W.i.l.l.i.e. G.a.r.v.i.n.

This movie takes place before Modesty started her organization "The Net", and thus before she picked Willie off the streets. It offers an interesting tale of her childhood, but a Modesty without Willie is just *wrong*. The dynamic between them has always been one of the most compelling things about the original, and without it this movie isn't as interesting as it could have been. That being said, it's still a decent watch, especially for those who have wondered about Modesty's past.

The casting is alright, but Alaxandra Staden looks too fragile to be entirely believable as Modesty. Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau, however, does a great job as the blood-thirsty Miklos. Lookwise he could have been a young Willie Garvin.

Hopefully Miramax will do a follow-up because Peter O'Donnel's novels and comic-strips is a great source material for a movie script. But next time they've better include Willie.