Let's be realistic.

It is a performances centric movie

Admirable film.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

In case you don't know, I'd like to make it clear that this is a true story.The first flashback actually happened. When the creator of Modesty Blaise, Peter O'Donnell, was a serving soldier he gave food to a feral child who carried a stick with a nail through it as a weapon.He hoped (as do I) that she grew up to some kind of happy life. It seems unlikely, though.The remaining flashback sequences are a fleshing-out of O'Donnell's own back-story for the character, and ring true to the original.My argument with the rest of the film, the sequences with Modesty Blaise in the casino, is that they're not up to the standard of plotting of the books and cartoon strips. To give one instance, Modesty Blaise has a gun held to her head and dragged behind a curtain. As anyone who knows the stories is aware, a villain who holds a gun within arm's reach of either Modesty Blaise or Willie Garvin is in for a serious kicking.This film is an encouraging step in the right direction, but I still worry that the next film in the series, if there is one, will be poorly plotted.

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.

Having heard of Modesty Blaise before, but never having read a novel or a comic strip, my wife and I liked the film a lot. It delivered, in a captivating way, a good introduction to the character and her background.Although it has some action flick elements, it is much more an intimate play, excellently written. Sadly, this is also, where a major drawback of the movie is revealed. An intimate play lives on the capabilities of its actors and unfortunately only half of the cast delivered. While Alexandra Staden did an excellent job as Modesty Blaise, her counterpart Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau - as the villain Miklos - did not. Smiling his way through the plot as if it is an extend toothpaste commercial, he fails to build up an atmosphere of anxiety that would have made the movie a masterpiece. The supporting cast is somehow similar, from some stereotyped gangsters and sluts to decent performances from Fred Pearson as Professor Lob and Eugenia Yuan as Irina.

My Name is Modesty is a low-budget film that tells the story of the origins of Modesty Blaise. It's not that the movie is terrible, it's just not what I was expecting or hoping for. While I've been aware of the Modesty Blaise character for years, I'm not overly familiar with the comic strips or the graphic novels, so I'm coming into this movie as something as an outsider. That may be part of the reason for my disappointment. I was expecting more action and more comedy. The film is dialogue driven. I suppose I was looking for something with a little more camp value. As it is, My Name is Modesty is a deathly serious film. There are very few, if any, "light" moments. The acting, at least from Alexandra Staden, is acceptable but nothing outstanding. As others have commented, she does appear a little too frail to be completely believable in the title role. What action scenes there are in My Name is Modesty are one of the films weakest points. I never bought into the notion that this woman could handle a band of trained killers.I really hope Quentin Tarantino goes ahead and makes the rumored a big budget film based on the Modesty Blaise character. I'm convinced the concept has a lot of potential and I would very much look forward to it.