Quantum of Solace Reviews

I have always felt that Casino Royale was the best book in Ian Fleming's 007 series, it featured a Bond who was noticeably different to that in the films that followed, a more human Bond. Daniel Craig captures the essence of Fleming's Bond better than any, including Connery for my money.

In Quantum of Solace agent 007 goes renegade in a raw story of revenge to find out who is behind the funding of the terrorist activities which caused his lover Vesper to take her own life. I'm ecstatic that the producers decided to make Quantum Of Solace the first direct sequel of a Bond film by picking up the action only a matter of hours after Casino Royale ended. And hope the series continues on this route.

I found the action engaging but over-edited in some sections of the film. QoS runs at a breakneck pace and is the shortest Bond at only 106 minutes. The strength of character Daniel Craig brings to the film, and extended screen-time given to Judi Dench made me want to stay with them long after the credits.

I especially enjoyed watching Bond and Camille (Olga Kurylenko) and their contrasting motivations of revenge. Bond struggling between a sense honour and duty too his employers and a desire to avenge Vesper's death, and Camille who is 100% hell-bent on revenge on the man who slayed her family.

I viewed the film with six friends and many opinions were thrown into the ring following the films climax. Amongst them... “The villains were weak”. This I can agree with. Environmentalist Dominic Greene (Mathieu Almaric) is less fearsome than the grim reality of his intended plans, but the Bond villains of old no longer have a place in this franchise. Mike Myers and Dr Evil put pay to that. 007's main enemy here is himself and his struggle to control his own actions.

“What happened to all the gadgetry?”. I won't deny that I would like to see more gadgetry. The producers seem to be more interested in product placement, on convincing you to buy the latest Sony Ericsson cellphone, than keeping the fanatics updated with the latest in the modern day spy's toolbox.

“I miss the cheesy one-liners of the Bond of old”. Daniel Craig is not Roger Moore, thank god. This is not the seventies or eighties. Bond is now a man of the naughties, there is no room for cheese in his fridge. Read Casino Royale and get back to me.

Quantum of Solace confirmed to me that 'Nobody Does It Better' than Daniel Craig. Secure a director for the next film who is equally talented and we'll have a winning combination.

''Have you ever lost someone you loved?''

Seeking revenge for the death of his love, secret agent James Bond sets out to stop an environmentalist from taking control of a country's water supply.

Daniel Craig: James Bond

Casino Royale was a reboot of the Bond Franchise. Reinventing Bond and making 007 a more believable, grittier, cold Agent of MI6, breathing life into Bond again like GoldenEye did. So why do the film's creators give us this offering of disappointment?
Quantum Of Solace barely has the authenticity to actually be a Bond movie, with all the equations of previous older installments stripped away, to make this a realistic venture.

So we have no gadgets, no memorable villains, no Q and no Money Penny again like Casino. The result is a violent and sour affair, and 007 has become a uncharismatic charmless thug of sorts.
As for action, it is fast and extremely realistic but alot of proceedings are too close, too in your face, too dizzyingly incompetent. Like the makers again are trying to make a Bourne film. Let them remember this is BOND not BOURNE, we need a more Gentleman Agent not a lifeless copy visage of another franchise.

So the story of Quantum Of Solace consists of what, I wonder? What was the plot or Story here? It's hard to make heads or tails of the mess that I've witnessed. The scenarios, villains, and threatening action that resided over Casino Royale are curiously absent from this strange sequel.
The motivation of Quantum appears to be revenge, to be a look into his dark side and his few redeeming ways. He's a shadow of his former self, and this goes for the idea of Bond. It's no longer Bond when you change everything that makes Bond what he is.
Quite frankly all characters in this installment are 2 Dimensional cut outs that are never fully explored or explained in detail.

''I am motivated by my duty.''

The so called Story in the light here seems to be mainly concerned in covering Bond's private life, and the romance he had with Vesper from Casino. Did she betray him or not? Well there I was thinking at the end of Casino that she didn't, but Quantum draws the whole affair and plot thread line out even further. Much to my dismay, this unnecessary procedure only succeeds in giving us the audience the answer we had to begin with, feeling like we are going round in a huge circle.

So the new Bond Girls that enter the lime light on this Bond adventure, Gemma Aterton, is completely miscast in a brief, still born role, as an MI6 Junior Agent who comes to get Bond. Perhaps that was a joke I missed in the film.
A bedroom scene with the pair is not convincing at all and abit awkward. This film needs to be higher than a 12A or push the boundaries, because Bond needs a decent Love Making Scene to make it a Bond.
Camille(Olga) a Bolivian with her own revenge plot. Is extremely beautiful, has more action scenes than Bond, but the Romance between her and Bond seems to go stale before it even begins, resulting in an unconvincing snooze fest. Even the kiss they share doesn't have resonance or chemistry involved.

The real engine and star of the show is M who shows us a character who seems to know what they are doing. Although I do admit over-using M lessens her power and ranking. A sure sign that the director is clutching at straws.
Daniel Craig does the same thing he did in Casino Royale minus the one-liners and charm he seemed to send out with Campbell at the helm.
No smiles, no jokes and a very serious man makes for a very wide miss of the target as far as capturing Bond. It's almost as if I would beg on my knees for Martin Campbell to come back and fix all the wrongs Solace has committed by giving us this dire offering.
Marc Foster who's done The Kite Runner just doesn't seem like an ideal candidate for a Bond film, and it shows.
An attempt at political sophistication and debatable questions raised, are shots at cleverness. American and British Governments collaborating with Greene really is the icing on the cake. Not to mention having the names and characters ''Fields'' and ''Greene'' in the same movie. The whole Political side of things are done better in Bourne and it's depressingly apparent when you see this.

The villain Dominic Greene played by legend Mathieu Amalric, the star of Diving Bell & The Butterfly, but on this with all due respect, is the weakest excuse for a villain I've seen in a Bond film for an age. He's short, he's not menacing and has no charm or level of danger like Lechiffre did in Casino. Granted he's a human foe but he has no qualities to make him memorable or even interesting.

Overall Quantum Of Solace leaves alot of questions, no respective answers and gaping holes concerning what actually happens. If anyone can tell me what this ''Quantum'' was meant to be, I'd like that. Or the fact there seemed to be a shroud over the leak ending, and the shoddy song at the beginning sandwiching the whole affair together.
Bond kills indiscriminately, Bond is cold, and Bond's reputation has been tarnished and ruined slightly by Forster. Hopefully the next one will redeem matters, or we wait for the day Campbell comes back to reignite our beloved James Bond. And for Gods sake bring back some gadgets, charm and gentile ways while you're at it, otherwise I may as well be watching a Bourne...

''I think you're so blinded by inconsolable rage that you don't care who you hurt. When you can't tell your friends from your enemies, it's time to go.''

One note, Don't watch Quantum of Solance if you don't remember Casino Royale.

At least I'm sure that would have made it a lot better. I didn't remember much about Casino Royale and Vesper, and since this really felt like a 2nd part of a trilogy, it didn't make much sense to me. I think this is the first James Bond movie that doesn't work on its own. They talked about Vesper a lot, and I sat there trying to remember how she died, or anything about how the last one ended, and I know I won't remember how this one ended either. The last "big" fight was a disappointment and all of the sudden the movie was over. I kinda miss the cool tech from the old bonds, the coolest thing they had was a few flashy graphic user interfaces.

Lots of cool action, as usual.
Fewer naked girls than ever.
Quite liked the Bond song by Jack White.

And that's a quick review of a meh James Bond movie. 6/10.