Review: Quantum Of Solace

By now we all expect James Bond to deliver a few key characteristics in order for it to qualify as an appropriate addition to the never ending collection. A few of these films have lived on to become great on their own regard; Goldfinger, Dr. No, and so on. But now we’re in the post-Casino Royale era and the game has changed. There are certainly a lot of comparisons to be made with the Bourne series but I’d like to stay away from that for the most part. The biggest achievement (or knowledge gained) from Casino Royale was being able to disobey certain audience expectations, most of which were horrible anyway (those gadgets were getting a bit ridiculous.) Marc Forster has decided to continue this transformation and he couldn’t have asked for any better way to do it than by finishing the story from Casino Royale.

For any normal film you wouldn’t find yourself discussing the opening credits but the elaborate montages have remained a consistent addition throughout many of the newer films in the series. So I’ll just touch briefly on some of the minor details of Quantum of Solace. First, the credits were very nicely handled. They end up being a nice tie around the film and it looks much better than the horrible card graphics featured in Casino Royale. The Bond theme has also become its own sort of tradition; unfortunately the combination of Jack White and Alicia Keys leaves much to be desired. It’s apparent that White wanted to infuse his style into the theme but it didn’t leave room for Alicia Keys to cohesively find a fit.

Quantum of Solace first and foremost is a sequel to Casino Royale and if you aren’t up to date on everything that happened in the first part you’ll definitely be asking questions, but none that are too important. For those of you who saw the first, the only knowledge you’ll need is found directly at the end of the last film. You may also want to refresh yourself on some of the other characters such as Mathis and Felix. Quantum of Solace starts out only minutes after the end of Royale with an elaborate car chase which is high on the octane and, at times, maybe a little too much. My friends and I collectively agreed that the fast cuts were not only frustrating but hard on the pupils. This echoes the same type of problem I discovered in The Dark Knight earlier this year; both directors are talented but still unsure of themselves when placed in action oriented scenes.

After a man named Mr. White (the same guy who is shot at the end of the last film) is brought back to a secret MI6 locale, it’s discovered that all sectors of government have been infiltrated by a secret organization. This is something that future directors could build upon in later installments since the main role of this self coined ‘evil empire’ is left untouched. The beginning of the film is full of action and Forster holds no prejudices against filming Bond getting into a close quarters fight and then shortly after jumping from boat to boat on a motorcycle. This variety works well from beginning to end, but primarily in the earlier scenes.

The “Bond girls” this time around resemble past leading ladies if you judge them solely on looks and attitudes alone. Gemma Arterton’s character (Strawberry Fields) reminds me more of the girls from the earlier films; she could easily pass for a 70’s call girl. She tries to remain objective to Bond’s suave ways but you know it won’t last long –- and it doesn’t. Whereas Camille (Olga Kurylenko) is more of the independent type and seeks a bit of her own revenge against a man who murdered and raped her family when she was a little girl. She’s possibly one of the only girls I’ve seen James not woo when the action is all said and done. Considering how the story unfolds it only feels appropriate.

The villain of Quantum of Solace is the point where I begin to digress from many of the brighter aspects of the film. Maybe it’s because my hopes for Mathieu Amalric were set a little too high. He plays Dominic Greene, a corporate overlord and inspiring Bolivian landholder. Thankfully Forster decided to keep things realistic in this department, too. Greene doesn’t hope to destroy the world and he doesn’t have an incredibly tall, bulky henchman by his side. Instead he’s a modern day corporate scoundrel looking to screw the Bolivian government out of some cash and their people out of a precious resource. Amalric’s acting is superb and he fits the bill of any normal Bond villain but it didn’t seem like his role came at the right time. The plot is so heavily focused on two separate revenge stories that it doesn’t leave a lot of room for another rogue to step into the picture. In fact, Bond seems only mildly interested in his opponent and more focused on obtaining answers that might lead him to his true goal.

For a large part of the third act Quantum of Solace seems to be grasping for something that just isn’t there. The action starts to wind down and the story begins to grow tiring. The two revenge stories that are supposed to lead the way and play heavily into the characters’ decisions aren’t given the time to properly unfold, just like the Greene plot. This leaves the picture fragmented with neither part really holding the film together. Despite all of these flaws the ending was a great addition and perfectly executed. This is where Forster’s directing talents were really unleashed and it makes you wish the rest of the film would have felt and looked this wonderful (there’s a great looking sequence of Greene running as breaking glass and fire follows.)

In its own regard, Solace makes for a pretty enjoyable film and worth seeing in theaters. But amongst other Bond films, it will surely be forgotten. There isn’t really anything that sticks out in the film that will leave people saying, “Remember this from Quantum of Solace? That was great!” No spectacular fight scenes and no memorable villains, just a worthy addition to Daniel Craig’s series as our favorite secret agent. Though, it’s not too worthy.