"The first thing you should know about us…is that we have people everywhere."
It may be three years since Casino Royale, but its floridly titled sequel, Quantum of Solace takes place only minutes after the conclusion. Bond interrogates Mr. White to gain more information about the ruthless terrorist organization known as Cobra…er…Quantum.
The major complaint from the majority of critics and viewers has been that the latest Bond movie doesn’t feel like a Bond movie. My reply, is that such a bad thing? This is a grittier, nastier 007 with little time for cheesy puns and room service caviar. There’s plenty of globe-trotting, but no chance to partake in the lush scenery. Bond is more action hero-y than ever before, cutting down bad guys one after another. Would I l have liked a Bond who was less with the blunt and more with the cunning & guile? Yes. Much like, the Batman reboot we saw the ultimate fighting machine Batman before we got the detective skills.
The second piece of criticism comes is how the new Bond film apes the Bourne franchise. The fights and rooftop chases look like they came right out of the Greengrass helmed pictures. Not surprisingly, Bourne editor Richard Pearson and stunt coordinator Gary Powell both worked on Quantum as well. The film opens with a breakneck car chase. Breakneck because you’ll probably snap yours trying to follow the muddled action. The studio took a chance on hiring director Marc Forster better known for more intimate films such as Finding Neverland, Stranger Than Fiction, and The Kite Runner. Forster isn’t as flashy as Martin Campbell, but he gets the job done. No more, no less.
Quantum also borrows heavily from past Bond pictures. Bond goes rogue on a mission of vengeance (Licence to Kill). There’s a side story involving the lead Bond girl also on a quest for revenge (For Your Eyes Only) while another ill-fated Bond girl meets her maker after being dunked in oil (Goldfinger).
Craig continues to be a perfect blend of the past iterations of Bond though he isn’t as charming as he could have been. At one point, he drops his friend’s body into a dumpster ("He wouldn’t care."). Judi Dench as M finally gets some scenes she can really chew on. Mathieu Amalric looks the part of a super-villain with his scrawny frame and bugged-out eyes, but his Dominic Greene never feels like the larger-than-life threat he should be. Even less memorable is Olga Kurylenko who makes the least interesting love interest for 007 since Tanya Roberts. Her whole subplot feels forced into the proceedings, as if they couldn’t go one film without a woman tagging along on Bond’s adventures.
What we have is essentially Casino Royale Volume 2. While Casino clocked in as the longest Bond film, Quantum has the shortest runtime. Taken on its own, Quantum of Solace is a fun action movie that’s missing a few ingredients to really heat things up in the kitchen. The rebooted Bond films are best viewed back-to-back as one epic.
Rating: ***
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