James Bond is easily one of the most iconic film characters of all time. Not only that, the 007 franchise is known as the longest running film series ever, with Quantum of Solace being Bond's 22nd adventure. Ever since I was little, my parents would always show me a lot of Bond adventures, from Connery to Moore and all the way to Brosnan, I always had a great time watching this franchise.
Two years ago, I was honestly very excited to see Casino Royale because I could, for the first time, witness a new James Bond for myself. Next to Sean Connery, Daniel Craig is easily the best James Bond. And that is how much I loved Casino Royale. It was the start of something new, but not too completely different. It was an exhilarating action movie that added a little more seriousness to the series, but not too much. It had still had its hokey and fun action moments, and it was proud of it.
After the awesome Casino Royale, I couldn't wait for the next installment. Quantum of Solace does what no other Bond sequel has done before. It plays as a true sequel to Bond's previous adventure. It's a pretty bold move to make, especially since one can consider each and every one of the 007 films to stand on its own. There is only one question that remains: does it work?
Quantum of Solace takes off about an hour after the ending of Casino Royale with an action sequence right from the get-go. After that scene, James Bond (Daniel Craig) and M (Judi Dench) interrogate Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) about who he works for. White claims that this organization they're dealing with is "everywhere." He laughs, taunts, and ends up escaping.
This all basically leads up to the real deal of Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), the antagonist of the story. Bond ends up meeting him after a mishap with Dominic's girlfriend, Camille (Olga Kurylenko), whom Greene wants dead. After saving her from her death, Bond begins to learn the true nature of Dominic's plans. He poses as an environmental organization that aims to plant trees and forests. Little do people know, Greene Planet wants to find oil… and take over Bolivia's water supply? I think. On top of that, Bond wants revenge for the death of Vesper Lynd (Eva Green from Casino Royale), the woman he loved. And so this mission is personal.
I find Quantum of Solace to be an experimental Bond film. It does a lot of things that other its predecessors would never think about doing. I think it's ambitious and could've easily worked. I also think if that this were a science project, and if I were the judge, I'd give it an honorable mention.
The sad fact is that barely anything in this works. The biggest problem is that the story relies heavily on Casino Royale. If somebody didn't see Casino Royale and walked into the theatre playing Quantum of Solace, they would only get about 40% of the movie, compared to the people who did see Casino Royale getting only… 50% of the movie? And that's the biggest problem. On top of having a messy plot, Quantum of Solace plays more of like an expansion pack to Casino Royale rather than a stand-alone movie.
Quantum of Solace wants to be a hard-edged tale about a man who lost his love and wants revenge. The problem is that the revenge elements were unoriginal, convoluted and clichéd. In fact, they went overboard with the revenge elements. All Bond does for about three-fourths of the movie is whine and moan about Vesper. All the characters toss Vesper's name around like a hot potato. I felt like her character had more to do in Quantum of Solace than Casino Royale, and she's not even living. I think it tries too hard to be emotional and real that it ends up forgetting to be something that other Bond films are known for: thrilling.
Another problem with that is the inconsistency. One minute he's on the verge of crying thinking about Vesper, and the next minute, he's sleeping with Mrs. Fields (Gemma Arterton), an MI6 agent. And after that, he's bent on getting more revenge for his lost love. The main Bond girl, Camille is uninteresting and boring. While she does look very beautiful, her character is shallow and the story expects too much sympathy from the audience for her, even though I didn't care. The way Camille and Bond's relationship gets tied up is anti-climactic and uneventful.
Another problem is that there are too many characters in this movie. There are characters going in, out, and in again. Jeffrey Wright revives his role as Felix Leiter, along with a partner that looks like Philip Seymour Hoffman's long lost twin brother. Even Giancarlo Giannini as Mathis makes a return. And is there a reason for these characters? No. They should be focusing on the villain, but too bad he's just as boring as the girlfriend he wants dead. This villain is weak and his so-called "evil" scheme to take Bolivia's water supply is insubstantial.
Roger Ebert complained in his review that James Bond should "leave all the action to Jason Bourne." A funny thing to know is that Quantum of Solace had the same editor as the Bourne trilogy. And I also find funny that I thought the same exact thing watching this film. There is a scene where Bond goes into a hotel room and another man attacks him. There is no music to go with the scene, like all of the other Bond action sequences. Instead, all the viewer can see and hear is bruised knuckles and blood. Bond ends up brutally beating him and then stabbing him to death. That is not what Bond would do. I get what they're trying to go for. They want to make this more realistic, but it just doesn't work, especially looking at the ridiculous action sequences that follow after. It ends up being an attempt at realism that backfires.
My final complaint comes down comes to, what should be, the best part of Quantum of Solace: the action sequences. All the action scenes are poorly put together. They have some good set pieces and situations to make good action sequences. Now if only the camera can stay still for me to piece together what's happening during the action, than maybe I can appreciate it. The camera angles and shots are literally everywhere when something is happening. I'm seeing somebody run, then I see a gun get fired, and then I see quick shot of an opera piece performing.
To be fair, Quantum of Solace started out on a decent note. The problem is that it became bad. And this isn't as lousy as other Bond films such as Moonraker or the atrocious Die Another Day, although, it is close. I really think Quantum of Solace is capable of much more and could've possibly worked if executed better. The main disappointment ends up being how much it promises and how little it delivers. I still think Daniel Craig did great and hope to see him much more.
Even though I'd rather them not, the next Bond film is the further continuation of this story. To be honest, I really don't care about what happens next in this inadequate plot, especially after this lame entry to the 007 series. I guess all I can do now is cross my fingers and hope for the best.
MY GRADE FOR "Quantum of Solace": D+