Nov 19 2008
REVIEW: Quantum of Solace
Casino Royale wasn’t only a breathe of fresh air for a franchise that was going far below the mediocrity line but it was also a damn good film for any genre, let alone a Bond film. I’ll stick my neck out here (and piss off all the Connery fans) and say that Casino Royale is most likely the best James Bond movie ever made. I’ve been a fan of the ‘cold’ Bonds. My favorite Bond, at least before Craig, was Timothy Dalton. While The Living Daylights was a little Roger Moore cheeky, Licence to Kill was a true story-to-screen version of Bond. Timothy Dalton was cold and calculating and wasn’t afraid to kill if it was for a reason.
All the other Bonds were willing to kill but it seemed mission specific in Connery’s case, accidental in Moore’s case, comedic in Brosnan’s case, and expected in Lazenby’s one attempt at Bond. Daniel Craig, on the other hand, just plain loves it! While Casino Royale had its share of bloody fights and deaths, James Bond committed those acts in either self defense or for Queen and Country. In Quantum of Solace, Bond takes some mofos to task and sometimes just for shits and giggles, the mission be damned. Craig’s portrayal of Bond in this film is the hardest to get behind emotionally: he’s ruthless, single-minded, and, well, not really charming.
And the lack of that charm, since Bond is in kill/revenge mode the entire time, is why Quantum of Solace is sort of a loved-it/hated-it kind of film. To start the plot is supposedly ‘connected’ to Casino Royale but since, I believe, QofS was not mapped out during the creation of Casino Royale and since most of the evil characters from Casino Royale or, bizarrely enough what my friends call ‘the first one’, were killed the plot and connections of QofS seem like a major stretch.
The villains as a one-off would have been fine because in essence this movie introduces, yet barely shows, the organization known as QUANTUM, which is Craig’s Bond’s universe version of SPECTRE. And the villain who introduces them is fittingly mediocre and weak; an admitted fringe player in QUANTUM’s schemes.
One extreme bonus of this Bond film is that there is an actual sub plot involving a Bond girl that has brains, brawn and, for once, purpose. Olga Kurylenko’s Camille definetly fits the ’sexy’ profile of a Bond Girl but she has a storyline that runs parallel to Bond’s: she wants to murder the deposed dictator of Bolivia who murdered and raped her family. Deep, disconcerting stuff for a Bond film. Bond doesn’t bed her and the two work together to accomplish their goals. The two together are sexy and riveting.
The rest of the movie, however, is a tad bit mundane though I am sitting here wanting to see it again. It pales in comparison to Casino Royale but it is better then nearly any Moore offering, the last two Brosnan piles and even some of Connery’s weaker entries. I will see this again and buy it on DVD. The film is a bit predictable, slow at times, but brutal, honest and emotionally resonant. I never thought I’d feel that way about a Bond film before but so far Craig’s reign as Bond has been more then expected on all fronts.
***1/2 out of ****
Please check out Drey’s second addition to his monthly column Retrogasmic
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