Tags
007, 2000's, Daniel Craig, Gemma Arterton, Giancarlo Giannini, James Bond, Jeffrey Wright, Jesper Christensen, Judi Dench, Marc Forster, Mathieu Amalric, Olga Kurylenko, Quantum of Solace, Spy
Film Title
Quantum of Solace
Director
Marc Forster
Starring
- Daniel Craig as James Bond
- Olga Kurylenko as Camille Montes
- Mathieu Amalric as Dominic Greene
- Giancarlo Giannini as René Mathis
- Gemma Arterton as Agent Fields
- Judi Dench as M
- Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter
- Jesper Christensen as Mr White
Coming after the revamped success of Casino Royale, Quantum feels like a step down or two. I think that any film to follow a predecessor as good as Casino Royale would struggle, but whereas that film brought something new and exciting to the series, Quantum tries too hard to change parts of the formula that should be left alone.
With the death of Vesper and the full extent of her betrayal now known to Bond, he is a broken man, out purely for revenge at the death of her. The film opens with Bond, with Mr White in the boot of his car, being chased by the enemy along a mountain range of Italy. After successfully fending off the potential assassins, Bond brings the nefarious Mr White into custody, where M is waiting for him. White sneers at Bond and the secret service as he informs them that the organisation that he works for has people everywhere. Unfortunately, M’s bodyguard is actually a double agent and frees Mr White, before Bond chases him to his death. Enraged by the lack of knowledge of this organisation and at the end of her tether with Bond and his personal vendetta, M doesn’t know what to do to rectify this dangerous situation. Bond has different ideas and after hearing of a link to the organisation and motivated by revenge, he travels to Haiti. It is here that he meets Dominic Greene, a leading member of the Quantum organisation and environmentalist with evil ideas of power. Also in toe is Camille Montes, a vengeful young woman infiltrating Greene’s inner circle to come into contact with a corrupt Bolivian general. Camille wants revenge for her family’s murder and when she meets Bond, the two both realize that they are both on the same mission to avenge loved ones. The two of them travel from Austria to Bolivia in an attempt to bring Greene’s plan to seize the water supply of Bolivia to a stop. But with distrust at every corner and revenge on his mind, can Bond really get it together to pull through and stop the plan before it is too late?
What immediately gives Quantum of Solace an underwhelming quality is the kind of editing used. With quick cuts and shaky cam a plenty, it’s like the director thought that they should try to emulate the Bourne series. I’m all for some of the frenetic editing, but it truly becomes a drag on the film and detracts from many effective scenes. Marc Forster tries to bring more grit to this movie, but instead makes it uncomfortable and way too bleak. I get that the revenge arc is in play here, but it takes a backseat as the film jumps from place to place without any real certainty to speak of. The whole scheme of Greene stealing the water supply is supposed to bring in a sense of growing paranoia but quickly becomes a bore. And the locations of the Bond film are usually a highlight but because of the drab nature of the film, there is no glamour or stunning locales to admire. Thankfully, David Arnold brings a touch of the old style to the musical score and gives Quantum of Solace a much-needed sense of purpose and panache. The same can’t be said of the main song, ‘Another Way To Die’ sung by Jack White and Alicia Keys. Putting the two musically opposite stars together seemed like a good idea at the time, but the end result is a forgettable song that doesn’t impress at all.
Daniel Craig brings intensity and darkness to Bond, showcasing the breaking of his heart and the severing of his morals. It’s a shame the overall film isn’t that memorable, as Craig puts in a great second performance as this bruised 007. Olga Kurylenko gives wounded strength and deep vulnerability to the role of Camille, who sees Bond as something of a kindred spirit as they are both out for revenge. What is refreshing in Quantum of Solace and a rare bonus is that there isn’t a romantic tie between the two that gets in the way of their personal mission; they are both clearly on the same track down the path of vendetta to rid themselves of the emotional ghosts haunting them. Mathieu Amalric definitely hits the right notes with the slimy and reptilian nature he brings to Dominic Greene, but as a villain he isn’t really that great and his scheme isn’t one that will linger in the memory. Giancarlo Giannini reappears as old contact Mathis but is criminally underused, which in turn undermines his tragic fate in this movie. Gemma Arterton gives appropriately terse and businesslike assurance to her role as a consulate agent tasked with returning the avenging Bond to England who plays by the rules of her job description but is persuaded otherwise by Bond. Judi Dench brings stern authority and power to the part of M, who this time worries that Bond is purely motivated by revenge, and not thinking straight in his mission. Jeffrey Wright once again plays Felix Leiter, who this time helps Bond but is cynical about the business he is mixed up in. Jesper Christensen, although only seen sparingly, brings that sense of intelligent menace to his role as the sneaky Mr White.
Underwhelming and not really involving, Quantum of Solace is a Bond film in desperate need of that extra something to bring it to life.
theipc said:
I tired watching this once and didn’t care too much to finish it….
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vinnieh said:
I know what you mean Eric, not 007’s finest hour.
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theipc said:
I tried, though!
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vinnieh said:
I sincerely believe you Eric, not even the beauty of Olga Kurylenko and Gemma Arterton could give this film memorability.
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KittNoir said:
Agreed. Not the best of the bunch
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for commenting and agreeing, it could have been so much better, but it wasn’t meant to be.
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Parlor of Horror said:
I think the main problem with this is it turned into a generic action flick and could have easily been exchanged for The Bourne Identity. It didn’t feel much like a true James Bond movie, which is a shame because I was excited about the franchise after Casino Royale. I thought CR was excellent. It’s amazing, as you said in the review, that separately, all the performances were quite good but somehow it didn’t add up to a good film. 😦
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment. Yeah overall most of the performances where great, I just felt that the tone was uneven and it become too much of a generic action flick as you said.
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alexraphael said:
You’ve nailed this one. It really was flat. Funny, because the films preceding and succeeding it were fab. I hated the song too.
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vinnieh said:
Flat is definitely a good word to describe this movie.
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alexraphael said:
I did like Gemma Arterton though. One of my favourite Bond girls.
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vinnieh said:
I liked her as well.
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vampireplacebo said:
Olga Kurylenko was almost enough to make me watch a Bond film. Almost. But I decided to watch Hitman again instead :-p
This woman is ridiculously hot (and oft nude in Hitman… meow!!)
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vinnieh said:
Often nude in Hitman, now it’s definitely on my watch list.
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Dan O. said:
Eh. Not a terrible Bond movie, but an okay one. Just nowhere as good as Casino Royale. Nice review.
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vinnieh said:
Totally agree with you there.
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badblokebob said:
I’m a bit of a defender of Quantum of Solace. It’s a midlevel Bond movie, but I think the criticism of it gets too harsh at times. The soakycam-quick-cut style doesn’t really suit Bond, but it does work on occasion — the pre-titles is really rather good — and I think it demands the viewer pays attention by being so fast-moving. Honestly, I think some people who slam the film just aren’t very good at properly watching!
For me, the end of Mathis’ is actually one of the series’ most emotional moments. I thought that really worked. There are other bits of genius too, like the escape from the opera. The villain and his plan are a little underwhelming though, that’s true, and there’s one or two action sequences too many (the plane one, specifically).
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vinnieh said:
I respect your opinion and defense of this one.
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badblokebob said:
Thanks for all the reviews, by-the-way. They’ve been a great read, and I think it’s an achievement to write well about every entry in such a lengthy series.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for that comment, that’s really made my day. Glad I could do the series justice with my reviews.
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Dude the cleaner said:
I love casino royale and skyfall. Quantum of Solace was not too bad but that is it.
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vinnieh said:
In comparison to Casino and Skyfall, Quantum just falls short.
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Three Rows Back said:
Yep, right there with you. And sandwiched between two cracking Bond movies.
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vinnieh said:
I believe it had the makings of a good film, just something in the execution was extremely lacking.
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Three Rows Back said:
Starting filming without a finished script certainly didn’t help.
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vinnieh said:
Wasn’t that something to do with the Writer’s Strike?
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Three Rows Back said:
It was yeah.
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vinnieh said:
That explains a lot about how the finished film was.
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Hypersonic55 said:
Oh its this one. QoS is my least favourite Bond film, mainly just because it is such an underwhelming experience. I’ve only seen this film twice, the first time in 2008 and the second time in 2012 just before Skyfall came out, and my opinion on the film had not changed. I feel like the Bond feel was missing from this, sure there were some elements that were cool but overall the film just felt like a chore to watch. And it isn’t just because the film is a sequel to the brilliant Casino Royale, as a standalone film it just feels flat. A boring Bond film is not one worth watching.
I have to say that Dominic Green is a funny bad guy in the sense that his face makes me laugh, it sounds terrible but when I see him I just die of laugher. Oh and “Another Way to Die” is a mess of a song for sure, but I do love the instrumental side of it and the song has grown on me, I really wish Jack White had done it on his own or done it as part of The White Stripes.
Once again sorry for the long comment, but this is one of those films that you could talk about for hours haha. Great review yo. 😀
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vinnieh said:
Don’t apologize for the long comment, they are always enjoyable to read. As you say, there was something missing overall from this that really hurt what could have been good.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Even though Daniel Craig has wound up being one of my favorite Bonds, I do have to admit QoS wasn’t one of my favorites 😒
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vinnieh said:
Really interesting to hear your thoughts on it.
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David said:
I was so disappointed in this one, but there some god moments. It has a lot of humanity in it and I like the theme, but it got side tracked. Olga. Love Olga.
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vinnieh said:
Pretty much agree with everything you said there David.
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David said:
I’m going to get through all your Bond reviews! Ha.
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vinnieh said:
Take your time, they’re not going anywhere.
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David said:
Oh yeah. Lovin it. Something to look forward to.
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vinnieh said:
Happy to hear you’re enjoying them.
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David said:
Oh yes. I love my some Bond, even if they are corny.
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vinnieh said:
He’s such an iconic character who lives what I consider a dream life. Saving the world, romancing women and driving cars.
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David said:
Indeed. Who’s your favorite?
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vinnieh said:
I would have to go with Sean Connery.
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David said:
I know we talked about Dalton before, and I do like him, but I guess you’re right. Gotta go with the first. Set a high bar.
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vinnieh said:
Certainly did. I must sign off for a bit David, but feel free to leave more comments, as I’ll be back on later.
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David said:
No worries. Have a good one.
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vinnieh said:
I’m sure I will, just got a few things to do.
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