Quantum of Solace (2008)

The latest James Bond movie has arrived to theaters, just under two years after the release of its predecessor, Casino Royale. For the uninformed, Casino Royale marked a reimagining of the entire Bond franchise with a new direction and a new actor playing Bond. The Bond in Casino Royale, played by British actor Daniel Craig of Layer Cake fame, is a much grittier character than seen in previous recent movies where the character was played by Pierce Brosnan.

Casino Royale was based off the Ian Fleming novel of the same name, and tells the origins of James Bond. In the span of the movie, Bond becomes a 007 agent in the British Secret Service, MI6, and falls in love with Vesper Lynd, who later betrays him in taking money Bond won at a casino game and transferring it a mysterious organization. The movie ends with Bond finding a man, Mr. White, who is part of this organization and detaining him.

And that’s exactly where this Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, picks up. Bond escapes from a car chase and he opens the trunk of the car to reveal the same Mr. White from Casino Royale. The movie continues plot lines from the first movie, including whether Vesper was really in love with Bond and saved his life or if she was cruel and heartless believes, and the mystery of the organization Mr. White was involved in. New plot lines are also introduced such as a nefarious scheme by a so-called environmentalist named Dominic Greene, played by French actor Mathieu Amalric. I won’t reveal what happens in Quantum of Solace in this review; I’ll let you experience the movie for yourself.

That’s exactly how I would describe viewing Quantum of Solace; as an experience. The movie grabs your attention with a fast paced car chase and never slows down with a constant slew of action. Director Marc Forster handles the action well, but there is so much of it that plot and character development is given considerably less screen time than it deserves. Whereas Casino Royale was made excellent by its well crafted dialogue, plot, and characters, and the perfect execution of action scenes when necessary, Quantum of Solace is bogged down by the action.

While I think more time should have been given to develop the story, I can never say that was too much action. Every action scene is intriguing and handled very well by Forster. There is also quite a variety of action scenes including a car chase, a foot chase, a boat chase, and a plane chase. Excessive? Slightly, but it definitely makes the film exciting, although sometimes it seems to verge on too unbelievable.

Away from the action, the little plot and character development is done very well. Craig’s Bond continues to impress with the interactions in the movie. Bond’s relationship with Vesper is continued from Casino Royale and resolved very well. Bond’s interactions with characters are almost always genuine and very well done. As far as the plot development, the threat from Greene is developed well and resolved well, and the veil on the mysterious organization, discovered to be known as Quantum, is pulled back slightly – just enough to set up for another sequel.

Quantum of Solace also impresses with the acting in the movie. Craig brilliantly plays all aspects of James Bond – his suaveness and his ability as a secret agent. Amalric plays a new type of Bond villain in a two-faced character with no special talent or gimmick and does it very well. Rising Ukranian actress Olga Kurylenko stars as the major Bond girl and does well with her part, dazzling with both looks and acting. Gemma Arterton stars as another Bond girl with the *fantastic* name of Strawberry Fields and is very beautiful in her limited screen time. Other acting standouts include Judi Dench as M and Giancarlo Giannini as Mathis, both characters that return from Casino Royale.

To conclude, it’s fair to say that Quantum of Solace is one of the best Bond films created. However, it falls short of its predecessor Casino Royale due to the lack of enough plot and character development and the use of too much action. Because of this, I award Quantum of Solace a very solid 8.4/10.

8.4/10