"Quantum of Solace" *** (out of ****)
The name may still be Bond, James Bond, but there is little else to recognize in this latest entry in the series, "Quantum of Solace".
I have seen every James Bond movie, there have been 22 in all. I have enjoyed all of them except for one, the 2002 movie, "Die Another Day" with Pierce Brosnan. That is not a criticism against Brosnan, whom I thought was actually a good Bond, he looked like James Bond. The problem I had with that movie was Bond lost most of his charm. He wasn't suave and sophisticated. The movie played like an ordinary action movie. While minor attempts were made to update the series. Back then, I wrote a review on amazon.com to voice my complaints. No one listened to me then and now the morons in Hollywood have repeated their mistakes.
Back when Daniel Craig was named as the new Bond, I, like many, voiced disapproval. But when "Casino Royale" opened in 2006, many film critics and much of the public liked it and responded well. Some said Craig is one of the best Bonds ever, even better than Connery. After watching that movie, I figured most people were probably smoking dope when they watched it. I was too cowardly at the time to offer my opinion but Craig and "Casino Royale" didn't impress me much. Because the attitude at the time was so positive I thought I should back off. But, I've grown more confidence since than and now the public is starting to turn my way.
We were told back than that Craig was taking the character in a different direction. His Bond would be a little rough around the edges. "Casino Royale" was the first book in the series and Bond would have to grow into the character we know him as now. So, I bought into the spin the first time around but now with "Quantum of Solace" there doesn't seem to be a return to the Bond of old.
Craig plays Bond as more of an action hero, think Jason Bourne. Craig's Bond is more violent. He lacks style, sophistication and wit. He is in my opinion one of the worst. Some people like to take shots at Timothy Dalton, but, I prefer Dalton over what Craig is doing with the character.
As we live in a time of supposed "change", the moron Hollywood executives and studio heads always want to update Bond. Bond is a tradition. He is beyond so-called "updates" and "improvements". When will Hollywood learn that? Stop trying to change Bond and the Bond formula. You would think Hollywood would follow the idea, if it's not broke, why fix it? For 46 years Bond has been with us and ever since "From Russia, With Love" the formula has been in place. And it has been successful. Did I mention the character has been around for 46 years? Clearly the formula worked.
Here were some observations I had while watching "Quantum of Solace".
First this is the only actually Bond sequel. References are made to "Casino Royale" and the Vesper character, which supposedly broke Bond's heart and turned him against the idea of love. There was a moment at the beginning of "From Russia, With Love" were one of the women Bond meets in "Dr. No" returns, right before Bond is sent on a new case. But "Quantum of Solace" takes things further. It wants to build on Bond's psychological state of mind.
After the movie's title credits (which I'll discuss later) there is an action sequence which could have been taken out of "Bourne Ultimatum". The cuts are so rapid that I honestly couldn't register what I was seeing. When I was a film student in college I had to edit my movies by hand, the old-fashion way with a razor blade. Having gone through that, the edits in this movie really caught my attention. I swear during this 5 minute sequence at least, at least 200 edits were done. I've never seen anything like that before in a Bond film. And there is a reason for that, it's a bad idea.
The director of "Quantum of Solace" is Marc Forster. Forster directed "Finding Neverland", "The Kite Runner" and "Monster's Ball". He may very well be the best director ever to do a Bond film. But, because he is associated with smaller, independent films, he had to give up his style and adjust it to a mainstream action movie. Which of course would only make sense. But the problem I have with this is, why bring such a talented director onto a film where he is not allowed to make it in his normal style? What is the difference if he or someone else directed it. Forster had to abandon his style anyway.
As for the title sequence, it may also be one of the worst. Not to mention a really bad song. I think the best modern Bond film may be "The World Is Not Enough" with Brosnan. It also had the best Bond song I can think of in the last 10 years.
Remember how we would see the shadow of Bond as he walks across the screen, goes for his gun at shoots at the camera before the credits roll? Well, that's out! They save that for the end. What does this add to the picture? Nothing as far as I can tell. So why did they change it? Not a clue. I guess they just thought it would be cool. And Craig can't even do this simple, traditional scene correctly. He walks too fast and aggressively.
The plot of this film isn't really interesting. It involves oil, a timely topic. A businessman, Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) finds himself in South America, where he wants a small island. It is thought that he wants to land to attempt to find oil but we learn it is not oil he is after but water. There will be a huge water drought and he will be the sole provider of water.
The Bond girl this time is Camille (Olga Kurylenko) who was double-crossed by Dominic. She wants to kill a general, Medrano (Joaquin Cosio) who killed her family in front of her. The idea is both she and Bond are blinded by rage and thoughts of revenge.
There really isn't much more to say about this film without spoiling it and as I say it just isn't good enough to continue talking about it.
So why the three stars? Why am I actually recommending a movie I have spend an entire review bashing? Good question. As a Bond film "Quantum of Solace" is a let down. But as an action movie is it exciting. It does have some interesting moments. But those moments don't belong in a Bond film. Craig as I said is more of an action stunt man than a suave secret agent.
I will admit when I walked out of "Quantum of Solace" I did start to wish I was James Bond, but not this James Bond. I wanted to be the type with a witty remark on the tip of his tongue, a drink in his hand and a pretty girl in his sight. In other words, not Daniel Craig
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