Right OK as its pretty snowy out today I'm not going to get much else done so I thought I would do another review and this one will be on a Bond film and its one of the lesser considered ones, Quantum of Solace. But is it really a pile of mediocrity???? Well let's take a look....
And yes yet again here is the usual warning: SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!
STORY
So the story begins right after the events of Casino Royale as James Bond (Daniel Craig) is being pursued in a car chase by gunmen and Bond has captured Mr White (Jesper Christensen). Bond manages to evade them and takes White to be interrogated by M (Judi Dench) regarding his organisation called Quantum. However M's bodyguard turns out to be a double agent who allows White to escape with Bond chasing the agent he soon catches with him and kills him. Bond and M return to London where they search the agent's apartment and find information that the agent had a contact in Haiti. On travelling to Haiti, Bond tracks the contact and kills him and soon finds out that he was a hitman sent to kill Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko) under the order of her lover, Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric). Bond on observing a meeting between Camille and Greene, he learns that Greene is helping a Bolivian General, Medrano (Joaquin Cosio) by helping him overthrow the current government and Medrano was also responsible for the death of Camille's family. Bond however soon rescues Camille and takes her to shore.
Later on Bond follows Greene to a performance of Tosca in Austria and he infiltrates a meeting there between associates of Quantum and he identifies members of the board but a gunfight soon ensues. Bond then travels to Italy where he meets with his old ally, Rene Mathis (Giancarlo Gianni) to travel with him to Bolivia. At the airport they are met by a consular employee named Strawberry Fields (Gemma Arterton) who insists that Bond return to the UK immediately but Bond instead uses his rough charms to seduce her. Bond then attends a fundraiser hosted by Greene where Bond rescues Green from making an attempt on Camille's life. On leaving however Bond and Camille are attacked by Bolivian police who are working for Medrano who have attempted to frame Bond by putting Mathis in the boot of his car and during a struggle Mathis is killed.
The following day Bond and Camille fly over the land that Greene intends to claim from Medrano but their plane it shot down by a Bolivian fighter aircraft and they skydive out of the plane into a sinkhole. Bond learns that Quantum are tainting Bolivia's fresh supply of water so they can establish a monopoly on their water system. Bond then soon meets up with M again and they find that Fields has been murdered as her body has been covered in crude oil, thereby drowning her. M orders Bond's arrest for disobeying her orders but he escapes and doubles back to tell M that Fields showed bravery in the field, which convinces M to trust Bond and let him go. And its from here Bond meets with CIA agent, Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) who gives him info on Greene's whereabouts, which is in Atacama desert and this leads into the film's climax where Bond looks to take down Greene along with Camille who wants revenge over Medrano for her family.....
THOUGHTS
As a follow up to Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace is an entertaining, action packed Bond which sees the franchise become that bit more gritty than it did before in Craig's first outing as Bond. Here Bond continues his rampage as a remorseless killing machine, working for the MI6 but he does show his concern for his boss, M, whom in one scene he even suggests that she is a mother figure to him (and we do find out in Skyfall that Bond is in fact an orphan). Bond however is seen to be consumed with rage over the death of his former lover, Vesper from Casino Royale so much so he tries to conceal it.
And story wise it has to be said that Solace does actually work well as a continuation from Casino Royale and as the second act of the three part trilogy that Casino Royale, Solace and Skyfall. The film is also fast paced and as such is a much tauter one than the rather overlong Casino Royale that preceded it. However the film was not as well received as Casino Royale and is often seen one of the weaker Bond films in the eyes of some fans, but I personally still think it works pretty well as a Bond film and is somewhat under appreciated by audiences.
PERFORMANCES AND NOTEWORTHY SCENES (MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!)
As for the film's performances they are all pretty good here as QoS features a strong cast.
And to kick off we start with the film's star, Daniel Craig as James Bond and here he has grown comfortably into the role and his Bond is very much a cold, gritty one who does deliver the odd one-liner here and there but he is no stranger to dishing out a cold blooded killing. Craig as Bond naturally has some good scene and for a few examples there is the scene where Bond first meets Camille and get's into her car and she hands him a suitcase which he opens that has a photo of Camille and a gun in it. And Bond on looking at it says "It looks someone wants to kill you" and all of suddeny Camille pulls a gun on Bond who with lightning speed deflects her gunshot and he quickly get's out the car and she drives away and he looks on and says "Well that wasn't very nice!". Then after this a man on a bike pulls up to Bond and says "You were supposed to shoot her!" and Bond says "Well, I missed!" and Bond slaps the biker's hand that rests on the revver causes his bike to completely turn upside down and allow Bond to steal it.
Then there is the scene where Bond spies on the Quantum meeting that is held at an opera house where a performance of Tosca is being held. And during the meeting Bond, listening in interrupts and says "Can I offer an opinion? I really think you people should find a better place to meet!". Another good scene comes when Bond having narrowly escaped Medrano's men with Camille in a boat chase, takes her unconscious body back onshore and he dumps her into the hands of a local hotel attendant "Thank you. She's seasick!" and he walks off.
Another good scene comes when Bond and Camille fly a plane over Greene's prospective land and Camille asks him "What's your interest in Greene?" and Bond replies "Among other things, he tried to kill a friend of mine". And Camille asks "A woman?" and Bond says "Yes, but its not what you think" and Camille smiles "Your mother?" and Bond smiles saying "She likes think so!".
Then there is the scene where Bond is met by Fields at the aiport in LaPaz who has been given orders to take him back to the UK. So Bond asks her "When is the next flight to London?" and Fields says "Tomorrow morning" and Bond smiles saying "Then we have all night!". And as Fields warns him that she will arrest him if he tries to flee and asks if he understands he says "Perfectly" and a taxi arrives and he opens the door for saying "After you". And Mathis who is with Bond says to him "I think she has handcuffs" and Bond says "I hope so!". And last of all is the scene at the end which I won't spoil the plot behind it but it features Bond's last line where M says to him "Bond we need you back" and Bond turns to her and says "I never left".
Olga Kurylenko is also very good in her role as Camille, Bond's semi-romantic foil for the film (although he never actually get's it on with her for a change!). Olga has some good moments as well although I won't mention that many but as a couple of examples there is the scene where Bond and Camille are in the sinkhole and Olga asks Bond if he has ever lost someone special. And Olga says "You lost somebody?" and Bond says "Yes, I did" and Olga says "You catch who did it?" and Bond says "No, not yet" and Olga says "Tell me when you do, I'd like to know how it feels....". And in another scene Camille sums up Bond's character pretty well as she says to him "There is something horribly efficient about you".
Mathieu Amalric is excellent as the main villain, Dominic Greene and he actually managed to be one of the creepiest Bond villains the franchise has seen in years as he plays Greene as a slimey, seemingly charming businessman who is a real monster. Amalric has some good scenes as well such as the one where we first see him as Camille confronts him over his attempt to have her killed and he says to her " Please don't talk to me like I'm stupid!... It's unattractive!". Then there is the moment where Greene asks Camille about Bond "How much do you know about Bond, Camille? Because he's rather a tragic case. As MI6 says, he's difficult to control. Nice way of saying that everything he touches seems to wither and die".
Judi Dench makes her return as M and she is also excellent as ever in the role as she effortlessly plays the part of a no-nonsense boss as well as play the part of Bond's almost adopted mother. Dench also has some good scenes that include her opening scene in the film where she speaks to Bond of his former lover, Vesper. And M says to Bond "This is about trust. You said you weren't motivated by revenge" and as Bond says "I am motivated by my duty" M says "No... I think you're so blinded by inconsolable rage that you don't care who you hurt. When you can't tell your friends from your enemies, it's time to go".
Another good scene comes when Bond makes it back to London and M has the double agent's flat searched (the one that was supposed to be M's bodyguard) for clues to Quantum organisation. And M agitatedly asks Bond "Who the hell is this organisation Bond? How can they be everywhere and we know nothing about them!". And lastly there is the scene where Bond is on the heels of Camille after their first meeting and he speaks to M over the phone and she says to him "If you could avoid killing every possible lead, it would be deeply appreciated" and Bond says "I will do my best" and hangs up leaving M saying wearily to herself "I've heard that before!".
Giancarlo Gianni who reprises his role as Mathis from Casino Royale, is also very good again here and he effortlessly slips back into part again. Gianni's good moments include the scene when Mathis flies to Bolivia with Bond and he tells him "I have pills for everything. Some make you taller... some make you forget". Then there is the moment where Mathis pleads with Bond to forgive Vesper for her act of betrayal (at the end of Casino Royale) and he says "She would have done anything for you... forgive her, forgive yourself". And lastly there is the scene when Fields arrives at LaPaz airport with orders to take him back to London and as Bond asks "Does that include my friend Mathis here?" and Fields looks at Mathis, puzzled and says "I'm sorry, I don't know who you are". And Bond says to Mathis "You see? You've been gone for such a short time and you're already forgotten!" and Mathis says "You're just saying that to hurt me".
Gemma Arterton while she is given a pretty small role in the film as Bond's only bit of onscreen love interest, she still does not too badly as the amusingly named agent, Strawberry Fields. Arterton's main two scenes come when she first arrives at the airport to meet with Bond who is with Mathis and she says to Bond "My orders are to turn you around and put you on the first plane to London!". And as Bond hails a taxi for them, Fields warns Bond "If you attempt to flee I will arrest you, drop you off at the jail and take you to the plane in chains, understand?!" and Bond says "Perfectly" and opens the taxi door that has just arrived saying "After you".
And lastly there is the scene where Bond inevitably seduces Fields in a hotel room and she says to Bond "Do you know how angry I am at myself?" and as Bond kisses her naked back and he says "I can't imagine. You must be furious!".
And last of all Jeffrey Wright briefly appears again as Felix Leiter and he does a pretty good job but he is underused in the film and he really only appears in a couple of scenes. And his main scene is when Bond meets with Leiter who shares with him info of Greene's whereabouts. And in the scene Bond says to Felix "You know I was just wondering what South America would look like if nobody gave a damn about coke or communism. It always impressed me the way you boys would carve this place up" and Felix quips back "I'll take that as a compliment coming from a Brit!". But their meeting is soon interrupted as men are on Bond's tail and Felix tells him "Bond, move your ass!".
DIRECTOR AND MUSIC
As for the film's director, Marc Forster does a pretty good job here with QoS and he manages to actually keep the film going at a taut pace and as it runs at just 106 minutes long, which is to date the shortest James Bond film to date. Forster also keeps the action coming fairly thick and fast and he does a fairly good job at coping with the somewhat frantic action scenes even if they are just a bit too hectic at times. Forster also made the decision to make Solace a tight action film and that certainly is to his credit here as he himself admitted that wasn't a big fan of the Bond films and he felt that Royale's running time was far too long (which at 144 minutes, he's right!).
Getting onto the music the film has a pretty good score by David Arnold and I think it is a bit better than some of his previous Bond scores where he seemed just a bit too keen to have actually just scored a Bond film! The score itself has roughly the right mix of drama and suspense to it although its nothing overly special its still fit for purpose. And the film's credit titles song "Another way to die" performed by Jack White (of the White Stripes) and Alicia Keys is not too bad although its still not one of the best title songs written for the franchise.
FLAWS
As for Quantum of Solace's flaws..... yeahhhhh its not quite a perfect film.
And to start off one of the problems I have with it is still to do with the tone of the film as this is about as gritty as Bond could possibly get and this is also about as cold blooded as Bond could be.
And if they continued to make Bond this way then it might end up alienating the audiences to the character as I think Craig's Bond is still like a human terminator who will wipe out anyone who stands in his way, which makes Bond just a bit too cold for my liking. This is particularly notable in the scene where after Mathis is killed, Bond casually dumps his body in a bin and Camille disapproves, Bond curtly says "He wouldn't have cared". However Bond does undergo a redemption of sorts towards the end of the film and to his credit he does show his concern for M's safety that shows that there is more to him than just the job.
Another problem I have with the film is to do with the character of Fields (although apparently she never refers to herself using her full name of Strawberry Fields in the film!) as she feels like a pretty redundant and pointless character who serves as nothing more than Bond's obligatory shag for the film. And to top that off they even copy the gold paint murder idea from Goldfinger for Field's death except this time they cover her entire body in crude oil to drown her. It kind of shows at this point that the writers must have been out of ideas on how to kill an expendable character so why not borrow from one of the classic Bond films!
And another thing I found daft relating to Fields's character is that she is hardly an intimidating figure that could persuade Bond to get back on a flight to London asap and she ultimately does end up getting seduced by him. So in that case why didn't they just send a big muscly guy to force Bond to get back on the plane or better even yet why didn't they get someone to just shoot him with a tranqualiser dart to knock him out and then put him on a private plane even?!
I also think at times the film's action is just a bit too frantic and wildly shot as there are several fight scenes that just look messy and chaotic in their staging. This is especially notable in the chase scene near the start where Bond chases after the double agent that was supposed to be M's bodyguard. And later Bond fights the agent's contact in Bolivia and the style of the fight is very much a rip off of the Bourne series fist fights. Its like Bond was trying to actually become like the Bourne series at this point but thankfully it didn't (as I'm not a fan of the Bourne films myself!).
Anyway that's it for the flaws....
SUM UP
So to sum up Quantum of Solace is an enjoyable addition to the Bond series and even though its not among the very best films in the franchise it is still quite an underrated one and it does have a fair bit going for it. Daniel Craig does a fine job again as Bond and he is backed by the great as ever Jedi Dench and a fine supporting cast along with some good fast paced (if a little frantic) action, a pretty good music score and while "Another way to die" might not be the best Bond song its still not that bad. Is it Craig's best film? Nope, but even though it isn't its still worth a look and better than it is given credit for.
Soooo that's it for the now and I'll be back another time with another review.
Till the next time bye for now!
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