Quantum of Solace (2008) 6/10
James Bond (Daniel Craig), having shot Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) at the end of Casino Royale, interrogates him and learns of a secret organization known as Quantum. Following sparse leads, Bond finds Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) and pursues him to the Bolivian desert. Directed by Marc Forster.
The other day I was interviewed by E! Online and I defended Bond against the notion that he’s losing ground to, or imitative of, Jason Bourne. And now I have to say that the first ten or fifteen minutes of Quantum of Solace are indistinguishable from The Bourne Ultimatum.
I don’t know, I am inclined to blame Marc Forster. He’s an artful director who has never done action before, so naturally he’d imitate an artful action director. But for Bond, it doesn’t work. Bond movies have strong narrative flow, and the crazy-quick-cut approach just doesn’t do it.
A lot of Quantum of Solace felt like someone else’s movie. Someone else’s soundtrack. Someone else’s title song. Someone else’s title design. It made me want to watch a Bond movie.
Not that this wasn’t a good movie; it was. It wasn’t a great movie, and it was too short, too snappy, and too confusing. But it was good. There were beautiful touches, and Marc Forster’s eye for framing a shot was very apparent. This may be the finest composition you’ll see in a Bond film. There were lovely visual homages; the Goldfinger one being the most obvious, but The Spy Who Loved Me is there as well, and just prior to the climactic battle, a lovely visual and plot reference to the short story For Your Eyes Only. (You can’t miss it.)
So much is going on that it’s hard to describe; a villain with a complex plot, a huge, shady organization behind him (but not a part of his plot so much; I suspect a SPECTRE-like organization with many fingers in many pies, a conglomerate), the CIA (and hello, Leiter), Bond’s hunt for revenge for Vesper, Camille (Olga Kurlyenko) with her own revenge motives and her own sub-plot, motivation, and secondary characters—I’m getting tired just listing it all. And, while the plot may not be as complex as Octopussy, it may take me longer to figure out, because it all goes by so fast.
So now I’ve had the night out at the movies I’ve been anticipating for two years. I’m tired, I’m a little let down. I think most people will love this movie, and I think it’s natural for the hardcore fan to be pickier. I feel like I’ll like this movie better on DVD, when I can slow down a little, back away a little, and replay lines that go by too fast.
23 users commented in " Review: Quantum of Solace "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackSaw it last night at Palisades. Without giving a long review, I thought the film was a great piece of entertainment and a worthy successor to CR. I too, found the camera work nausiating and a big detraction. The plot was fine IMO. I rank the film higher for two major reasons:
1) Craig’s performance was the best in franchise history.
2) There were three standout scenes that rank among the best in the series:
- The opera scene
- The scene with Yusef followed by the meeting with M
- The scene with M in the Bolivian hotel
Everything about these scenes worked from the cinematography to the score to the performance of Craig.
I could go on longer, but I need to think about it more. 4 out of 5.
Did you? That’s where I saw it. I think the visual impact would be easier to take sitting further back. I thought the performance was brilliant, but it was a known quantity; not better than CR, and I thought the scenes with M were diminished by the fact that we moved in and out of them so quickly.
6/10 is 3/5; still a recommendation, just not a strong one. Not for the ADD among us.
I found that it plays better on the second viewing…but maybe that’s just me.
Iv’e seen it twice so far and there will be more,I enjoyed it very much but thought the action scenes were to quick and jerked all over,Its ashame for all the work the stunt and speacial effects did to just be a flash in the pan….
[...] Voices: Ultimate James Bond Fan Blog Review: Quantum of Solace by Deborah Lipp James Bond (Daniel Craig), having shot Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) at the end of [...]
Strange reaction. I thought it was a good movie, but I was *REALLY* disappointed. It was almost as if the writers and director really had no vested interest in the plot itself, and were more concerned with moving Bond from set-piece to set-piece.
The scene at the “Green party” made no sense. Bond walks up to the girl (who’s name I can’t even remember anymore), grabs her, and walks off with her. WHY? Up until that point, all he knew was that Greene wanted her dead. And Mathis’s death was meaningless as well — treated like an afterthought, casually tossed in a dumpster, and forgotten. Much like the the filmmakers attitude towards the plot itself.
This is such a disappointment. If QoS had been an out-and-out disaster of a movie, then it would be easier to swallow. But there was the outline of a really good movie here that had its guts ripped out. Having Bond “make” the various members of Quantum was a KILLER movie moment. More scenes in that vein, with Bond in full espoinage mode, cool and in control and in style, would have made this average movie much more appealling.
There wasn’t a single moment nearly as strong, as clever, as suspenseful, or as human for Daniel Craig as the one where he was tied to a chair naked and threatened with the imminent destruction of his manhood in CR. That one scene gave his Bond infinite more insight into this strength of character than anything we saw in QoS.
I’m glad to see the film is a financial success so far. I hope they take the time to really move the franchise forward when they jump into pre-production of Bond 23.
I wasnt disappointed, ok its not that good as CR but it takes the story further, so really you have to see CR and QOS as one movie split in 2. With a little bit 2 much action in the second part
Together its the story of how bond becomes bond. At the end of QOS he finally is the Bond we knew (thats why you see the original gunbarrel-style at the end) ready to face the QUANTUM-organisation without his own agenda (finding the person responsible for Vesper’s betrayal = Yusuf a loverboy not for prostitutes but goverment secrets).
The next movie probably will probably be more of a standalone but with the QUANTUM-organsation, and possible more of MR. White and the head of QUNATUM (Blofeld?). Maybe even Moneypenny and/or Q
My rating 8/10 or 4/5
Sry for some bad typing btw
[...] movie opening of the fall, and since we are off-season and looking for other entertainments, here is my review of Quantum of Solace from my James Bond site. Tags: James Bond, Quantum of [...]
I think the producers, after the suprise success of CR were deliberately trying to morph Bond into a modern day action franchise. I had that sense from the minute I saw the first trailer in the cinema. At this point, they run the risk of making a Daniel Craig trilogy. Then DC goes off to other movies, and they are left/stuck with 3 movies (CR/QoS/23) that don’t really fit in with the rest.
That being said, I enjoyed it a lot. It was no CR which had action, intrigue, suspense, sex, relief, etc etc. QoS was fierce and quick. BTW, who shot Greene twice in the head and made him drink the oil?
Butterfly, we have a trilogy on our hands; the Quantum organization is bigger than Greene by far.
[Warning: My comment contains spoilers]
Hi Deborah. Just saw QoS over the weekend and I think I share a lot of your feeling of being a little let down (but not a whole lot). Overall, I think I really enjoyed the movie but I think Marc Forester changed too much of the ‘Bond formula’ to the point that it almost didn’t feel like a Bond movie in some places. Also, I have to say that I was somewhat irritated that Forester chose to put the gun-barrel sequence at the end of the movie rather than the beginning. My feeling about the gun-barrel opening is, ‘if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.’ Fans have always loved the gun-barrel opening at the beginning, because it basically communicates, “Here comes Bond. Get ready for double-O action!”
Having said this, I think QoS has some of the best action seens of any Bond movie (or any action movie for that matter). But I also had difficulty keeping up with it at times. I hope to see it again, and hopefully things will make more sense. And by the way, I think QoS features Bond’s coldest/cruelest elimination of a Bond villian in the way he killed Dominic Greene.
As viewers we weren’t prepared to see QoS as CR pt2. Just about every other Bond film has been a stand alone movie with its own unique plot. Since this is a series there are plot elements that tie the movies together, but each could stand on its own.
To fully understand and appreciate QoS, one should have seen CR in the recent past. Many critical reviews agreed that QoS lacked plot development and seemed to leave the viewer guessing as to why certain things were going on. As a stand along movie, the criticism is valid. Viewed as pt 2 of a 2 pt movie then there is continuity and viewer understanding of the plot.
Craig did well(again) and showed emotional range that the character had lacked in the past. Dench did a great job playing internal politics against her faith in Bond. Bringing Leiter in was another nice touch- and 1 that worked out. Interplay with Mathis was curious- we know that he was a double agent and involved in Vesper’s suicide- so why does Bond trust him ? There is obvious backstory here.
Anyway, a good but not great movie. This is essentially the sophomore effort for the new franchise. Wonder what the next installment will bring ?
~SLIGHT SPOILERS~
Deborah, your comments echo mine almost completely. In a Bond movie, one expects that the stunts are going to be highlighted, as Casino Royale did admirably. Not having seen The Bourne Ultimatum I can’t compare, but it was a lot like many other recent action films and it’s a style that I find frustrating no matter who the subject of the movie is.
I agree with Joe Bond, too… especially on the scenes he picks out as classics. The way they finished the movie was outstanding… Bond overcomes the reputation he’s getting for shooting first and asking questions later, but still gets his revenge.
I found the acting performances in this Bond to be among the best ever in a Bond movie – Olga Kurylenko surprised me greatly, and Mathieu Almaric was a wonderful villain. Jeffrey Wright’s Leiter was much more dour in this than in Casino Royale, but it fit with the movie. Giancarlo Giannini almost stole the show in his brief appearance… his Mathis portrayal here was first class and I’ll miss the character in upcoming films.
The sets in this truly stood out to me. You really got a sense of which countries the Quantum group had victimized with the scenes in Haiti and Bolivia, while the scenes in Siena and Bregenz stood out for their richness.
Correct the action scene issues and you have a movie that at least equals Casino Royale, IMHO.
rl, first, I resent your implication that viewers who didn’t understand the movie just hadn’t done their homework. First, because this is a fansite and most viewers here HAVE seen CR multiple times, and second, it is the obligation of the filmmaker to make a sequel understandable to newcomers. If you have to do homework to understand a film, the filmmaker is generally not doing his job.
There were many plot elements that were quite muddy in QOS that had no precursor in CR. What was Greene’s true motivation? What was going on with his water scheme? Why did Greene keep Camille alive after putting a hit on her? With a huge organization at his disposal, why did he hire an outside hitman? Why did he kill Fields and why with oil?
And really, if you’ve seen CR in the recent past, you should know that Mathis was NOT a double-agent. This was explained in both movies: LeChiffre said Mathis was a double to divert suspicion from the real double: Vesper. Mathis was tortured and interrogated anyway, in case there were two doubles. When he was cleared, the British bought him the villa we see in QOS as recompense.
Jamie, good thoughts. I do like the scenes Joe talked about, but I think even in the opera, the filming style could have aimed for a clearer narrative.
My favorite scenes are the ones with Mathis, the scene with Bond and Camille preparing before they enter Greene’s lair (I’ve got a post planned about that), Fields’s final shot, and of course the opera.
I’ll never hate a Bond movie, but I too was tiny bit disappointed. Way too many extreme close ups during the action sequences. Message to all directors: please pull your camera back. I want to see what’s going on.
Also, a lot of the dialogue got swallowed up. I found myself wondering what was just said. I don’t know if this was because of the many foreign accents or because most of the lead actors tended to be low talkers.
I would also like to see a few smiles from Daniel Craig. I don’t want to see a return to the smirky, clowny Roger Moore or Pierce Brosnan versions of Bond…but Daniel needs to have a little fun. I liked his “hand cuffs” quip, he just needed another fun line or two.
Overall, I give it a solid B. Can’t wait for Bond 23 in 2010!
A good point, the truth. I too had some trouble with some of the accents in this movie, particularly Almaric’s. I have problems with accents anyway, though, so I thought maybe it was just me. Sound quality could have been a tad better, then.
i enjoyed quantum – and think it could easily be part II of a trilogy. nice snippets of earlier bonds (easy was goldfinger, for your eyes only, but a few more lurking in there).
i thought shorter (under 2 hours) worked. could easily have taken off 10-15 minutes of poker sequence from casino royale – that was the only part that dragged, imo.
i didn’t like the general comments that this was a “revenge” flick to casino’s love story. way too much of a simplication.
fwiw, here is review i wrote up:
http://rundangerously.blogspot.com/2008/11/james-bond-quantum-of-solace-movie.html
I wrote this review of the movie – “QUANTUM OF SOLACE” Review
All I can say is that QoS was a HUGE disappointment! I am a long-time Bond fan and own them all from VHS to DVD. I love Daniel Craig as Bond and think CR was fabulous – so what happened? The story line moved so fast that it was confusing, the Bond that we all know and love – sex, smartass, and savvy – was no where in sight in this film. The whole thematic-Bond: Gone! I have never been so deflated and hope it doesn’t happen again. Otherwise the prize of finding Craig will be lost! And remake Her Majesty’s Secret Service will ya – another dud and one of the most important story lines, it was boring, an other NOT-Bond make!
Signed – Big D!!
Quantum of solace – the worst movie of all bond movies, no special stunt, no gadget, why change the intro? I wouldn’t even buy the dvd, not worth it.
I think the new bond movie was a joke. It misses all the old elements of a bond movie, and Daniel Craig as the new bond is weak.
Leave A Reply