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1/11/2008
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Quantum of Solace (2008)
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Bond films tend to fluctuate quite a lot. In the 40 years since the original Casino Royale film the formula has been changed time and time again. The series got a little out of hand with the last films of Pierce Brosnan's tenure and needed a reinvention. The first film from Daniel Craig, a remake of Casino Royale went a long way to rebuilding faith in Bond films which has led to a lot of expectation to this new film.
Quantum of Solace is the first direct sequel and follows on almost immediately after Casino Royale ended. It therefore begins with Bond having shot and kidnapped "Mr White" and trying to escape with him. This leads to a car chase in which 12 Aston Martin's with varying degrees of damage were used. I would love to know why they needed 12 because you never see the car for more than half a second before it is cut away from. The style of the whole film is very Bourne and I really don't think it works so well in Bond films. Bond are sophisticated affairs and do not work well with handheld camera. It could have been a brilliant chase but because of the jumpy camera work and constant cutting it is frantic but a little dull. Then we get the worst Bond credit music ever, it really is that bad that it grated on my nerves and from that moment on I fear the film was fighting a losing battle. The first five minutes of any film are important, they are there to get the audience interested but for me these just left me feeling a little isolated.
The film is also magnificently lacking in terms of direction and plot. The first half is just one scenario where Bond can kill people and just happen to stumble upon a piece of information at the same time after another. The only real satisfaction comes from the last 5 minutes. There are moments of brilliance in this Bond film and it is nowhere near to being as dire as Die Another Day was. As a standalone film it might have worked but as a sequel it felt a little lost.
In terms of acting quality all the key players do a good job although that said I didn't find Olga Kurylenko overly talented as Bond's sidekick. Daniel Craig is a Bond still hurting from loss and unable to trust anyone and he does a good job but isn't helped by a poor plot. Dominic Greene does ok as the bad guy and Judi Dench is on her usual form as M.
In conclusion then, there are moments at which Quantum of Solace is very good unfortunately these moments are too few and far between. Often the directorial style does not work and runs what would otherwise be good and there are the fragments of a good story in there somewhere. Essentially this is what action films love, lots of explosions and gun fights but for anyone looking for sophistication or story like Casino Royale you should see a different film... like the Bourne films. The cast do a good job in the circumstances and I hope that Daniel Craig continues as Bond for the foreseeable future. The series of films involving Bond and this secret organisation can work it just needs to focus more on creating a good story not just something with lots of big bangs to draw in the general public. Worth seeing but only so you can create your own opinion.
Review by Jonathan Little
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Our Rating:
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Quantum of Solace has 1 votes
The average score is 3
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