Rent Quantum of Solace on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Paul Haggis and Neal Purvis & Robert Wade
Directed by: Marc Forster
Starring: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Giancarlo Giannini, Jeffrey Wright, Judi Dench
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
James Bond tries to stop an organisation from eliminating a country's most valuable resource.
Verdict
It's a lot of action, and that's the best part of this movie. The story is nearly non-existent, serving only to create a framework for one action scene after another. I'd like a better narrative to serve as the foundation. Substituting action for character development and plot isn't sufficient.
Skip it.
Review
Taking place immediately after Casino Royale (2006) where James Bond (Daniel Craig) captured Mr. White, this begins with Bond transporting White so he can question him. It turns into a car chase, but the action is subdued compared to the other Bond movie openers. The interrogation is just an interlude to a parkour style chase when Bond encounters yet another double agent. Chasing him inside a church getting remodeled, Bond uses the environment to his advantage and takes care of the rogue agent.
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| Daniel Craig plays Agent 007 James Bond |
Greene (Mathieu Amalric), the main villain, wants to get an exiled Bolivian general back in power. He's willing to hire a hit man to take out his girlfriend Camille (Olga Kurylenko) over it because he's got big plans. Bond stops that because it's a beautiful woman. Greene is part of a secret organization, Quantum. Bond infiltrates the group who are meeting during an opera with earphones. While it's an interesting scene for the movie, it seems like a silly way to conduct business. Bond identifies them and a fight ensues. Bond is incriminated by the Quantum group and ordered to return to MI6. He doesn't, because he's Bond and knows more than everyone else.
This movie definitely tries to fill the action quota quickly. I'm not sure I even understand the story other than a secret criminal organization wants to cause chaos and or profit. Strawberry Fields (Gemma Arterton) is sent to bring Bond back to London. He seduces her by asking her to help him find stationary. It seems like some kind of joke with how ridiculous it is. She states she's mad at herself for being seduced which makes the line even worse. How do you fall for a line about stationary? If she wanted to bed Bond I would understand. She's mad that she succumbed to Bond's raw sex appeal, but who could resist?
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| Olga Kurylenko, Daniel Craig play Camille Montes, James Bond |
Unfortunately the story is mainly a means to link action scenes and have Bond fly around the world. Greene helped the general so that he could help himself. The general is forced to make a deal with Greene who managed to get a water monopoly in Bolivia. The movie didn't explain the motivations very well. I think the intention was mysterious and it ended up being incompetent. That or it's just an excuse for Bond and Camille to take a trip to the desert.
This ends with what's supposed to be an emotional moment for Bond as he reconciles events from the previous movie. Maybe that would work better if this had a better story, but any time this movie mentions Vesper Lynd, it just seems like the movie is reaching and trying to add stakes it hasn't earned.
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| Title Card |
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