Daniel Craig as James Bond 007and Olga
Kurylenko as Camille in Marc Forster's "Quantum Of Solace", which opened across
the U.S. and Canada. (Photo: Sony Pictures)
THE POPCORN REEL FILM REVIEW/"Quantum Of
Solace"
James Bond's New Motto: No Love, No War,
But Plenty Of Action
By Omar P.L. Moore/November 14, 2008
Marc Forster's "Quantum Of Solace" is aptly titled. For all its frenetic,
action-packed vigor the film pauses to breathe briefly, offering emotional
moments that resonate partly because of its unremarkable chase scenes and
stunts, and partly due to a lean, threadbare story, which clocks in at an hour
and three-quarters, some 39 minutes shorter than its immediate predecessor.
"Quantum", which opened today in the U.S. and Canada, is a direct continuation
of the solid and highly entertaining "Casino Royale", except more somber and
less dynamic.
Daniel Craig tones down both his charm and appeal in his second go-round as
James Bond but shows more wear and tear as Britain's secret super spy at MI6.
Of particular note is the kinship he develops with Camille (a spray-tanned Olga
Kurylenko), a woman bent on avenging the deaths of her family at the hands of a
ruthless Bolivian general (Joaquin Cosio). Theirs is a brother-sister
relationship that grows and their interplay during the film's second half
is genuine and poignant. The other relationship that evolves somewhat is
the mother-son rapport between Mr. Craig's Bond and Judi Dench's M. They
are carping and cantankerous work partners -- the admonishing mother and the
wayward, undisciplined son -- and despite the repeated threats M makes against
007, both know that they need each other. These two relationships
represent the film's disparate strands -- not-so veiled attempts to reunite Bond
with members of his estranged family.
"Quantum Of Solace" features one or two brooding characters, with all pretense
and sentiment stripped away, and while the enumerated ingredients for Martinis
and such remains prevalent, absent are a lack of snappy one-liners which have
defined the Bond film franchise. This new James Bond is cut from Bee Gees
cloth: a ladies' man, no time to talk, and barely enough time to try to
stay alive. Accordingly, under Mr. Forster's economical direction, the
film is remarkably intimate despite its scope -- and even that feels
truncated. Mr. Forster, a director of typically smaller, independent films
("Monster's Ball", "Finding Neverland" among them) has an array of beautiful
international locations to work with but instead of making them showcases for
splendor and opulence he makes them appear accidental by comparison, and this
method is not necessarily a bad thing.
The motto for this film is simply "all action virtually all the time".
That said, Mr. Forster skillfully augments the compact nature of "Quantum Of
Solace" in three scenes, juxtaposing the wildness of the incognito underworld
with the chaos (or calm) of the local ordinaries who populate the landscape.
This appears to be Mr. Forster's way of shrinking the disparity between the
powerful and the powerless. This 21st century, very public world of Bond
and secret agencies has become ever more minute and the pursuit of revenge ever
more urgent and lonely. In these respects the director succeeds in his
mission by integrating two different worlds without making "exotic" locales
excuses for photo-op type backdrops, and the action in some of these sequences
evokes that seen in John Woo films.
The wayward, undisciplined son and the
admonishing mother: Mr. Forster's film deepens the relationship between Bond
(Daniel Craig) and M (Judi Dench). (Photo: Sony Pictures)
On the acting side, Jeffrey Wright, Jesper Christensen and Giancarlo Giannini
all return from "Casino Royale" but in smaller roles. Ms. Dench is in fine
form once again as M, and Miss Kurylenko gives Camille the adventure,
vulnerability and innocence of a little lady lost. Musically, David Arnold
returns to score "Quantum Of Solace", while Jack White and Alicia Keys' song
"Another Way To Die" fits well over the great graphics of the opening title
credits -- graphics and title sequences which in Bond films have proven to be as
important as they were in Hitchcock films.
If nothing else, Mr. Craig's piercing electric blue eyes and sharp suits remain
(with the suits not always unblemished), as does his penchant for high body
counts (attempting to rival the first "Terminator" film in both respects), but
otherwise missing here is the extreme peril that tested him in "Casino Royale"
-- even in the most death-defying situations presented -- and Mr. Craig does
even more of his own stunts here. Other than 007's relationships with a
would-be mother and would-be sister, "Quantum Of Solace", while having its
moments, is altogether flat. The film's chief villain, Dominic Greene
(Mathieu Almaric), a supposed water and environmental business man, is
toothless, little more than a bridge to the inevitable, as is the curious entry
of British Agent Fields (Gemma Arterton) whose fleeting existence in the film
could have been written out of the script by Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis and Robert
Wade. In a marked departure from past films, "Quantum Of Solace" has no
true Bond girl, femme fatale or plot, except that James Bond intends to close a
chapter of a prior episode that has clearly scarred him.
As well as its bridge from the last film, "Quantum Of Solace" harkens back to
prior Bond films like "Goldfinger", with one motif repeated but as a crude
variation from the 1964 film, as well as repetitive stunts already seen in
"Casino Royale". Either that duplication is a flaw in Mr. Forster's
independent-feeling film, or it works well as a continuation of a far superior
first half of a James Bond double bill.
"Quantum Of Solace" is now playing in the U.K., France and Sweden, making its
debut on North American shores today. The film is rated PG-13 for intense
sequences of violence and action, and some sexual content. The film's
duration is one hour and 46 minutes.
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