On its opening weekend I went to see Quantum of Solace the second serving of Daniel Craig Flavored James Bond. I’ve been looking forward to this sequel ever since I saw the very impressive Casino Royale and for me it did not disappoint (well in most areas).
The story continues where Casino Royale left off with a James Bond who’s boarding on insanity and is on a relentless mission to achieve tranquility by killing the murderer of his wife. The Character Development alone in this movie clearly sold it for me, we have a Bond who can’t sleep, is reckless and is not thinking clearly about how he affects the people surrounding him.
This leads to some deaths that could have been prevented, deaths that in turn pull bond out of his selfishness and coldness. The tight character work didn’t stop with Bond there were unique characters peppered throughout the whole film like Camille Montes played by actress Olga Kurylenko, who is also on a dark path of revenge as well. The movie uses foreshadowing of a horrific event in Camille’s past to bring the character full circle at the end, although for all its beauty this diamond has some flaws as well. I’ll admit it’s more of a personal nit-pick than a critique but for the love of god why so many chase scenes!?!? I understand that a Bond flick with no chase scene is like an insert clever metaphor here, but whatever the case the director felt strongly about including the four elements Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire in his film which he did successfully all through fucking chase scenes. This leads me to believe that the director and writer have some sort of fetish or repressed childhood memories involving sex and freeze tag. Minor annoyance aside this movie is a definite go see and one for the personal collection. If you’re ready for your Bond to involve into a real breathing character Quantum of Solace, and it’s slightly older but better brother Casino Royale deliver on all fronts. My final
Grade
A-
