After hitting a home run with his intensely troubled portrayal of Agent 007, AKA James Bond in Casino Royale, Daniel Craig is back in the sequel to the film that made him a household name. Quantum of Solace, however, falls short in many areas.
The film continues immediately after the events of Casino Royale with Bond attempting to hunt down members of the shadowy organization that forced his girlfriend Vesper Lynd to betray him and caused her death. Revenge mixes with duty as Bond dangerously tries to unveil the secret nature of project “Quantum” undertaken by the organization that is posing as an environmental-concerned foundation. The fact that his judgment is overshadowed by his desire for vengeance makes his boss M (Judi Dench) wonder if she can trust him not to abuse his sensitive position. Meanwhile, bad boy Dominic Greene (Mathew Amalric) is trying to charm his way into obtaining rights to water resources in south America that will grant him enormous power. Yes there are hand-to-hand fights that will leave you blown away and oldschool stunts involving motorbikes, speedboats, jet fighters and expensive cars that give you whiplash just looking at them. From the onset, the film opens with a chasing scene and from then on, you don’t get a chance to catch your breath until the very end. Unfortunately, that has taken away a lot from plot and character development and while it gives our adrenaline levels a good boost, it fails overall to satisfy the fans who long for more character depth like they saw in Casino Royale.
But what I really like about the film and its predecessor is how skillfully Craig managed to make the role his own. He takes on the character and adds so many layers to it so that it’s not only about a killing, sex machine but an actual human being with real human sufferings and troubled mind. But it hasn’t stopped him cultivating female company in the traditional, fantastically supercilious manner. His companions are as demurely submissive as ever. Olga Kurylenko plays Camille, a mysterious, smoldering figure, out to wreak vengeance on the corrupt Bolivian dictators who killed her family and despite the fact that nothing ever happens between them, the chemistry is electrifying between the two leads. I liked how Amalric toned down the grotesqueness of his character as not to descend into another cliché in the book of bad guys, but what really stood for me in this film was the space given to Judi Dench to shine as M, Bond’s mother-like boss. She takes the role perfectly, portraying both firmness and tenderness.
In the end, Quantum of Solace” almost never slows down. It should slow down more than it does. It provides no moments to savor, no memorable interludes, no scenes between characters to speak of, and no lines of pithy dialogue to look back on fondly. In overall feeling, it’s not unlike the middle film in a trilogy. We’re thrown right into the action. There’s lots of commotion throughout. And it ends, not prematurely, and yet without a feeling of absolute completion.
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