With Skyfall dropping in theaters in just a couple weeks, along with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series, a close friend and fellow film nerd, Brandon Peters, has generously offered to do a comprehensive review of the entire 007 film franchise. Today is the twenty-second entry, with a full review of the inexplicably maligned Quantum of Solace. I hope you've enjoyed what is a pretty massive feature leading up the November 9th release of Skyfall, because, to quote Adele, this is (nearly) the end. Without further ado...
Quantum Of Solace
2008
Director: Marc
Forster
Starring: Daniel
Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Gemma Arterton, Judi Dench, Jeffrey
Wright
Rated PG-13
Take a deep breath,
you only got one shot, make it count.
~James
Bond
STATS
Kills: 17
Bond Girls: Camille
Montes, Strawberry Fields
Car: Aston Martin DBS
V12
Locales: Siena,
Haiti, Austria, Bolivia, Russia
Odd Villain Trait:
Elvis, tall and has a wig that makes him look rather silly
Song: “Another Way to
Die” performed by Jack White & Alicia Keyes
Quantum of Solace
(QoS) is considered the first ever direct sequel to a Bond film, starting
up moments after the closing events of Casino
Royale. One could argue this untrue as Diamonds
Are Forever picks up right where On Her
Majesty’s Secret Service left off.
Going further, Dr. No through
to Diamonds (minus Goldfinger) all
carry along Bond’s battle against SPECTRE.
While calling it a direct sequel is the easiest way to spin it, the two
films are more closely tied than any previous two films.
When Marc Forster was chosen to direct QoS, it was an odd decision, but to me it was harkening back to
Lucas tapping Kirschner to direct The
Empire Strikes Back. A direct known
more for more small, intimate character dramas being thrust into a large scale
blockbuster. Things didn’t work as well
as Lucas’s choice, but they aren't all too bad.
His choice to bring a lot of Bourne
series alum for the 2nd unit and go the shaky-cam route is
unfortunate choice, but it doesn't malign the picture. The biggest peeve is that there’s a lot of
beautiful shots, locations and action frames that I wanted to linger on and
marvel, but there’s just too many cuts and too fast a rate for most of it. It feels really weird every time there’s a
shot that lasts or frames a scene.
However, Forster was able to bring some great performances out of the
cast and make them count. Camille Montes
could have just been a throw-away Bond girl or one we just go with because the
film dictates it, but she really earns her keep here. She comes off as more than just a pretty face
with a great body. And the film actually doesn't force Bond to sleep with her when it seems all obvious for a film that
they would. It’s a nice surprise and
something that should be respected.
The action bits, while done in the modern aesthetic aren't all horrible. There have been numerous
complaints as to people having a hard time following what is going on, and I
really haven’t had that problem with any viewing. It’s a bit much to take in, but I get the
gist and follow quite fine. I rather
enjoy the car chase at the beginning and the drop from the plane later on in
the film. I’m not going to lie, I found
a lot of the action in the film to come off with quite a bit of intensity. Daniel Craig very much gets his License To Kill for this entry.
The plot is all set on revenge for Vesper Lynd and Bond defecting from
MI:6 to see it through. It's quite a
violent, bloody time. There’s an emphasis
on 007’s excessive killing with his newly acquired license. M plays a recurring role of teaching to maintain his composure and acknowledge the consequences of his every move. It’s a nice bit of growth to their
relationship. It’s a rather cold relationship
with the Craig-Bond, but some of it is rather humorous in its approach.
The villain is the weak link to this one. Dominic Greene is rather just plain and
uninteresting. The thought of being a
piece of a larger, more powerful organization that has people planted all over
is threatening, Greene is not. There’s
not enough really there for him to be any sort of match, mentally or
physically, for Bond. The best moment of
Bond vs. villainy is the opera scene. Its
one of the best pieces in the film, where Bond listens in to their secret
meeting and lets them become aware of his presence. However, at the end, when Greene just grabs
an axe and swings, it’s quite ridiculous and pretty stupid. It doesn't ruin the film or negate its finale, but it’s
kind of silly, but Camille’s disposal of the general is satisfying. Greene does meet a fun demise, albeit most of
it coming from M’s debrief. Ending on the gun barrel is a very fun moment. By this time you've forgotten it wasn't there
and it’s a nice surprise. It’s basically
saying that, as a character, all the origin/reboot/prequel stuff is done and
we’re ready to get back to a more typical James Bond adventure.
While the gun barrel is fun, the fim's title song ("Another Day to Die") isn't really. It sounds like a demo and really doesn't benefit from being the first duet.
In my opinion, Jack White should have just written and done the
instrumentals while Alicia Keys sang it solo. The verses are cool, but the chorus just
sounds heinous with both of them. It
works much better watching the film than it does standing alone, I’ll give it
that much. Quantum of Solace was another
film victim of the 2007 writer’s strike.
Craig and Forster had to come up with any changes and scenes that needed
redone. It does show a bit here and
there but nothing is too distracting or noticeable. The film’s plot of hoarding water in Bolivia
and causing and overcharging for it has been accused of being weak, but I found
it just to be one of many things the Quantum organization could be capable
of. SPECTRE didn’t stop at just
scrambling radio signals from space shuttles did they?
In time, I think QoS
may find more appreciation (it’ll probably take another poor entry or two) some
years down the road. It’s not near as
good as Casino Royale, but it works
fine as a nice epilogue to it. It’s not
the best of the franchise but is far from being the worst. I’ll admit, it’s a lot to take in on a first
viewing. There’s a lot of plot that’s
not being spoon-fed to you and giving the audience a lot of credit. Take that and mix it in with rapidly paced
action sequences that pops up frequently, and yeah I’m sure a lot of folks are
scratching their heads. If you think
it’s the worst, go back through the series, one-by-one. You’ll find you’re very mistaken. In the end, it’s mainly a glorified fast
paced modern action thriller taking place in the Bond universe. And better than most that I've seen. From the beginning, I've discussed the series
borrowing from other genres. Quantum of Solace is just of that. This time it’s taking from the Jason
Statham/Jason Bourne mold of an action picture.
It's arguably the equivalent of a modern License
To Kill. It’s not the best Bond
film, but it’s a fun piece of entertainment.
Brandon Peters will return with his final analysis of the
007 Series
Follow me on Twitter – www.twitter.com/@btpeters
E-mail – naptownnerd@gmail.com
“Like” Mendelson’s Memos on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/MendelsonsMemos
Scott Mendelson's essay on the film's surprising politics - HERE
5 comments:
Finally, an intelligent review of QOS that actually feels honest. I've never understood why certain people seemingly couldn't understand the nature of the water plot. Given there are water shortages worldwide and millions who die because of their inability to access clean and healthy water, that's actually a pretty smart plot, I would think. I mean, yes, it's not on the scale of say, Drax's plan or even one like the Brosnan films, but I thought we were meant to be 'getting away from the excesses' of the Brosnan years.
Absolutely agree with you. Again, it's the final act/epilogue of the building of Bond. And in that context, it really works.
This. I never really thought about it in terms of it basically being the second half of Craig's 'Bond-Origin', but it does work in those terms too. It's a relatively low-key plot that suits a Bond who was just starting out. People who complain about the 'water-plot' of QOS seem to forget that Casino Royale's 'evil plot' was centred, arguably, around little more than a card game.
I have never really understood the poor reviews of Quantum of Solace. I quite liked it. It is not as good as Casino Royale, but I think most would agree Casino Royale is at least in the top 3 if not the best Bond. Personally, I would place QoS on about the same level as Tomorrow Never Dies, and much better than the latter Brosnan movies.
The problem is that CR set the bar insanely high, just like Goldeneye did for most people with Brosnan's run.
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