Quantum of Solace

So four Bond fans walked into the Quantum of Solace and left with much to discuss once the credits rolled. The main thing on our minds is that our boy has been re-invented. The suave, womanizing spy of yesteryear has been replaced with a reckless, free-running bad-ass and that in itself leads to mixed emotions.

Daniel Craig’s version of James Bond seems more realistic in terms of what a super spy would be. In the old movies James Bond was a bit of a superhero since his skill with women, guns and driving were beyond human and in the most helpless of situations he maintained the “shaken but not stirred persona”. With Craig we get a cool that borders on cold as his skilled close quarters combat leaves men dead, his chases are suicidal but successful and even when he is scarred, burned and looking a mess he still manages to maintain a cool exterior. Different dynamic of Bond but we happily accept it.

In Quantum of Solace, James Bond is still recovering from the loss of his lover Vesper and is determined to find the people behind it all. The mission leads him to a Mr. White who he and ‘M’ interrogate to find out about a secret organization that even MI6 knows nothing about. This leads him on a tour to Haiti, then Italy and finally Bolivia in a complex web of double crosses, shady military personnel and even the CIA.

The shining part of this movie was Dame Judi Dench, now referred to affectionately as Mom by the agents, Dench’s ‘M’ displays a mix of emotions as trust issues come into play with her vengeance seeking 007. Will Bond stay professional? Or is he a wild lion uncaged and out for blood to revenge his lost love? Judi Dench is all over it and was a pleasure to watch. One of the negatives that my fellow Bond fans eluded to however was the lack of cartoonish bad guys typical of past Bond movies. What we get this time is the wormy Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) who is a stereotypical power driven little man.

Bond Girl Camille (Olga Kurylenko) wasn’t much of a Bond Girl as she provided a mere side story to the main plot… one that could have been left out entirely without being missed. Our eyes were more focused on the delicious Gemma (Lucrezia Lante della Rovere) whose small scene was pretty memorable to the boys. But my biggest gripe was the camera… it seemed like a five year old with a sugar high was controlling the damn thing and the movie starts with a car chase that will make you vomit up popcorn whilst wondering “wtf am I looking at?” Luckily this camera garbage (reminiscent of The Bourne Supremacy) seemed to get fixed by mid-movie. I spent a lot of time in the beginning hoping and wishing that the entire movie would not be shot this way and boy was I relieved.

Even with it’s faults I cannot say Quantum of Solace was the worst Bond movie, but it wasn’t the best either. It has broken formula in more ways than one and just does not stand-up to the genius that Casino Royale was. The good thing about it all is how well Daniel Craig fits the part, I do recommend this movie in a big way because it delivers on the action, and thrill that makes movies great and it is coupled with an awesome soundtrack (Intro by Alicia Keys). You are guaranteed a bit of acting via Dame Judi Dench and a hot Bond Girl who is a spitfire on her own in Olga Kurylenko. This is a dirty, gritty, in your face and unpredictable James Bond, he isn’t sleeping with 20 women whilst sucking down Martinis like water. He doesn’t wear a prime tailor fitted suit the entire time and his enemies aren’t strapping on Nuclear missiles to sharks. This is not your daddy’s James Bond, this is Daniel Craig and he kicks all kinds of ass. Get out and see it.