The name's sequel... (Quantum of Solace (DVD))

Member Name: calypte

Product:	Quantum of Solace (DVD)
Date:	16/11/08 (151 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: decent action, Craig is a great Bond

Disadvantages: lacks a real high point in the action, or a punchy ending

Casino Royale brought Bond, James Bond, back to the big screen with a bang. The 'reboot' of the franchise was widely hailed as the best Bond yet, and I certainly wasn't one to argue! Grittier, darker, CR did away with the camp and the overdose of glamour, bringing a reality to the story that put it more in mind of the Bourne films than the previous twenty 007 movies.

Ending with a whole new set of questions, it seemed obvious that 'the Blonde Bond', Daniel Craig, would be back in a sequel, and that is JUST what we have here: Quantum of Solace is the first in the whole series that I'd say really doesn't manage to stand purely on its own two feet - and that, really, is the big complaint here for me.

Starting within an hour, story-time, of the end of CR, QoS kicks us off with the usual overdose of action we've all come to expect. However, straight away it becomes apparent that having viewed Casino Royale is something of a prerequisite; more, I'd suggest you'd be best having had a recent viewing, as I certainly hadn't remembered the relevant (minor) bits this is following on from.

Indeed, the whole movie really leans heavily on the prequel. The much-lauded emotional content, so 'new' to a Bond movie, is very much a carry-over from the events in CR, discussed repeatedly here. Actually, that sentimental content wasn't as strong as I'd been led to believe, possibly because I didn't really connect at all with the female character, Camille (Olga Kurylenko), and her woes. Oh, the emotion is there, but (thankfully!) not overly in your face - if you're looking for an action movie, then don't worry!

The first half in particular has plenty of action, with Bond chasing around after the people he deems responsible for Vesper's fate in CR, and then a shadowy group completely unknown to MI6 - rather worrying, that! My favourite scene involves a very public secret meeting - sounds like a contradiction, but it worked, and Bond's infiltration - so uncouth, in such a cultured environment - made me smile. That was a relief, as the rest of the movie is relatively humourless: the price for that reality-kick.

I'm not going to complain, though, as that one instance aside I was actually disappointed by the attempts to introduce a bit of levity, particularly with the reintroduction of the 'Bond Girl' and a Q-like character, albeit this time concerned with geekery over gadgetry. The former comes in the form of current It-girl, Gemma Arterton (recently seen in the title role of the BBC's Tess of the D'urbervilles) playing one Agent Fields. "Just Fields," she insists - although the credits christen her 'Strawberry'. Oh dear! She tries, bless, but really doesn't have that much to do beyond, urm... the usual, for Bond. Ahem.

Disappointment and lack of a great deal to do rather sums up my overall feel of the film, alas. Once the numerous chase scenes are out of the way (on foot, in cars, in aeroplanes, etc), the actual storyline just failed to hit a peak for me. A lot has been said in various interviews about Bond's world no longer being so black and white: the line between the goodies and baddies is no longer so crystal clear. Now, I'm all for that: that the James Bond character has both his darker and more human sides more apparent works very well, but... hmm, I dunno. The shadowy evil group seemed... well, evil enough to me, even if the main character lacks a deformity or white pet! It comes as something of a disappointment, then, that there's really a lack of crescendo - the dastardly plot (all so environment, how fitting for the times!) seems to stay in the background, and never feels particularly threatening.

It's not all bad, though - there's certainly enough to enjoy here. The first half's action lives up to expectations, and after a bit of same-y-ness in the middle there's a nice exploding hotel to make the big screen show its worth. Daniel Craig and Judi Dench are both brilliant, and I really liked the (non-disfigured!) baddie, Mathieu Amalric, who remains nicely understated. The mysterious group he's part of (it's in the trailer, before anyone complains!) is a nice start of a storyline, and I look forward to seeing it developed in later films.

Overall, though, the whole piece just never hit a peak for me. The ending seemed to rather peter out a bit, with few 'lose ends' tied up - well, actually: I think the Casino Royale storyline is tied up; the events introduced here are very much ongoing. Which leaves this very much suffering from middle-film syndrome - but on the positive side, I'm really looking forward to the next instalment!


~ Boring Bits ~

*Running time: 106 minutes
*Rating: 12A (violence, some sexual content)
*Theatrical release: 31st October 2008
*DVD release: tba


Full cast details, etc can be found on imdb.co.uk

Summary: The 'middle film' in an all-new Bond series