Review: Quantum of Solace -- James's Take

"bargain basement Blofeld" - inspired alliteration there.

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WTH did they guy that made Monster's Ball and Stranger than fiction direct this? Bad choice.

And its a crime that Clive Owen isn't Bond. He's like the perfect embodiment of the character established by Connery. Craig's ok but he's no Clive.

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Sad that the filmmakers missed why people loved Royale - Bond was more than just silly super spy. For some reason studios think we all want a British Bourne. Bourne 2 and 3 were unwatchable dreck that left behind the brains of the first pic for all out action stupidity. This Bond sounds like a return to the stupidity of Bond movies/Bourne sequels. Bummer.

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"While Casino Royale brought Judi Dench's gruff spymaster M back to the series from the Brosnan era, it also brought Sir Isaac Newton's laws of motion back to the franchise"

As critical as I can be of this site (usually involving an over-used Megan Fox post), that there is just great writing. Nicely done.

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I liked this film. Not as good as Casino Royale, no. In England, too, I read about the boring nature of the film, and I'm puzzled.

I'm a fan of both the films and the books. As such, I'm delighted that they're coming together. Bond rarely "got the girl" in the early novels, and usually he was so battered he had to spend a month in hospital after each assignment. There was no, "Oh James" that nded every Moore film. You get to the heart of Bond with your beast/civiized comments, which are spot on. Craig has it cold.

This is the first true sequel of the film series. (You could argue that Diamonds was a sequel to OHMSS, because Bond is looking for revenge on Blofeld - for, like, five minutes). QOS picks up hours after the end of Royale. What this review fails to acknowledge is that Bond is still dealing with Vesper's death (I know, Bond shouldn't care if a woman dies - at least, Moore's Bond wouldn't. But I'm one of those who maintains that if Connery had been in OHMSS, it would be the greatest Bond film of all time, for the very fact that he DOES care).

So there shouldn't be sparks between Bond and the new women in his life - the important moment is not the silly line you mention at the end, but the moment that follows it. It reminds me of a line from Moonraker (the book, NOT the film) that descrbed Bond's off-duty life as playing cards at his club or "making rather cold love to one of three similarly-disposed married women." Bond is a womanizer, and not because he likes women, or sex. I know you don't like the notion of seeing his "inner child," but isn't it refreshing to see Bond as a character, not a stereotype? Or maybe that's the complaint - people want their touchstones (gadgets, catch-phrases, winks and smirks) to keep them comfortable.

I'll half-agree with the split scene observation, that the horse race isn't quite the right parallel - unless you know the history of the Italian Palio, which is saddled violence dating back to the 13th Century. But as that doesn't come across, the split doesn't work. However, I thought the chase/fight during Tosca was phenomenal, an artistic parallel rather than typical fight scene. And for tension, the scene leading up to that was my favorite of the film.

You will get no argument from me that the final fight blew. When in doubt, blow it up. Silly. But the final scene of the film made up for it, brought us full-circle, and reminded us of Bond's personal priorities.

So no, not as good a Royale, but not the bland Bond film you accuse it of being. It is no Licence To Kill or Golden Gun. They've returned to the source material, which was good enough for the first three films, which in turn created all our cliched expectations. If everyone stops expecting Q to show up, and let the film continue the redefinition of Bond, we'll all enjoy it more.

PS - Bargain Basement Blofeld IS inspired. Very nice.

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I saw QoS last night (thanks Cinematical!), and have to agree with David that the main problem the film encounters is living up to the excellent Casino Royal. QoS was exciting, but part of me felt they were just racing from action scene to action scene, and set piece to set piece, with little of the spark that marked CR as a great film. Oh, and Eva Green was sorely missed; I think that the casting directors forgot when they cast Olga Kurylenko that the best Bond girls aren't ONLY hot, they can act as well.

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It's interesting that in not one mention of the film anywhere have I read anything about the death of the stunt driver while executing that bone-chilling race that opens the film. If I recall, it shut down production for a while.

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Worst James Bond movie! Nothing else

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its the second worst james bond movie i've seen. casino royale is the first of course

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I think I had extremely high expectations after Casino Royale, which set the bar so very high. QoS is no CR. The action scenes were extremely difficult to watch--camera angles that were too close, too fast, sometimes distracting. The plot was weak. Slightly disappointing was the noticeable lack of quipisms that Craig can deliver beautifully, as we saw in CR. Yet I think this movie was authentic in that we are watching an evolution in Bond. Purely from a character study viewpoint, I think they've handled the new Bond authentically and correctly. He's raw, grieved, and angry. Something of a tragic hero, who wasn't going to be happy after the woman he loved died--for him? He still has his doubts. But the point of QofS is Bond is still learning the rules. I think the final confrontation with the man who betrayed Vesper was a pivotal moment for Bond. He went there to kill him, and he was close. Yet Bond did the right thing in the end, gaining M's trust at last. Craig is the best Bond in ages, if not ever. He's made Bond a man of substance--at last! Or again...however you prefer to think of the devolving farce Bond had become. And thank God, the new Bond is NOT a sexist. Being a woman who likes a little romance blended in with the violence, I would've liked to see a little more angry brooding over Vesper, but I love the fact that they didn't have Camille become a proverbial grief hump. He viewed her as a kindred soul. And by the way, Bond's pathology is dead on--he didn't have sex with Fields because he was horny.

I look forward to great things with Craig, hopefully better than QoS. I'd still recommend the movie, though.

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Please! Although Craig is on track to be a good Bond persona, Connery & Bronson were the gold & platinum standards. Moore made the movies farcical & Dolton was a dud. Golden Eye, Tomorrow & even Die Another were great in the Bond tradition with a lot of action, Bond being very polished and good old heterosexual entendre not to exclude the obligatory stunningly sexual opening graphics, lyrics and the must have gun barrel. Unfortunately Casino fell flat on plot and clearly had the influence of someone who does not understand the Bond fan. Frankly, the sexy girl got taken off for some unspeakable torture that we are not allowed to witness but we observe Bond being taped to a rattan chair while a definitely prissy, asthmatic, light-in-the-loafers villian whips his family jewels. His recuperation obviously putting him out of action in more ways than one. Really, even Blofeld would not dally in such a method that lends questionable merit to his virility. An the Bond girls? At one time they were stunning as well. Now they are just OK. Couple that with colorful but not stunning graphics and a plot to blow up a plane for stock advantage and it all was less than impressive. Venice falling into the Adriatic.....didn't that happen in Legion of Extraordinary Gentlemen?

I have never missed a Bond film but cannot bear to be duped again. The Roger Moore days were my blackest. I barely can tolerate the "new" M; complaining that 007 is a chauvinist/misogynist!!! He's saving the freakin' Empire, back off. Reminds me years ago my young children would ask why it was ok for 007 to frolick out of wedlock. I told them that we forgave him his foibles because we needed him to save the world and that was particularly hard work. Good grief! Dare I spend the $10 to see it in the theater or just bide my time for the DVD?

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OK. Perhaps my last comments were really a review of Casino not having seen QoS. Now I have seen it and there are so many problems with it I do not know where to begin. All the chases are herkey, jerky, shaky stuccatto film clips. You can never really see what is going on. This is contrary to the taditional Bond flick replete with detail. And if Craig is gritty, moody, mean & vindictive one can still see a path by which he becomes a cooler if not cold uber-professional agent with a dry, sardonic sense of humor. Even the opening chase, usually one of the best, is almost visually incomprehensible. Ceratinly they were purloined from the Bourne genre but somehow Bourne's were more believable.

The opening graphics were not as bad as I feared, but were definitely not 007 quality. Far too much of Craig shooting his Walther PPK .380; don't make me go into why that is a problem. Ditto on the theme song. I was fearing worse and it was actually passable relating somewhat to the general theme of the film. The barrel scene was placed at the end of the film. I prefer the beginning but in either case it should be presented with high quality graphics and punctuated with 007 theme song riffs. It was not.

Lots of chases. Most are barely watchable. I actually liked the reference to the traditional 13th century Italian horse race in which the riders can use their longer wooden canes to encourage their steeds or discourage their oponents; and the actual event was supposed to be occuring outside of the chase area.

The knife fight was lame. How did the baddie die anyhow? Please tell me not with the little pair of cuticle scissors Bond had. And if the death blow was to the only wounded area shown, the left jugular, where did all the blood go as Bond let him 'bleed out'. Not worry the details because we are soon introduced to THE BOND GIRL. Well, a little anti-climatic because she is not quite as attractive as we are used to although she has very pretty lips. The rest of her seems strangely disporportionate for some reason. It's also strange that she would return to the baddie who just tried to have her whacked. That has little probability for success for someone who we later learn is "Bolivian Secret Service". Oh well, not to worry, we are off on another chase, this time with boats. It is perhaps the best done but for the last scene in which the grappling hook is somehow thrown onto the rubber speed boat and flips it from the front of Bond's boat over the top to the rear...... can't quite figure the physics out on that one. Not to worry, we've docked and Bond mysteriuously hads the unconscious maiden who he has just rescued over to a dock attendent...what?

Well were off to track this baddie and somehow reconnected with the GIRL in Bolvia where we eventually learn that the baddie, Mr. Greene of the evil Greene corporation in conjunction with the even eviler Quantum Criminal Consortiuum LLC has concocted a plot wreaking with the venom of true corporate greed, evil captialism and nefarious financier-ship; to wit, steal all the water in where? Why Boilvia of course and sell it back to them Bolivans at double the price! MUAHHAHAHAHAHA (evil laugh). We learn at a big party that times are tough in Bolvia because it is costing a weeks wages for an average Bolvian to buy a gallon of clean water! As I remember, the average Bolvian earns about $0.25 per day making the water cost about $1.75 a gallon; pretty much on par with market values in Cleveland.

No matter, we are off to the evil opera where the evil baddies are meeting to plan, well, evil. This is where we reference a modernistic version of the Tosca operatic bloodshed whilst Bond dabbles in the real thing dispatching the body guards of the evil biggies who now discovered, are making a hasty retreat for the exits faster than attendees at an Al Gore speech.

No matter, while in Bolivia we are matroned by the closest thing to a real Bond girl, agent Fields. Unfortunately we never really figure out what is beneath that trenchcoat although it appears that Bond does. Unfortunately for Fields and us, she is quickly eliminated by the baddies in what can only be termed as a 'crude' theft of the Goldfinger movie. But why waste camera time on the slick Fields when you can spend it on bathroom scenes with....who else....M. Perhaps the most difficult what seemed like 15 minutes of the film was watching M in her bathrobe apply & remove cold creme. The threat itself would have sent Mr. Greene into pro bono philanthropy. Not finished with us yet, M draws her bath and the tension in the theater built noticably as we all began to fear that we would be greated with an au natural scene of her slipping out of the robe into the tub. Fortunately we were spared that experience (wait for the unedited version coming to DVD soon!). However, it just calls into question what fob with a mommy complex of some sort is calling the shots in these films.

M continues to demostrate why she should not be "M" vacillating from suspecting Bond to needing him back in 00 some 4-5 times during the movie. We did get a glimpse into the possibly personality of M's hubby when he meekly announced, "the calls for you dear on your private line". Whatever.

M may welcome Bond back with open arms or have him captured or killed, no matter, the BOND GIRL is rescuing Bond in her getaway car, a 1964 VW Beetle. I guess the Bolivian Secret Service does not get to roll like the 00's in MI6. At least is was a 40HP!

No matter. We are now off to a hotel in the middle of a high plains Bolvian desert. Time to charter a plain...no, not the little Beachcraft Bonanza. Choose the DC-3 with a load on cargo on board. Watch out though, you'll get shot down by the Bolvian Air Force in a Cessna. I guess the BAF doesn't get to roll like the 00's at MI6 either.

No matter because we are both jumping out of this crate with the only parachute. Somehow everything turns out ok because the shut opens about 20 feet off of our LZ, a nice big soft slab of granite.

Its off the the hotel to find the baddies. Naturally, the hotel located in the high plains desert of Bolvia is called the Plaza del Sol. It is completely self-sufficient and powered by...solar....no you idiot, hydrogen fuel cells. In fact, each room appears to have its own hydrogen fuel cell and its accompanying hydrogen supply tank. The maids must make your bed and refill your hydrogen tank when they replace the shampoo in the bath, I guess. Naturally the hotel, located in the high plains Bolvian desert is made substantially of steel & stone. Unfortunately, the steel & stone in Bolvia is not quite as durable as the steel & stone you and I have grown to love as we discover when Bond causes a baddie car top crash through a wall igniting a hydrogen tank. Naturally the rest of the hydrogen tanks ignite sequentially. Darn it, I hate when that happens, you just can't get good hydrogen tanks anymore. Again, unfortunately, the Bolvian steel & stone burns more like paper mache. Bond battles the Greene baddie but aborts to rescue the BOND GIRL who is caught up in her own subplot vendetta to trite to be explained here.

You would be better off waiting for this to hit DVD. At least then you can slo-mo or replay the chase scenes making sense of them, spend more time with the slick Agent Fields and most importantly, FFW or skip over M's bathroom escapades. You have been warned.

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