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I saw Quantum Of Solace last night, and I have to say it was a mixed bag. Nowhere near as excellent as its predecessor Casino Royale, Quantum drops the ball big time with its insistence on re-introducing preposterous action sequences. Seriously though--Quantum's topical storyline and well-realized villain (played with creepy cool style by newcomer Mathieu Amalric) way too often take a back seat to ridiculously staged action sequences trying to please that demographic which demanded that sort of thing (I guess) in their Bond movies. Bad move. Whereas Casino Royale was executed with cool finesse and realism (for the most part), I found Quantum Of Solace to regress too quickly back to our old expectations of what a Bond movie should be, and in so doing, it completely derailed the direction in which this re-booted franchise was heading.
I can only hope now that the producers of the new Bond franchise scale back the preposterous-action idiocy for the 3rd entry. Yet all is not lost in Quantum Of Solace. It does have its merits. Either see it for matinee price, or save it for the dollar theater, or home viewing. Daniel Craig still maintains his role very nicely. Judy Dench as M is perfect. Their relationship is at the heart of this movie, and I consider Quantum Of Solace a "side stop" on the newly re-booted Bond franchise. It sets a certain foundation--a second layer after Casino Royale, if you will--for Bond's position in the MI6. Aside from establishing his position relative to M in the British Secret Intelligence Service, Quantum Of Solace does not offer much else in terms of originality for the series, with the notable exception of the villain Dominic Greene and his association with the criminal organisation Quantum. His ploy to secure control of Bolivia's water supply is pretty topical, and one of the elements that salvages the movie from complete mediocrity.
To be clear on my feelings about this movie--like I said at the beginning of this review, they are mixed--I would rate Quantum Of Solace at least 6.5 out of 10 stars, leaning generously towards 7 but feeling that it did not live up to the hype established clearly by Casino Royale (which I would give a 9 out of 10 without thinking about it).
So there you have it. Daniel Craig works overtime in Quantum Of Solace to desperately hang on to whatever credibility he garnered in Casino Royale, and he is very good at it. Given that Craig's Bond is a hard man who is learning the subtleties that perforce come with the job, I grant Quantum Of Solace a "pass" and have my fingers crossed tighter than ever that the producers of these new Bond flicks get their act together for the third outing. Keep the action realistic, please. There's plenty of time to re-introduce the classic characteristics we all came to adore in the old Bond movies: the nicer suits, the growing reputation, the ladykilling ethic, the gradual sophistication of what started out as a hired thug, etc. These are the real reasons to be excited about the new Bond movies. We get to watch how Bond acquired these characteristics, over time, as he gains more wealth and experience from working as the UK's most efficient secret agent killing machine. Here's to the third new Bond movie, and that it delivers the goods with a far more assured sense of balance than Quantum Of Solace did.
