Quantum of Solace - Grading & Discussion

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I loved it.

There have only been two "James Bonds" worth remembering - Sean Connery and now Daniel Craig. Craig makes it easy to forget all the tuxedoed sneeze-stiflers who've walked through the role in cheesy movies for the past couple of decades.

Wunnerful, wunnerful.

 

[archeryguy1701]

I saw it last night and enjoyed it. It certainly wasn't Casino Royale, but it was still more enjoyable than the other Bonds I have tried to watch. It was just a nice, fun movie to watch. I think my biggest complaint about the whole thing was that some of the fight scenes were just so chaotic that they don't translate well to a large screen. I would have liked to see them do more with Bond going Rogue, but they did well enough with what they did. I thought the opening credits were great. When I first heard the song, I hated it, but the more I listened to it, it started getting a little better, but I didn't fully like it until last night.

Quick question: who was the guy at the end of the movie? It may have just been because I was tired, but it seemed like we were supposed to know who he was, and I didn't.

 

[tomalak301]

Just got back from it and have barely skimmed through some thoughts but here are some of my random thoughts.

-I don't post in the Trek 11 board so I will start that here. I liked the trailer. It seemed to focus too much on rainbow colors and shoot-em-up action and I'm starting to wonder what semblance it has to Star Trek. I'll go in with an open mind of course, but I think I really miss Trek of the golden era (1990s when I was growing up). Perhaps if I see it again, it will be better.

-As for Bond, it was Ok. I think I liked Casino Royale better, but there was some good stuff here. The action scenes were decent, even though the way they were shot was a little distracting, and it seems that they also continue to move bond toward the direction of going rouge. Also, it seemed to forget it was a bond film and was your typical action flick. Then they started playing the bond theme some and it got better.

I think my overall impression though is the same as it was with Casino Royale. I miss Brosnan. I miss the charm, I miss Q, and I miss the timely one liners. I don't think Craig as the charisma that Brosnan or Connory (Or even Dalton) had and I'm starting to wonder if he is a good Bond. Right now, he's probably sitting in the bottom three (I've not seen Lazenby or Moore so that's why it's three).

Overall, I'd give this movie an average. Decent action, ok story, but not very memorable.

It also sucks when 3 minutes before the ending the movie breaks down. At the theater I went to, something happened and we had to wait a few minutes before we got the actual ending. That kind of soured the mood some, given that the ending seemed a little anticlimactic to what the whole movie was about.

 

[Timby]

Quick question: who was the guy at the end of the movie? It may have just been because I was tired, but it seemed like we were supposed to know who he was, and I didn't.

Vesper Lynd's Algerian boyfriend, mentioned at the end of Casino Royale and at the beginning of Quantum of Solace.

 

[Kelso]

I loved it. It the camerawork/ editing was a bit too derivative of Bourne but other than that I was highly enjoyable.

 

[Agent Richard07]

After reading a lot of bad comments and reviews, I went in with some pretty low expectations. It's Bond, so of course I'm there, but still, I went in expecting Men in Black 1.5. Remember that? Anyway, having seen Quantum of Solace, I have to say that I quite enjoyed it. It was a lot better than I expected, though I don't think it's the best that the Bond franchise has to offer. It also didn't feel like the direct sequel to Casino Royale I was expecting. To me it felt like a separate movie as opposed to "part 2" of anything.

Here's my rundown of the movie along with how I think it compares to previous Bond movies...

The Story: A Bond movie needs a compelling story, especially with its long history where it's especially important to keep things fresh and exciting. I believe that Quantum of Solace delivers on that, but with some problems in the execution. Bond's mission to go after a secret organization that can stage coups and control water supplies is pretty compelling to me. That along with Bond wanting revenge for the death of a former love makes this movie among the best story-wise. Unfortunalety, the movie falls short because a lot of those good setups are poorly fleshed out and take a back seat to all the action. I also didn't get a strong sense that Bond was seriously out for revenge. Basically, we got a good set of ideas that could have been better explored.

The Action: A Bond movie needs action and Quantum of Solace has it. A lot of it. Car chases, plane chases, chases on foot, hand-to-hand fights, you name it. Very little of it was as impressive or as memorable as what I've seen in other action movies like the Bourne franchise for example, but all of it was watchable. One action sequence was pretty impressive though. It involved Bond relentlessly chasing after a member of this secret Quantum organization over rooftops and through buildings with scaffolding. It was very reminiscent of the chase at the beginning of Casino Royale.

The Locales: A Bond movie needs to take us to some exotic locales and Quantum of Solace delivers big time. We get a touch of old Europe with Italy, the warmth and third-worldliness of the Caribbean and of course, the cold loneliness of a hot desert in South America. All of that was interspersed with shots of MI6, "spy central", which looked pretty advanced. We also got our Villain's Complex. It wasn't an underwater base or a hollowed out volcano, it was a high-tech building out in the desert, but served its purpose well as an isolated and secret base of operations. The trend of not being over the top like Die Another Day continues.

The Bond Girl: A Bond movie needs a great Bond Girl. We got that with someone named Camille who is played by Ukranian model and actress Olga Kurylenko. I wouldn't put Camille up there with some of my other favorites such as Pussy Galore or Melina Havelock, but she was a worthy Bond Girl who is much closer to the top of the list than the bottom. She was a strong woman who was out for revenge and came off as pretty good alongside Bond. There was no fooling around or much of anything sexual between them, but I'm not disappointed. Their relationship worked quite well as it was. We also got a secondary girl and fellow operative known as "Fields" who was played by Gemma Arterton, and as mentioned a few posts up, she got limited screen time. She was basically the "Teri Hatcher" of Quantum of Solace.

The Villain: A Bond movie needs a good villain and topping the iconic ones in past films can't be an easy task. I can't say they accomplished that but this movie does give us a pretty decent bad guy with Dominic Greene. He won't go down as one of the best or most memorable, but as a member of a secret organization who is posing as an environmentalist and who has vast resources at his disposal to overthrow governments and dictators, he was a very interesting character. Somehow he reminds me of a bad, wealthy Julian Bashir.

The Gadgets: A Bond movie usually has a lot of cool gadgets. This movie didn't have any, but I didn't feel shortchanged. All the other Bond staples more than made up for it. The movie did have computer graphics-on-a-transparent wall though. They were at MI6 and looked pretty scifi-ish without totally feeling that way. A number of movies like this feature high-tech of this sort and we're close to having stuff like this anyway. That's why I found them acceptable.

I'm giving Quantum of Solace an 'above average' grade.

Now for a few more nitpicks...

- I still think it was a bad idea to have Judy Dench back as M, but I wasn't distracted by her presence.

- There was a scene where Bond and Camille climbed out of the sink hole and saw a reservoir of water. They were supposed to be outside, but it sounded like they were on a small enclosed set.

- Until the end, I thought this was going to be the first Bond movie without the signature gun barrel shot. I wonder why they put it at the end anyway.

- I hope to see Q and Miss Moneypenny in the next movie.

 

[Timby]

- There was a scene where Bond and Camille climbed out of the sink hole and saw a reservoir of water. They were supposed to be outside, but it sounded like they were on a small enclosed set.

If you're referring to when Bond and Camille climbed out of the cave they fell into after the plane crash, they simply climbed to a higher level within the cave wherein they saw the underground pipeline that had been mentioned many times. Instead of oil, it was water. It was underground, it was still in the cave, and there's every reason for sound to be echoing.

 

[Agent Richard07]

So a bit off topic...but to anyone who saw it already, was there a Trek XI trailer attached to it?

I didn't get a Star Trek trailer.

It's just the right length.

Yeah, it was. After hearing about the run-time, I was practically expecting some 80-minute popcorn flick, but this thing certainly felt like a substantial Bond movie.

I miss the Bond that enjoys a cigarette and a drink, between casually dispatching enemies...

Seeing him have a drink at the beginning while on the job seemed unprofessional. It didn't work for me.

I would have liked to see them do more with Bond going Rogue, but they did well enough with what they did.

I think he goes rogue too much, so I just kind of rolled my eyes at it this time.

- There was a scene where Bond and Camille climbed out of the sink hole and saw a reservoir of water. They were supposed to be outside, but it sounded like they were on a small enclosed set.

If you're referring to when Bond and Camille climbed out of the cave they fell into after the plane crash, they simply climbed to a higher level within the cave wherein they saw the underground pipeline that had been mentioned many times. Instead of oil, it was water. It was underground, it was still in the cave, and there's every reason for sound to be echoing.

Yikes. I didn't catch that. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[sidious618]

I loved it. It wasn't as good as Casino Royale but it was a good thematic growth from it. However, this film curiously felt like part one of two with the Quantum group brought up at the end and Bond being told he would be needed by M.

First off, the best part of the film was the interrogation with Mr. White. White was amazing and creepy in the scene. And then when Mitchell turned out to be one of White's men... wow!

The next twenty minutes were probably the weakest aspect of the film as we are given a large amount of chase sequences that aren't all that well direct. However, Forester learns as the film goes on. I saw some reviews that the film did not show how Bond felt after Vesper's death. Really? That man had only one feeling after it: rage. He was always borderline but Vesper's death threw him over the edge. His armor is back up and the only emotion he is willing to show is intense anger.

That said, they could've cut out a few action sequences and given us some more Bond scenes where he is discussing things with M. Because when we do get those scenes they're spectacular. When Bond finds Fields M utters one of the two best lines in the film, "You show them your charm, Bond, and then this is what happens to them."

Domenic Greene was a much better villain that Le Chiffre. His large eyes were eerie as all hell and that nasal voice reminded me of Ben's from LOST which is never a bad thing. It is also Greene who utters the other great line of the film after he hears the gunshot: "Sounds like you lost another one." Bond's reaction is the turning point for him in the film. He would rather die with the girl (whose name just escaped me) than extract vengeance on Greene.

Also in that scene we see 007 almost kill the girl and himself so they don't have to be burned alive. I thought that was a rather novel and ballsy notion.

The main problem I had with the story comes in at the end with Vesper's boyfriend who is apparently working for Quantum. It's all rather unclear and rushed here. They could've very easily ironed that out and I'm unsure why they didn't.

That said, once he gets out (and declines to kill the boyfriend) and talks to M the movie once again reasserts itself. The last image of the necklace is a powerful one and a good one to end the movie on.

In the end I'd have liked a little more Bond discussions and a few less action sequences but the movie was a great one and I'll be very happy to own it on DVD. One thing this movie assures us is that Daniel Craig IS James Bond.

 

[Aragorn]

It was fun but I felt underwhelemed at times. Also, is it possible to say a Bond film had TOO MUCH action?

I was also disappointed that Neil Jackson and Stana Katic were each in the movie for like a minute.

 

[Samurai8472]

Dench's portral of M during Craigs two bond movies seems more ballsy and straight to the point than when she was with Brosnan's bond.

Maybe its because she has more to do and is fleshed out more. The first scene in Casino Royale has her firing up a storm

"Christ I miss the cold war!"

"Have you ever seen a bunch of self righteous arse covered pricks!"

and then in Quantum she says "I don't give a shit" I think its the first time a bond movie has said "shit".

Sure she was fiery in Brosnan's bond but not this fiery

 

[tomalak301]

If there was one thing I really liked about QOS was Dench. I've always liked her as M, and it really did seem like she stole the show on this one. I'm really glad they kept her around despite getting a new actor to portray Bond.

 

[archeryguy1701]

Since I only just got into Bond with CR, Dench hasn't worn out her welcome with me like it sounds like she has for some, but I've enjoyed her performance in these two movies. Her and Craig play off of each other very well, and M is a phenominal character from what I've seen.

 

[DarthPipes]

I just got back from it and I was very disappointed. Two years after the excellent Casino Royale and this was the best they could do? Talk about setting the bar low and failing to exceed it.

It felt like they just dropped you into the action and explained very little. The theme was Bond wanting to get revenge over what happened to Vesper except, as Roger Friedman pointed out on Fox, Bond never thinks of her. She's barely discussed throughout the film. Craig plays that storyline so detached that you wonder why Bond wants to go after these guys. That's kind of the problem with the story. Just what was the point of all this? The motivations are flimsy and the mission feels pointless. The action is great but they need to tone down the rapid-fire editing of the fight scenes. It reminded me of the fight scenes in Batman Begins where you couldn't see any of the fighting. And hey, let's blame the Americans too while we're at it!

I appreciate the more serious tone of the films and Craig's performance but Christ, it felt like going to a funeral. TPTB has managed to suck out all the joy. Future films could benefit from being a little less grimer. Casino Royale felt like Bond, albeit with a new attitude, but Quantum of Solace felt like just another film and Bond's got to be better than that.

The good? Other than the action and great, great scenary, all the performances are very good. Craig is still an excellent Bond although despite being the main character, I thought he was wasted here. Judi Dench is excellent as M and plays off of Daniel Craig very, very well. I liked that Olga chick very much, thought she and "Strawberry Fields" were good Bond girls. Very nice to see Felix Leiter back but he was completely wasted here. I thought they were going to utilize him more for this film. The guy who played the villain (don't know many of the actors names) did well considering that he was given very little. Bond's got an organization to go after and that's very cool.

Here's hoping TPTB get their act together and deliver an enjoyable Bond film the next time around. They've got a lot of good elements in place but they have to aim higher.

 

[DarthPipes]

I don't think the main villian was built up enough, I didn't really care for his plan and we should of learned more about Quantum, like the ending refering to another name like SPECTRE or some hint of more to come, we know nothing of what Bond got from his time alone with Vesper's ex lover. The film needed 5 minutes more at the end to explain better though I get it now with what Vesper's B/F does and that is seduce high ranking people in certian governments and then use that with a fake kidnapping plot to get what they want.

The Vesper element was almost totally ignored. Bond wanted revenge for her death but he barely looked like he cared the entire film. When he finally catches up with the ex-lover, we don't even see what happens. So that storyline, which was supposed to be the driving force of this movie, was pointless. Just like the film.

 

[Aragorn]

Wow, Ebert gave this movie two stars. And he's like the action film geek critic.

 

[Base_Delta_Zero]

Bond was constantly thinking of Vesper, as several characters pointed out numerous times throughout the film. He just didn't go on about it. It was internalized and behind the eyes -except when he was killing people, which he seemed to relish until the climax.

At the end, he chooses the mission over revenge, squeezes Greene and leaves him to Quantum. When he doesn't kill the boyfriend, it's because he learned from Camille that the revenge he was seeking didn't actually bring closure or make things better. He killed bag-fulls of men in anger and it didn't make the pain go away. She had to find a new purpose and move on (helping with the rebuilding of Bolivia, redistributing the water supplies, etc). Bond decides to do the same and get back to the job of saving the world (which, incidently, will involve killing many more bag-fulls of men).

I thought it was a great counter-point to CR and really enjoyed it.

As an aside, anyone else notice that Marcus, the head vampire from the Blade series had a very brief, violent, knifey role as Slate? Must have been one of those "I'll play a stormtrooper if you just let me be in this movie" roles for him.

 

[Aragorn]

^ I mentioned Neil Jackson in, I think, my first post here. You can see him next year in the superpowers movie Push.

 

[doubleohfive]

I liked Roger Moore's cameo on ALIAS a lot better than this one. Eh.

 

[Aragorn]

I wonder if they actually have a plan to cap this story or if the bad guys will become so big it'll be impossible to ever stop them.

Maybe they can get Brosnan, Dalton, Connery, Moore and Lazenby to play the level bosses.