Quantum of Solace – Film Review

Posted by Samuel Walters

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Quantum of Solace is the followup to the surprisingly effective reboot of the James Bond franchise, starring Daniel Craig. What made the reboot so intriguing was its explicit focus on the character of James Bond – on his motivations, his emotions, and his flaws. But while Quantum of Solace does a few things to return to the idea of “James Bond The Character” it is, primarily, a typical cliché-filled action mystery movie which substitutes quantity for quality. Ultimately, while mildly entertaining, the film fails to recapture the sense of purpose and meaning conveyed in its predecessor. Put simply, this script – outside of its tech and contemporary political references – could have found a home in any incarnation of the James Bond franchise.

The film opens with a car chase that seems to have more in common with modern car commercials than big budget action films. Sadly, this is representative of the film itself – portraying mostly style over substance. True, Quantum of Solace does manage to pick up on the thread left behind by Casino Royale – namely Bond’s feelings of remorse and guilt (and need for some sort of reckoning) regarding the death of Vesper Lynd (his true love). But these character moments are few and far between. Instead, the film seems much more content to focus on the rather uninspiring mystery bad guy Dominic Greene’s (Mathieu Amalric) nefarious plot to orchestrate a coup d’état of Bolivia, then make himself the “water czar” of the country.

Along the way, there are the requisite action sequences. Unlike the first film, they do not take overly long – but the incredible number of action set pieces is a detriment. It’s as if this film was little more than an action porno – minor character bits that serve to get us from one action “money shot” to another. And hey, there’s nothing wrong with the money shot – it’s just that no one should mistake it for high art (which is what Casino Royale seems to be in relation to Quantum of Solace). To further add to the problems of the film, the special effects just aren’t capable of doing justice to some of the overly silly sequences. The one which Bond and a baddy fall through a glass ceiling is particularly awkward.

The most interesting element of the film comes from the character of Camille (Olga Kurylenko) – the new “Bond girl” who is out for a bit of retribution of her own. Her story is, certainly, a compelling one. And to the credit of the film, she isn’t around simply for Bond it get his rocks off – that role is reserved for “Strawberry Fields” (Gemma Arterton) – rather, she’s a more realized person, whose quest just so happens to be intertwined with Bond’s quest.

But while the film seems to want Bond to be searching for some kind of “solace” regarding the death of Vesper Lynd, it actually spends about the same amount of time on the subject as it does for Camille’s quest. And within the context of the film, Camille’s motivations and needs are much more clearly and effectively articulated. Bond, on the other hand, is all over the place – at point spewing rhetoric about his patriotic duty and, at another, killing baddies indiscriminately. This scattershot approach severely dilutes the characterization of Bond and, along with the explicit focus on action over character and very questionable editing decisions, is a distinct detriment to the film.

Overall Grade: C+

If you’re looking for a solid, action-driven flick, you could do a lot worse than Quantum of Solace. But if you’re expecting a continuation of Bond’s character story, you’ll likely be disappointed. And, in truth, I’d much rather watch an installment of the Bourne Trilogy than this particular offering from Bond.

Topics: Film Review, Mystery, Spy
Filed under: James Bond