Quantum of Solace
Cast: Daniel Craig, Mathieu Amalric, Olga Kurylenko, Judi Dench
Dir: Marc Foster
Rating: 4/5
It doesn't seem five minutes since long standing Bin fans were in uproar over the casting of Daniel Craig as 007. And when he rubbed their noses in it with the huge success of Casino Royale his second outing as the super spy in Quantum of Solace is one of the most highly anticipated movies of 2008.
Picking up moments after Casino Royale ends as the film upend with Bond wrecking an Aston Martin in a pre-credits car chase with Mr White in the boot. Oh yes Bond is back and he is pissed.
Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M (Judi Dench) interrogate Mr White (Jesper Christensen) who reveals the organisation which blackmailed Vesper is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined.
Forensic intelligence links an MI6 traitor to a bank account in Haiti where a case of mistaken identity introduces Bond to the beautiful but feisty Camille (Olga Kurylenko), a woman who has her own vendetta. She leads Bond straight to Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a ruthless business man and major force within the mysterious organisation.
On a mission that leads him to Austria, Italy and South America, Bond discovers that Greene, conspiring to take total control of one of the world’s most important natural resources, is forging a deal with the exiled General Medrano (Joaquin Cosio).
Using his associates in the organisation, and manipulating his powerful contacts within the CIA and the British government, Greene promises to overthrow the existing regime in a Latin American country, giving the General control of the country in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of land.
Rather than a stand alone film Quantum of Solace is very much the sequel to Casino Royale and it's a fast paced follow-up that doesn't try to out-do it's predecessor, which is perhaps wise.
Despite having Solace in it's title the film gives the audience no respite as it jumps from dramatic car chases to run fights across roofs to chases on water, in terms of action this new 21st century style Bond film really doesn't disappoint.
The mood of the film is much darker as Bond goes on a real revenge mission to find the truth behind the death of Vesper Lynd and who drove her to betray him.
It's another brusing outing for actor Daniel Craig who is thrown about pillar to post as his cold and pent up rage, which puts a very dark tint on the film, drives him on, Craig is definitely on the path to become one of the franchises most popular Bond's particularly with the younger generation.
But this is not Bond as we all know it gone are the outrageous gadgets and 'The name's Bond... James Bond' was no where to be seen and while some may criticise the departure of these traditions it's nice to see the franchise move forward and plant itself a little bit more in reality, invisible cars in Die Another Day I mean come on!
Also gone are the weak women as Camille holds her own well against Bond and will complete her own mission with or without his help. Ok so she doesn't get as much screen time as her predecessor Vesper Lynd, which is a major shame as she was a great character with a troubled past.
However despite all of this it was Marc Foster's direction that I had trouble with the opening scenes of Casino Royale stayed with the action making the audience feel right in the middle of it all this time around Foster insisted on cutting back and forth which distanced the audience from what was actually happening.
While it is always good to try something a little different it didn't really work, particularly in the scene with Bond chasing an infiltrator of MI6 over rooftops, and many compare this type of directing to the like of the Bourne franchise.
Quantum of Solace really is a very exciting movie, and the fact that it's the shortest movie of the series really has no baring on the quality of the movie at all it doesn't in any shape of form feel rushed, and it will go on to be one of the most successful movies of the year.
And alongside Craig there are some great performances, in particular M who really is used more throughout the film which is a real plus seeing as it's Dame Judi Dench in the role. However there is nothing particularly memorable about the villain Dominic Greene, played by Mathieu Amalric, and he was too like Mads Mikkelsen's Le Chiffre from my liking.
And with the Vesper Lynd story all tied up by the time the credits role we can look forward to a brand new story in Bond 23.
Quantum of Solace is out on DVD now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Daniel Craig James Bond