‘Quantum of Solace’ Review
Whether it was meant to stand out or not is anyone’s guess, but ‘Quantum of Solace’ basically throws a middle finger at the concept of developmental storytelling, and blows ‘Casino Royale’ to shreds in what has to be the most action-packed chapter of Bond’s legacy. It may be different from its formers on many levels, but with excellent cuts and sharp transitions pitting the audience right in the middle of this wild ride, the level of class and charisma is still fresh as ever… even if eighty percent of the things you see just get blown up in a matter of minutes.
Before ‘Royale,’ continuation and progress were never a priority to this series as every film just stood on its own totem pole with a cocky leading man and a handful of sexy Bond girls. Some were good, some were great, and then a few others came and went without barely making a peep. Martin Campbell not only relaunched Agent 007 in 2006, but he also set a new scale for an in-depth story of the character’s origin; which by the way, is still far from finished.
A lot of you will probably hate me for this, but once it had concluded its opening slam-bang chase sequence, ‘Casino Royale’ just about bored me to death. I understood the whole “build-up” structure of being a prequel, but it felt almost like the film had a lot of energy, and then just wore itself out in the first act. I don’t know if Marc Forster felt the same way, but nonetheless, he clearly had a different idea up his sleeve when he took over. Some might say that he just went ahead and kicked this one into “turbo,” but whatever he did, he obviously had no shame whatsoever. I guess the world really is not enough when it comes to 007.
Picking up about one hour after the conclusion of ‘Royale,’ this next segment follows the road to revenge for Bond as he searches for those responsible for the death of his former lover. Through a series of hot pursuits and traitor discoveries, Bond will learn the meaning of what a true assassin must be if he ever plans to become reliable in the line of duty. It won’t be an easy task, but with nothing left to lose, it won’t be too hard for this ruthless agent to eliminate anyone unfortunate enough to get in his way.
At one point in the film, M (Judi Dench) makes a particular comment stating that “when you can’t tell your friends from your enemies, it’s time to go.” Anyone who’s ever faced betrayal can easily take comfort in her advice, but in the mind of James Bond, it is that lack of trust that makes killing people a whole lot easier. There are a lot of cars, boats, and even some planes that become weapons of destruction in this film, and even though it all wraps up a little too quickly (1 hr. 45 min.) than one may hope, it won’t take long for viewers to start craving another taste.
Underneath all the wildness that engulfs it, ‘Solace’ does, however, maintain a very unique factor that helped me respect it much more as a franchise piece, and that’s the complexity of Bond’s ego. One of the things that always kind of shunned me away from this series was the fact that everything felt repetitive in the content, but now that there is a personal story for the character to follow, we can clearly see his flaws as a secret agent, and as a person in general. He can’t be motivated by personal vendettas, and he can’t let his aggression effect the mission. But keeping in mind that all of this is a prequel to everything that came before it, this first assignment is probably what made Bond so proud of his license to kill in the first place.
Something I did take good notice of in ‘Casino Royale’ was the potential of newcomer Daniel Craig. Following the run of Pierce Brosnan (who had the look, but not the act), Craig really helped put the juice back into the legacy of the character; reminding me of previous franchise greats like Sean Connery and Roger Moore. He may not fit the ideal appearance of a licensed killer who can have any woman in the world, but Craig has incredible intensity, and it is with that cold-blooded mentality that he gives Bond an attitude that is just completely unplugged. You try to intimidate him, he just smiles. You tell him he has limited time to finish whatever mess he’s started, he just simply replies (with that same smile): “well that doesn’t give us a lot of time now, does it?”
The ‘Royale’ crowd (which is rather large) will probably be a little disappointed in this vast change of pace (which I can understand), but if you look at ‘Solace’ on its own scale, and acknowledge the simple purpose that it has, you can’t help but give it the credit it deserves as an action movie; Bond fan or not. Some may even go so far as to accuse it of putting a “guilty-pleasure” spin on something that’s supposed to be spectacular, but I think considering the fact that this character has had endless women, and never gotten any older over a span of 22 movies; there’s really not a whole lot they can’t do at this point. If logic and reasoning meant anything to this franchise, James Bond should’ve been shacking up with a bunch of ladies at the nursing home a long time ago.
Having scared the wizards of Harry Potter back into their castle until next summer, ‘Quantum of Solace’ should have no trouble building up phenomenal box office numbers. The fact that it clocks in almost 45 minutes shorter than its predecessor is one thing (it gets more showtimes), but with the cult legacy of its source backing it up, there’s no reason to doubt its possibilities; which according to Forster, are beyond the sky. And closing the final door with a hot new single from Alicia Keys (‘Another Way to Die’) is just icing on the cake; until the next round…… “shaken, not stirred.”
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Nov 21 2008. Filed under Reviews.
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