Quantum of Solace

You may have seen this post I made back in September, lamenting the lack of good movies coming out this autumn. The situation has been so dire that, until yesterday, I hadn’t been to the cinema in almost two months, my longest drought in about 3 years – a shocking state of affairs!

Not only was I unable to find any good independent films to keep me going, but I also had to sit back and watch as Mamma Mia became the UK’s biggest ever film at the British box office. It was almost enough to throw me into a deep depression.

Fortunately, just as things were at their worst, I was saved by the man from MI6. It’s no secret that I’ve always been a bond fan. I’ve been hooked since watching Goldfinger when I couldn’t have been much older than 6 or 7 years old. I loved Sean Connery and hated Roger Moore, was indifferent to George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton, and just felt sorry for Pierce Brosnan who was given nothing to work with after his fantastic debut in Goldeneye.

When it was released Casino Royale very quickly made it into my top three bond films. I’m almost certain that it will become my number one and remain there for a number of years, but I need to make sure that it holds up to the test of time first. Having watched it about 10 times now, most recently a couple of weeks ago, the signs are pretty good.

All of this meant that Quantum of Solace had some pretty big shoes to fill. How do you follow up such an excellent debut? Like many fans I was expecting a lot and, on the whole, I was not disappointed.

The people in charge of Bond certainly aren’t afraid to break the mould and they’ve taken another big risk this time around. Instead of making another stand-alone film they have decided to continue the story that began in Casino Royale with a direct sequel.

The film starts just moments after 007 has made his introduction to the mysterious Mr White with a car chase through the Italian mountains. This is high adrenaline stuff and it sets the pace for the rest of the movie. There is a lot of action and we are quickly reminded of Daniel Craig’s cold, brutal Bond as he investigates the mysterious organisation responsible for the death of his beloved Vespa.

However, this is not a simple revenge film and we are shown a complicated investigation which throw up a number of political obstacles that concerns everyone except our James, who proves a rather focused and tenacious chap to say the least.

The best thing about Quantum of Solace is the same as the best thing in Casino Royale – Daniel Craig. Not only does he have an incredible amount of style, but he is also a very good actor. I’m not sure any of his predecessors could have pulled off the dark, haunted 007 that he portrays in Quantum of Solace.

The supporting cast is also very good, particularly Judi Dench as M and Giancarlo Giannini as Mathis, even if the latter’s screen time was rather brief. Mathieu Amalric was fine as Dominic Greene, but was perhaps a little too sinister for my liking. I know Bond villains are supposed to be particularly ‘evil’ but, in my opinion, the archetypal, cat stroking baddie doesn’t really belong in this new, grittier style.

Despite coming out of the cinema with a smile on my face, I do have some criticisms. I had heard beforehand that the director had gone for more of a Bourne style when it came to the action sequences and it’s certainly true. There are lots of quick cuts used to give an impression of frantic chases and fights. I didn’t really like this, it felt like a gimmick. Marc Forster seems to be of the opinion that you shouldn’t film a sequence from one angle when you can shoot it from 17.

While this is a relatively large complaint I was still very happy with Quantum of Solace. It’s a worthy follow up to Casino Royale thanks to an excellent cast and a great script, which provided some nice moments of humour despite the serious story. There’s also a nice little Goldfinger homage thrown in there with a modern twist, which made me smile.

So if you’ve also been waiting for a film worth returning to the cinema for after the long autumn drought, this is it. Enjoy!