Reviewed by Screenjabber
Stars Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Gemma Arterton,
Jesper Christensen, Tim Piggott-Smith, Rory Kinnear | Written by Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis & Robert Wade
UK certification 12 | UK RRP £30 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 100 minutes | Directed by Marc Forster
James Bond has returned. And, we're pleased to report, to much the same level of quality as Casino Royale. There are flaws, but overall Quantum of Solace continues Craig's believable, gritty reinvention of the character and throws him into an all too believable scenario against a shady, deeply secret organisation with its fingers deep in powerful pies, bypassing politics and democracy to control economies, governments and resources. And only one man can stop them. Obviously.
As a first for the Bond franchise, Quantum of Solace is a sequel, picking up around an hour after Casino Royale finished. This isn't a cynical ploy to sell more Casino Royale DVDs and Blu-rays, but an opportunity to explore the conspiracy that left Vesper dead and Bond seeking revenge. As such, it gives Craig more chance to develop his character's steely-eyed motives and the makers the chance to go deeper than usual with the story. Accordingly, after the obligatory opening action sequence (a car chase through the narrow streets of Italy) the film settles down to digging deep into the above-mentioned, formerly secret, all powerful cabal, sends Bond around the world — and into the path of the beautiful, similarly vengeful Camille (Kurylenko) — and reveals the allegedly eco-friendly Dominic Greene (Amalric) as the leader of this powerbroking organisation.
Greene makes a surprisingly effective Bond villain. He's a diminutive, pen-pushing administrator rather than a megalomaniac but such is the world: when the end comes, it seems more likely it'll be an accounting decision rather than the result of a power-crazed leader pushing a button. His modus operandi is also deliciously dull. Not for him the moon-based laser, theft of satellites or stolen nuclear weapon. Instead Greene goes the overpriced, immoral utilities blackmail route. The biggest change here though is the welcome return of humour as Quantum contains a surprising number of laughs. Happily, this isn't in a raised eyebrow, Roger Moore innuendo-heavy manner but via a genuine sardonic wit, mostly from Dench's M but occasionally from Craig. There are also some neat twists to the Bond conventions, from the complete absence of the "Bond... James Bond" line to another very droll take on the vodka martini.
So, to the flaws. Forster can't do action. He can certainly do drama, and the straight acting scenes crackle, but action? Hmm. The opening car chase is mostly filmed in tight close up and features the sort of jump cuts that will terrify epileptics. However, there's still enough quality here to make up for the shortcomings. The screenplay is terrific, the stunts are mostly old school (and so much more convincing as a result), David Arnold's score is a knockout and there's at least one "tribute" to old Bond movies with the unusual demise of Arterton. As with Casino Royale, the quality of the acting, particularly Craig, Dench and Amalric, is excellent — and it's still refreshing to be able to say that about a Bond film.Oh, and Camille is possibly the best "Bond girl" ever, a well drawn character rather than just the usual eye candy with a sexual innuendo for a name.
Quantum may not pack the same punch as Casino Royale but then that film was following on from Die Another Day, arguably the worst Bond ever. Quantum follows perhaps the best Bond film ever, so it couldn't possibly maintain that sort of pleasant shock value. However, the fact that it's pretty much on a par should be cause for celebration.
EXTRAS ** For such a top-flight film, the extras are surprisingly lacklustre. There is no audio commentary, no deleted scenes, no gag reel — nothing that is really any fun. What you do get is a music video for the naff theme song, Another Way to Die; half a dozen "making of" featurettes (Bond On Location, Start Of Shooting, On Location, Olga Kurylenko And The Boat Chase, Director Marc Forster, The Music); featurettes on three of the members of the crew; and a couple of trailers. A very poor effort indeed, especialy for a Blu-ray release.
• Quantum of Solace reviewed by Neil Davey & Stuart O'Connor