Reviewed by Neil Davey
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
Certification UK PG-13 | US PG-13
Runtime 106 minutes
Directed by Marc Forster
As promised at the end of Casino Royale, James Bond has indeed returned. And, we're pleased to report, to much the same level of quality as Casino Royale. There are flaws — which we'll get to shortly — but overall Quantum of Solace continues Daniel Craig's believable, gritty reinvention of the character (you can genuinely believe the Governement might send him to foreign countries to kill people) 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... is a sequel, picking up around an hour after Casino Royale finished. This isn't a cynical ploy to sell more Casino Royale DVDs, 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. Cynics might suggest that the success of Bourne has coloured the new Bond and they might be right (and on that subject, just how cool would a Bond / Bourne pairing be?). But when the results are this dark and satisfying, does the ancestry really matter? 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 Judi 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, best known for Monster's Ball and Finding Neverland, can't do action. He can certainly do drama, and the straight acting scenes here positively 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. The result is borderline incoherent, which is a great shame, and the same problems mar a potentially great aerial fight later on. The other major flaw is that Craig is very hard to understand sometimes. Sound problems? Mumbling? Hard to tell but it can be distracting. 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 Gemma 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. For the record, James Bond will return - and on this evidence that's a very good thing indeed.