Quantum of Solace
is the second of the James Bond films starring Daniel Craig. It picks up just
after where Casino Royale left off, a
crazy car chase underway. The automobiles careening around mountain curves and
through tight tunnels does serve to capture the audience’s attention right from
the outset, setting them on edge, but I personally found it rather boring, and
a poor way to begin the film. Quantum of
Solace is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and
some sexual content. It was released in 2008.
I did some research while writing this review, and
discovered there are purported to be 250 instances of violence in this film compared
to just 105 in Dr. No. This is
concerning, considering Quantum of Solace
is the shortest of the Bond films. It was an overly violent movie, and I
thought it to be without much substance in terms of a coherent story.
The action moves from Italy to England, Austria back to
Italy, to Bolivia, and to Russia (although locations used for filming were
Mexico, Panama, Chile, Italy, Austria and Wales). The screenplay was poorly
written, the plot of the film was difficult to follow, and all in all, this
film was generally disappointing.
The title Quantum of
Solace refers to Bond’s seeking revenge for the killing of his lover
Vesper, which occurred at the end of Casino
Royale. Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko) is seeking revenge for her family
who was murdered by Bolivian General Medrano (Joaquin Cosío)
in order to overthrow the government and become President. Bond teams up with
Camille. She is not a true Bond girl though, as they are not “romantically”
involved.
In some respects, the main nefarious situation posed in this
film is one that could well take place in our own times on planet Earth. The
villain, Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), is scheming to hold Bolivia captive
by controlling all the water to its people. I’ve heard water will be the next
resource that is coveted by all nations, rationed, stolen, etc. if it hasn’t
started to be already, just on a smaller scale. Greene and General Medrano are
working together for their own ends, and their suspicions of each other’s
motives are well placed. That part was believable. But I found Bond’s seeking
revenge somewhat hollow. He cared for Vesper, even loved her, and still the
emotion behind his seeking revenge seems weak, at least as for how it is acted
out. Camille has more of a stake in her revenge fantasies than James does, and
her motives are more transparent and real.
Save your time and skip this forgettable film. Go right to Skyfall, the next in the series and one
I thoroughly enjoyed watching. My review of Skyfall
will be posted next Tuesday. Did you see Quantum
of Solace, and if you did, would you please leave me, as well as other
readers, your opinion of the film in the comments section? Thanks for reading
my review.
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