The inelegantly titled Quantum of Solace is both the leanest and the meanest James Bond film ever made. At 105 minutes, it’s the shortest of the series, but is so bloated with breathless, high-speed action sequences that neither your pocketbook nor your watch will feel cheated. Dark and humorless, Quantum of Solace is devoid of Bond’s witticisms, clever one-liners and even ingenious gadgets. Fans of the more traditional aspects of the series will be disappointed, though those looking for an adrenalin fix have come to the right place. This time around, Bond is on a mission, not for Queen and country, but for himself — to scorch the earth of all those responsible for the death of the woman he loved.
Unlike past stand-alone Bond entries, Quantum of Solace is a direct sequel to the critically acclaimed Casino Royale, picking up just minutes after that film left off. Vesper Lynd is dead and Bond (Daniel Craig) still doesn’t know whether or not she was devoted to him or betrayed him. All he does know is that she was somehow connected with a shadowy organization know as The Quantum. Although MI6 has no knowledge of them whatsoever, their tendrils seem to be everywhere. As M (Judi Dench) — as much a mother figure to her favorite disobedient son as she is infuriated chief to her obstinate agent — tries to unravel the mystery, Bond stalks his best lead, the peculiarly androgynous Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), an eco-warrior businessman buying up South America’s water-supply in an illusory bid for environmental protection. To get at him, Bond hops the globe, careening down Alpine roads in his Aston Martin, pursuing prey by foot over the rooftops of Siena, playing a deadly game of bumper boats in a Haitian harbor, and leaping from flaming aircraft in the skies over Bolivia. Unrepentantly rogue, Bond runs afoul of his own government, becoming every bit the hunted as the hunter.
While Quantum of Solace’s first half is tight and chiseled (there is very little let up or time for reflection, instead surging from one chase/shootout/fist-a-cuffs to another), the second half is surprisingly underwhelming. It incorporates traditional elements (the time-honored exploding villain’s lair) that feel anachronistic and at odds with the 21st century Bond reboot.
Director Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, The Kite Runner) is a remarkable director who incorporates moments of stylistic elegance and artistic panache not normally seen in action films. But Forster is not an action director and it shows. His rapid-fire editing induces nausea, and his action scenes are often incoherent, claustrophobic and erratic. This isn’t to say that the stunt work isn’t first rate. It is. But even more than Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace seems to labor under a palpable case of Bourne-envy, right down to the duplication of specific action acrobatics (not to mention thematic elements).
Daniel Craig continues to impress with his animal grace and sheer physicality. We’ve never seen Bond more ruthless or the violence more brutal. More assassin than spy, Bond kills far more people than he apprehends. For much of the movie, this designedly impersonal Bond, impervious to warmth or humor, is an unsympathetic killing machine, pitilessly cruel and callously efficient. Though the character maintains the classic poise and elegance, his dapperness masks a murderous wrath. Unable to forgive himself, he punishes others. Quantum of Solace never really allows Bond or the audience to tackle his tragedy head on. We must be satisfied in closure that comes in the form of bullets and broken bones.
For a Bond movie, there is a surprising lack of sex, harkening back to the 1980s when the AIDS outbreak led the franchise to temporarily dial back on Bond’s dalliances. We only ever catch Bond after the fact with a low-level British agent (Gemma Arterton), and never once does the usually promiscuous playboy bed the film’s female star, Olga Kurylenko.
It’s not that Quantum of Solace disappoints, so much as it doesn’t live up to the promise no doubt unfairly expected after the brilliance of Casino Royale. Quantum of Solace is, perhaps, the classic middle child, more linking bridge than fully formed creation. Like many middle, bookended films, it is the pivot point on which all the others turn and cannot be fully understood or appreciated until it is contextualized within the greater whole. That there will be a third film in this quasi-trilogy is not in doubt. After all, Quantum of Solace ends with the tantalizing coda that closes all the Bond films: “Bond Will Be Back.” The only question is, in what form?
© Copyright 2008 Brandon Fibbs. All rights reserved.
