Quantum of Solace:No Solace in Bond review
This movie does not have a great storyline and you might ask since when a storyline mattered for a Bond movie ? Well...since you changed the Bond and made him more real and believable, the story made a difference. The modern Bond cannot be without a believable purpose.
Don't beat me up for this you Bond fans ( I am one too you know !)
One of the most eagerly awaited films this season. After the brilliance of Casino Royale where the new age Bond was introduced, the sequel or the next in the franchise was keenly awaited by me and many others.
To cut it short, I found no solace in 'Quantum of Solace'. Bond is gritty, tough and vulnerable as in Casino Royale. Daniel Craig slips perfectly into the role of the 'licensed to kill' 007 agent whom M (Dame Judi Dench) seems to affectionately mother. The action sequences are gripping and recently there were comparisons to the Bourne series and you will have to admit watching the action, the close quarters hand-to-hand combat you cannot help but compare two.
The film takes off with a car chase and James Bond and M interrogating Mr White (Jesper Christensen) whom Bond captured at the end of Casino Royale. They interrogate to find out more about the organization behind Le Chiffre (from Casino Royale) which seems to be large and powerful but not on the radar of any of the intelligence agencies. A series of incidents then unfold setting Bond off on a trot across the globe partly driven by duty and partly by uncontrollable rage for revenge of Vesper Lynd's death (from Casino Royale). Along the way he meets Camille (Olga Kurylenko) who is out on her own revenge saga and to achieve it gotten close to Domnic Greene (Mathieu Greene). Greene is the CEO of an 'eco' company that is allegedly looking to improve the ecological sustainability among corporates. Greene also is out to capture the most important resource on earth, nope not Oil as you are made to believe but freshwater, in Bolivia Greene has the convenient ignorance of the CIA and the British Government who are mislead into believing they will have their share of Oil from Bolivia and of course there is no Oil and it is up to Bond to save the day.
James Bond does engage in a many a chase and fight to get to Greene with some help from Felix Lieter (Jeffery White) of the CIA and a romp in a hotel room with Fields (Gemma Aterton). The CIA , MI6 and the Organization (called Quantum) trying to stop him, each for their own reason and yet Bond will find a way.
Disappointing. That's one word I would use to describe this movie. What lets us down is the story. Absolutely no depth either to the conspiracy or the revenge track it is almost as if the writers ran out of ideas for the sequel. The story does not hold you and the only saving grace of the movie are Daniel Craig and the action scenes. Imagine saying that about a Bond movie. You don't have all the swanky gizmos, you don't have the Bond theme playing and you don't have the 'Bond. James Bond' too. I didn't miss too many of the original bond elements in Casino Royale because that movie presented a new Bond, stuck to it faithfully and presented a story that was both interesting and plausible with a villain (Le Chiffre) who intrigued you.
This movie does not have a great storyline and you might ask since when did a storyline matter for a Bond movie ? Well...since you changed the Bond and made him more real and believable, the story made a difference. The modern Bond cannot be without a believable purpose.
Watch this movie for it is a James Bond movie and Daniel Craig puts in a stunning performance with breathtaking stunts. Am not looking forward to the DVD of this one. Will go back and watch Casino Royale once more !
Comments( 4 )
I agree with u completely .. I mean
I agree with u completely .. I mean Bade ho Jao Bond
Well Begun is half done they say. After the initial car chase sequence my hopes soared. I was left high and dry at the end. Bond portrays his sulky side and he is back with a vengeance taking the character to a new level. Maybe the writer should have done better homework. Look at the recent superhero movies. The lead characters have reached a spiritual dilemma and here we have Bond who can fly a plane, speak Bolivian language and then also try to win our hearts by being humanely disturbed over the death of Vesper. Agreed Bond is a not a superhero but he surely is a super human. He has evolved emotionally. But this day and age the evolution seems amateurish. The writer has wasted two strong emotions – revenge and sense of duty. Both are very intense and can be developed into a plausible and engaging plot rather than random situations and scenes. What Bond does suited us 5 years ago, not anymore.
Most characters like the movie plot (can hardly call it a story) are underdeveloped. Bond seems an unruly kid not listening at all to Momma M. “I told you it would help if you could not kill all the leads†she says but he does not listen. So the best spy in the World whom we all trust and admire comes across as ignorant and blind with rage. We expect you to portray brains not just brawn. Bond’s revenge should match his sophistication. The action scenes are gripping but we sorely miss the swanky gizmos, and regular Bond-isms . Craig has done a good job and looks good too but a half-baked character eclipses his performance.
Same problems plague the bad man of the movie. Mathieu Amalric as the eco-friendly
(pun intended) villain Dominic Greene is caricature-ish. He is neither sinister nor smart. Better character development could have helped. A dead body floating in water hardly shocks us these days. Our Ramgopal Verma did it affectively in Sarkar. Field’s grotesque dead body dripping in oil had the potential of being a eerie scene but it lacked shock and awe.
Bond babes—lesser said the better. Olga Kurylenko and Daniel Craig have no chemistry.
Olga’s clichéd character is driven by vendetta but she comes and goes without much impact. Gemma Aterton -- she gets only three scenes out of which two are spent in an ugly wig. Its time Bond babes get a makeover too both physically and emotionally. They need to have a better purpose in the movie than just being bed accessories and arm candies. As for the romp with Gemma -Bond also needs a better dialogue writer –he surely could have done with a better bedroom line than “I can’t find the stationeryâ€(???!!!!!??)
The parallel editing is distracting. The writer was so busy running into the next scene that the cinematographer hardly had time to make the most of the various locations in the movie. I felt extremely cheated and horrible about wasting a weekend over it. A DVD viewing would have sufficed. It leaves you with a “paisa vasool nahi hua†feeling
"Bade ho Jao Bond"? That is one
"Bade ho Jao Bond"? That is one statement you shouldn't be telling bond. :grin:
Awesome. Your comment is perfectly in
Awesome. Your comment is perfectly in line with my sentiments and add value to my post tremendously. Let's see what the other viewers think or is it just us two feeling let down ?
it will be easy to make Quantum of
it will be easy to make Quantum of Solace spoofs... every where this Bond goes he breaks glass, he can't get a gallon of milk from the store without it turning into a chase scene, and every time he punches someone in the face, they die