Quantum of Solace
Year: 2008
Director: Marc Forster
Starring: Mathieu Almaric, Daniel Craig & Camille Montes
Runtime: 106 mins
BBFC: 12
Published: 16/11/21
Director: Marc Forster
Starring: Mathieu Almaric, Daniel Craig & Camille Montes
Runtime: 106 mins
BBFC: 12
Published: 16/11/21
Casino Royale was a monumental success for the 007 brand and helped rejuvenate the film franchise after it had been on the decline for a number of years, and as is almost always the trend for Bond films Craig was set to return for a number of follow-ups. But with the ‘reboot’ nature of Casino Royale and its unresolved ending a direct sequel was on the cards, a rarity in the series; and as well as this, Quantum of Solace was set to be a totally different beast to Casino Royale.
Casino Royale concluded with Bond (Daniel Craig) having tracked down Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) following the death of Vesper. Quantum of Solace opens with an explosive car chase as Bond delivers White to M. (Judi Dench) for questioning. But when White reveals that agents from this elusive terrorist organisation MI6 are looking for are everywhere, several MI6 guards turn on Bond and M. with White escaping in the confusion. Back at square one, Bond follows leads on an organisation named Quantum which brings him to Dominic Greene (Mathieu Almaric). Greene is the head of an environmental conglomerate which MI6 believes is a front for a more sinister operation. With the aid of Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko), a former associate of Greene’s, Bond is caught up in a frantic race against time to find out what Greene wants with a seemingly barren area of the Atacama Desert before Greene’s intentions can come to fruition.
Casino Royale concluded with Bond (Daniel Craig) having tracked down Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) following the death of Vesper. Quantum of Solace opens with an explosive car chase as Bond delivers White to M. (Judi Dench) for questioning. But when White reveals that agents from this elusive terrorist organisation MI6 are looking for are everywhere, several MI6 guards turn on Bond and M. with White escaping in the confusion. Back at square one, Bond follows leads on an organisation named Quantum which brings him to Dominic Greene (Mathieu Almaric). Greene is the head of an environmental conglomerate which MI6 believes is a front for a more sinister operation. With the aid of Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko), a former associate of Greene’s, Bond is caught up in a frantic race against time to find out what Greene wants with a seemingly barren area of the Atacama Desert before Greene’s intentions can come to fruition.
From a story perspective, Quantum of Solace is a pretty underwhelming Bond film and it’s probably because it can’t stand on its own merits. It acts as both a direct continuation of events from Casino Royale, as well as presenting a mostly unrelated story, which culminates in a story that doesn’t really know where it wants to go or what it wants to say. This is then made quite jarring as there’s a drastic shift in pace between Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Where Casino Royale was a slow burner packed with intense dialogue exchanges, Quantum opts for an action first style instead. There’s so much action in Quantum of Solace that it’s actually kind of ridiculous; being the shortest film in the Bond franchise to date at one hundred and six minutes, there are very few moments where bullets aren’t flying, and it quickly becomes tiresome. It’s a shame too as the action sequences themselves are perfectly enjoyable, but even then, they lack the grand scale of Casino Royale’s considerably fewer action sequences.
Because there’s not as much dialogue this time around Craig’s Bond doesn’t get much of an opportunity to build on his character development from Casino Royale, but we are given some glimpses of a Bond that is emotionally torturing himself over the death of the woman he loved.
Greene is also a considerably less intimidating and memorable villain than Casino Royale’s Le Chiffre. He’s just a scrawny businessman who never gets his hands dirty and lacks the attitude to be menacing.
The supporting cast generally isn’t as memorable this time around either, again because they are given no opportunity to develop beyond archetypal roles. Even the characters that return from Casino Royale like Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini) don’t do much and aren’t as interesting as they were last time.
Quantum of Solace feels like a draft script. It almost seems like it’s a film composed of all the ideas that were rejected from Casino Royale and strung together to try and squeeze more money out of audiences clamouring for some more Bond. The action scenes are enjoyable but there’s nothing else of substance on offer, and even those action sequences pale in comparison to what came before. Thankfully, being the shortest 007 film to date, you won’t need to suffer it for long when watching Craig’s era.
Because there’s not as much dialogue this time around Craig’s Bond doesn’t get much of an opportunity to build on his character development from Casino Royale, but we are given some glimpses of a Bond that is emotionally torturing himself over the death of the woman he loved.
Greene is also a considerably less intimidating and memorable villain than Casino Royale’s Le Chiffre. He’s just a scrawny businessman who never gets his hands dirty and lacks the attitude to be menacing.
The supporting cast generally isn’t as memorable this time around either, again because they are given no opportunity to develop beyond archetypal roles. Even the characters that return from Casino Royale like Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini) don’t do much and aren’t as interesting as they were last time.
Quantum of Solace feels like a draft script. It almost seems like it’s a film composed of all the ideas that were rejected from Casino Royale and strung together to try and squeeze more money out of audiences clamouring for some more Bond. The action scenes are enjoyable but there’s nothing else of substance on offer, and even those action sequences pale in comparison to what came before. Thankfully, being the shortest 007 film to date, you won’t need to suffer it for long when watching Craig’s era.