Of Quantum of Solace

I will say that I did not love this movie. It is nowhere near as good as Casino Royale. Casino Royale changed what a modern Bond film should be. Casino Royale was amazingly awesome. It also proved that Daniel Craig is the best Bond. Yes Sean Connery will forever be the definitive Bond, Daniel Craig just brought so much to the role, he might not "look" like Bond but he sure as hell is Bond. Quantum of Solace is a great action movie. If it hadn't been for the Bond name I'd be giving this a 9 out of 10, just like I would for Casino Royale. However because of the Bond name it just isn't.

Bond isn't Bourne. Bond is Bond, he doesn't have an action scene every 15 seconds. The action scenes are all well done, there is no way I would say they're not, its just the film had something lacking. Now I'm going to pin this writers strike. Oh you evil bastard, first you ruin my television and now you've hurt Bond, someday I will make sure you pay. The story is just wafer thin, it just sets up the next action scene. Quantum is the corporation used to create military coups to take down governments whilst at the same time they are interested in controlling the worlds water supply to hold the world at ransom. In this there are two revenge stories, Bond trying to revenge Vespa's death and the new Bond Girl trying to kill her families murderer (who also happens to be the person that Quantum is dealing with). That is about it. Within the first 5 seconds Bond comes racing out in Austin Martin (thank god, that car was underused in Casino Royale) with gun shots blazing. The plot is merely a means to an end, to link the car chases, boat chases, foot chases and dogfights. Undeniably cool but decidedly un-Bond.

Now the acting is once again superb, Daniel Craig shines as James Bond just like he did in Casino Royale. Mathieu Amalric is great as the villain. But there also seems to be a lack of motivation. He's a great villain but he's just not developed enough. The new Bond girl, Camille, is attractive and whilst the character is decidedly two dimensional, she still is great in the role showing of some real emotion (such as in the explosive final fight).

Quantum just seems to have suffered from not only a rushed production due to the writers strike (seriously, that thing is really pissing me off now) and also being the middle film of a trilogy. Now I felt weird at the end, almost as if the story wasn't over, and then it struck me. This is a trilogy!! Quantum isn't defeated soundly at the end of this film, they still exist and they're still "everywhere". Now I might be mistaken, Quantum could just become a recurring villain in this new age of Bond or their story will be wrapped in 2010/2011. So Quantum suffered from middle-film syndrome. Just like Lord of the Rings: Two Towers suffered for being the middle film (although it is still a superb film). If it is the case bring on Bond 23. With no writers strike, a suitable climax and hopefully less focus on the action it could be as brilliant as Casino Royale.

So in conclusion I have to give Quantum of Solace a 7.5 out of 10 It is a great film, it's just it suffers from not really being that great a Bond film. And yes I am cheating with the score. but hell It's better than Crank which is pure action, but just not in the range of 8-10 film.

Alright I feel weird about giving Quantum of Solace a 7.5. That puts it near to Crank in terms of quality. I would like to state. It is a far better movie that Crank. In terms of an action movie, it is in reality a high 8 or maybe even 9. But as stated it is only a 7.5 for a Bond film. Just like Doctor Who Season 4 is a great season of television for any show, but for Doctor Who it just feels lacklustre. So when reading my review, think "great action film, alright Bond film". Crank is just fun, Quantum of Solace is just a Bond movie that suffers from a weak plot.

Please believe me, this is quite possibly the hardest score I've ever had to give, if you look, I've actually changed every score for movies because 3.75/5 just isn't a usable score. So I've changed all my reviews in a 10 point scale.

Clear up. NEW WATCHMEN TRAILER!!! That movie will be epic. Admittedly this version just doesn't do it justice (I've got the hi-def version saved on my laptop which I've watched more times than is healthy.) Next weekend I will aim to do Iasg14's challenge. I just hope I can find 10 usable links with which to torture myself.