Monday, December 01, 2008

I've Finally Seen: QUANTUM OF SOLACE

The highest compliment I can pay Quantum of Solace is I believed the conceit that it picks up twenty minutes after Casino Royale. Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, and the other returning actors are on their game. The overarching mission to uncover the organization behind Mr. White drives the action at the same breathless pace. I wouldn't mind if all Craig's Bond movies kept this continuity.

That said, Quantum of Solace doesn't make much of a mark on its own. Bond is so driven it's difficult not to see the new characters Camille and Agent Fields as plot devices. Mathieu Amalric as villain Dominic Greene unfortunately reminded me of a cross between Ioan Gruffudd and Paul Reubens. Director Marc Forster makes some odd stylistic choices (Intercutting Bond chasing down a traitor with a horse race? Intrusive location titles a la Fringe?), but these stick out because the rest of the tone is maintained between the two movies.

Quantum of Solace won't disappoint those who enjoyed Casino Royale, neither will it convert those who didn't.

6 comments:

Graham Powell said...

Meh. Too much frantic action, not enough storytelling. Nothing nearly as good as the Bahamas-to-Miami segment in CASINO ROYALE.

pattinase (abbott) said...

It was good enough for a rainy, gray night in November.

JZID said...

I'm waiting for it to be the $2.50 movie at my local theater.... hopefully this week!

Gerald So said...

Since the movies are almost out of original Fleming material, I've been wondering about the future of the franchise. I take Graham's point that there's less storytelling this time out, but if the movies continue to pay as much attention to continuity as QUANTUM does, screenwriters can simply pick up the story and collectively craft an arc independent of any books. Sounds good to me.

JZID said...

I'm glad I waited - Quantum of Solace is the $2.50 movie this Sunday here in Muskegon, MI. I just read "Casino Royale" for the first time recently, so I have the first film fresh in my mind. That being said, I've got "Live and Let Die" sitting on my bookshelf ready for reading as well!

Gerald So said...

Daniel Craig says the next Bond movie isn't in the works yet, but it will not be an immediate continuation of QoS.