Posted on: December 31st, 2008 REVIEW: Quantum Of Solace
Pardon the late review folks, I knew I was seeing a movie on Christmas Eve (a tradition with my in-law’s) and I had a hunch it would be this one so I waited it out…
I almost wasn’t going to review this one just because it was so unremarkable as both a Bond film and an action film. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not deeming the film unwatchable from the get-go, but the film is most certainly a disappointment to the franchise, especially Casino Royale, the film that rebooted the series and gave it that long needed breath of fresh air.
So what went wrong with it?
There are two very apparent problems with Quantum of Solace. The first and most debilitating problem, is the film’s script. Quite simply, the script is boring, dry and is completely un-Bond. I questioned the threat in this film for a while, anticipating some sort of secret evil plan, but nay, the scheme all along is the big crisis that Bond must thwart. And man is it ever disappointing. Not only that, but it’s not really a major global threat at that. It just kind of exists and you leave the theater thinking, “was that it?”. The icing on this shit cake is the man who perpetuates such a heinously bland plan. Just as famous as Bond himself is his villains, and they became that way because they’re so darned cool and explicitly evil, each one with some telltale gimmick or physical defect. What could be more evil than a physical defect? One thing that Casino Royale did well was to feature such a fantastical villain in a new, realistic world, like the blood-crying Le Chiffre. But Quantum of Solace drops the ball completely with its big bad guy Dominic Greene. He’s a guy. With lots of money. And he wants more money. There is nothing noteworthy of him as an entire character, let alone someone whom Bond (and we as an audience) should fear. The potential for a kick-ass villain or even a set of villains just wasn’t capitalised and ultimately left the film feeling like an all around ill thought out smart action film. Though it wasn’t smart at all.
The second problem with the film is real backbone of the Bond franchise, its action sequences. Marc Forster, the director, cannot shoot an action scene to save his life. The man should be banned from ever being behind the camera for any motion whatsoever. Forster clearly emulated the close-up-fast-cut style that Paul Greengrass (who actually co-wrote Quantum of Solace) used effectively in the Bourne series, and to a degree what Chris Nolan did (somewhat less effectively) with his Batman films. In Quantum, these scenes are just a mess. They’re downright confusing and take the viewer completely out of the scene. There was more than one instance where I didn’t know what character was being shown, or even what was taking place during the choreography, which itself is a waste in this film. For what it’s worth, I’m sure had the action scenes been edited and shot more clearly, they probably were pretty great. But I haven’t read the script so all I have to go off of are those atrocious, seizure-inducing sequences. It would be a disservice to film itself to let this man touch another action film ever again.
It’s tough to really recommend this film to anyone. While I was watching Quantum, I wasn’t entirely put out, and was still invested on what was going on. Seeing this movie late after release gave me plenty of ammo going in, and maybe it was my incredibly low expectations that kept me almost apologizing for the film. Its not a bad movie really, its just very flawed. Its the innocent little kid that does something wrong, and I’m the dad that isn’t angry, but disappointed. Maybe that makes it much worse?
What the film has managed to maintain though, is some degree of anticipation for more. It really hasn’t squashed the new, grittier Bond, and things can only go up for the next entry in the series. I only pray that Marc Forster is nowhere near it.
2 Responses to “REVIEW: Quantum Of Solace”
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Film-Book dot Com Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 4:51 pmI didn’t have a problem with the script per se but rather elements of the script.
I was glad it was not like the old Bond films because they were cartoons they got worse and worse. I would rather see something more realistic.
Do all Bond films need “a global threat”?
Le Chiffre was a better villain than Greene.
“atrocious, seizure-inducing sequences”
Funny.
I look as this film as the last chapter of Casino Royale, finishing off that storyline. It is The Two Towers to The Fellowship of the Ring.
My full Quantum of Solace Review:
http://film-book.com/review-quantum-of-solace/ -
Jon Stephens Says:
March 25th, 2009 at 9:10 amExcellent point Filmbook. This film should really be considered a part of Casino Royale. It is far more enjoyable if you watch the two films in order, back to back.