Quantum of Solace (aka: B22) — movie review
Director: Marc Forster
Starring: Daniel Craig
Genre: Action, Drama
“Nooo! Not the Aston Martin or the Platner pieces! Noooo!” See, climb into the head of a designer and you will probably get that reaction to the latest James Bond franchise installment, Quantum of Solace. Unlike the ridiculous Die Another Day, where the precious Vanquish survives unscathed (and tell me how a V12 can’t shake an XKR, okay even with thermo-vision — and wouldn’t it have been great if the villain was driving a Kia or Hyundai to keep with the country loyalty thread), Solace’s Aston Martin DBS gets shredded left and right. *sniff* Later on, a room filled with Plater dining tables and chairs burns in most likely a CG explosion; even still I cringed and maybe, okay, cried a little. I have a love/hate view of these Platner particulars, contemplating a purchase despite their bicycle spoke (worse yet, radial-laced lowrider wire rims even) appearance, not to mention the hefty $2-3K per chair/table pricetag. Anything to avoid the ubiquitous plague of Eames and Bertoia. Well, at least they didn’t destroy a Jaguar XJ220 or a Zaha Hadid ‘Mesa’ table or Ross Lovegrove ‘Go’ chair.
So for the 99.9% of the world who couldn’t give a hoot about those details, you’ll be pleased to know that Daniel Craig also cracks a bunch of baddies without abandon, allowing for a spectacular display of trashing and mashing with style. Now Chris didn’t much care for the rapid editing, but I thought it enhanced the urgency. In fact, I felt the suspenseful ramp-ups so intensely that I was actually concerned, but then I was like doi, Bond can’t die. And boy, were there a lot of opportunities to “worry” about him: beyond the obligatory car chase, there are boat chases, plane chases, parkour rooftop chases, hydrogen cell fireworks, axe-wielding furor, self-torturous sorrow and desire for 
vengeance, and worse yet, women that won’t immediately succumb.
Enter Strawberry Fields, (played by Gemma Arterton who was born with six fingers on each hand and a disfigured ear), who wilts after a quick scoff and shrug-off and pays for it in a fateful homage to Jill Masterson in Goldfinger. Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko, right) plays hard to get to the end, shrouded by her own demons and thirst for revenge, miffed by Bond’s muddled meddling.
This is where I must say that the complete lack of otherwise haughty sensuality must fall on the misdirection from Marc Forster, who created clumsy relationships in both Stranger than Fiction and Monster’s Ball. In fact, the “sex scene” between Bond and Fields is a cut-away harkened to pre-War Japanese films where affection was barred. Not saying that skin is necessary, but give us some chemistry.
Besides the lack of innuendo, Quantum of Solace is also quite light on the political tip, and I was left chuckling alone in the packed theatre yet again. Quips with Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) concerning the basics of knowing/bedding your enemies boded well with the entire premise and presence of betrayal. Hey, tyranny and Marxism are always funny… just as long as it’s not happening to your country (fingers crossed).
Another maybe minute detail is the opera scene. Now I’m definitely no opera expert, but I appreciate the parallels between Tosca and Bond’s past and present heroines and believe it wasn’t just a random choice. Besides, it’s one of the bloodiest productions and held its own in an awkward simultaneous slo-mo shoot-out in the theatre cafe. Hopefully that will clear up a lot of confusion viewers had.
In Quantum of Solace, we see a broken Bond, a morose Bond, an emo hero, if you will, who has to learn the hard way that there are other fish in the sea, still hung up over the loss of Vesper Lynd (Eva Green in Casino Royale). Because of this, we also see a reckless Bond; his rebellious antics resulting in multiple murders of not only his benign targets, but his buddies, too. God, wake up James!
Big up for Camille’s realistic breakdown in the fire scene, villain Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) going rage-aggro in the final battle, Bond’s “toys” taken away, and for including Jack White for the theme song. I sympathize with Amy Winehouse, who was originally slated but was sacked at the last moment, probably due to her own rebellious antics. Oh, the bitter irony.
Big down for using so many Ford vehicles, but that really added to the whole megalomaniac masquerading as an environmentalist/humanist thread.
While I am still not in full support of the choice for a blonde Bond (I was hopeful for the rumors of Clive Owen or even Julian McMahon), Daniel Craig exemplifies the return of beefy, shirtless, action-oriented Bond, and fits the vengeful edge necessary for Quantum of Solace. Perhaps the next cycle after Craig will return to classy, witty, wise-ass Bond like Chris and my fave Roger Moore, and then we’ll shake and not be stirred.
About the Author
I have yet to see the latest installment of the Bond movies, but I plan on doing so within the next couple of weeks. Like you and Chris, I’m not too into the “blonde Bond” but I hear good things about Daniel Craig. I do have to disagree with your choice in Bonds though, as I see “The Con Man” as the best Bond ever. Anyhow, I can’t wait to get to the theater to see that Aston Martin, aka The Man Compensator, get ripped to shreds!
Awesome stuff, hun. I didn’t care for the editing, but I dug the story. I honestly can’t remember anything about Casino Royale, but I believe this was a bit more entertaining. And there was no poker! Thank god. Plus, Olga was a far better Bond girl than Eva. Here’s hoping they find some way to eliminate all the continuity errors across the films from the Casino reboot….
@CAbs… yah, Chris and I are almost alone in our choice for Roger Moore, but that’s okay by us. Mostly everyone loves Sean Connery’s JB, so maybe Craig will appeal to them and to you. Enjoy! :)
@Chris… bits and pieces of Casino Royale details are coming back to me slooowly, but not very much to note. :\
You sure do notice more than anyone else wherever you go. Thanks for enlightening me once again about the coup and the opera. Don’t get those chairs, though ;)
@Jason… You don’t “get” them or I shouldn’t get them?
Don’t buy those chairs!
Why did this take so long to come to America? It was released last month in the UK!
@R Thompson… I know, I was like, it was released in Latvia before here?? I guess Bonds are historically released in the UK before they hit here; usually it’s just a weeks’ deficit, so I’m unsure about the delay, but it was only an extra week, right? Forster is the first director not to come from the Commonwealth, but that’s the only thing different that I can procure, but I’m no “Bond-phile”, so pls tell me if you dig anything up.
It’s wide-release in Japan is January 24th, 2009, so we ain’t off too bad. :)
@Jason… no worries, I’m now saving up for that pony. ;)
LOL
Without a doubt, Connery & Brosnan were the gold standard of Bond & my darkest days where during Moore’s farcical portrayal of our favorite 00. So I am pre-disposed not to accept Craig as a bone fide replacement. But even in both movies, Craig is not the problem, the producers & directors are. OK. Perhaps my last comments were really a review of Casino not having seen QoS. Now I have seen it and there are so many problems with it I do not know where to begin. All the chases are herky, jerky, shaky staccato film clips. You can never really see what is going on. This is contrary to the traditional Bond flick replete with detail. And if Craig is gritty, moody, mean & vindictive one can still see a path by which he becomes a cooler if not a cold, uber-professional agent with a dry, sardonic sense of humor. This Bond clearly appeals to a feminine perspective that escapes me. I understood him not becoming ‘involved’ with the other women in the 2 flicks as having high standards and was at least relieved to see his response to Fields as, what we would term a normal orientation! (The women seem to love that Bond does NOT ‘hook up’ with the main girl in either film and broods ceaselessly like a forlorn Hamlet for his unrequited lover from Casino). Even the opening chase, usually one of the best, is almost visually incomprehensible. Car chase, rooftop chase, sewer chase, apartment knife fight chase, boat chase, plane chase, Chase-Morgan, certainly they all were purloined from the Bourne genre but somehow Bourne’s were more believable.
The opening graphics were not as bad as I feared, but were definitely not 007 quality. Far too much of Craig shooting his Walther PPK .380; (don’t make me go into why that is a problem). We have grown accustomed to the sultry, sexual/sensual and awesome graphical intro to the Bond films. This one was not of the same caliber. Ditto on the theme song. It was not a good as past songs but I was fearing worse and it was actually passable relating somewhat to the general theme of the film. The barrel scene was placed at the end of the film. I prefer the beginning but in either case it should be presented with high quality graphics and punctuated with 007 theme song riffs. It was not.
Lots of chases. Most are barely watchable. I actually liked the reference to the traditional 13th century Italian Palio horse race in which the riders can use their longer wooden canes to encourage their steeds or discourage their opponents; and the actual event was supposed to be occurring outside of the chase area.
The knife fight was lame. How did the baddie die anyhow? Please tell me not with the little pair of cuticle scissors Bond had. And if the death blow was to the only wounded area shown, the left jugular, where did all the blood go as Bond let him ‘bleed out’. Not to worry the details because we are soon introduced to THE BOND GIRL. Well, a little anti-climatic because she is not quite as attractive as we are used to although she has very pretty lips. The rest of her seems strangely disproportionate for some reason. It’s also strange that she would return to the baddie who just tried to have her whacked. That has little probability for success for someone who we later learn is “Bolivian Secret Service”. Oh well, not to worry, we are off on another chase, this time with boats. It is perhaps the best done but for the last scene in which the grappling hook is somehow thrown onto the rubber speed boat and flips it from the front of Bond’s boat over the top to the rear…… can’t quite figure the physics out on that one. Not to worry, we’ve docked and Bond mysteriously hands the unconscious maiden who he has just rescued over to a dock attendant…what?
Well were off to track this baddie and somehow reconnected with the GIRL in Bolivia where we eventually learn that the baddie, Mr. Greene of the evil Greene corporation in conjunction with the even eviler Quantum Criminal Consortium LLC has concocted a plot wreaking with the venom of true corporate greed, evil capitalism and nefarious financier-ship; to wit, steal all the fresh water in where? Why Bolivia of course and sell it back to them Bolivians at double the price! MUAHHAHAHAHAHA (evil laugh). We learn at a big party that times are tough in Bolivia because it is costing a weeks wages for an average Bolivian to buy a gallon of clean water! As I remember, the average Bolivian earns about $0.25 per day making the water cost about $1.75 a gallon; pretty much on par with market values in Cleveland. Perhaps this is not the best country for our get richer quicker scheme.
No matter, we are off to the evil opera where the evil baddies are meeting to plan, well, evil. This is where we juxtapose a modernistic version of the Tosca operatic bloodshed whilst Bond dabbles in the real thing dispatching the body guards of the evil biggies who, now discovered & uncovered, are making a hasty retreat for the exits faster than attendees at an Al Gore speech.
No matter, while in Bolivia we are matroned by the closest thing to a real Bond girl, agent Fields. Unfortunately we never really figure out what is beneath that trenchcoat although it appears that Bond does. Also unfortunately for Fields and us, she is quickly eliminated by the baddies in what can only be termed as a ‘crude’ theft of the Goldfinger modus operandi. I would have expected more of a mess but why waste camera time on the slickened Fields when you can spend it on bathroom scenes with….who else….M of course. Perhaps the most difficult what seemed to be15 minutes of the film (as if minutes were hours Mr. Spock) was watching M in her bathrobe apply & remove cold creme. The threat itself would have sent Mr. Greene permanently into pro bono philanthropy. Not finished with us yet, M draws her bath and the tension in the theater built noticeably as we all began to fear that we would be greeted with an au natural scene of her slipping out of the robe into the tub. Fortunately we were spared that experience (wait for the unedited version coming to DVD soon!). However, it just calls into question what fob with a mommy complex of some sort is calling the shots in these films.
M continues to demonstrate why she should not be “M” vacillating from suspecting Bond to needing him back in 00 some 4-5 times during the movie. We did get a glimpse into the possible personality of M’s hubby when he meekly announced, “the calls for you dear on your private line”. Whatever.
M may welcome Bond back with open arms or have him captured or killed, no matter, the BOND GIRL is rescuing Bond in her getaway car, a 1964 VW Beetle. I guess the Bolivian Secret Service does not get to roll like the 00’s in MI6. At least it was a 40HP!
No matter. We are now off to a hotel in the middle of a high plains Bolivian desert. Time to charter a plane…no, not the little Beachcraft Bonanza that would actually be faster and more maneuverable. Choose the DC-3 with a load of cargo on board. Watch out though, you’ll get shot down by the Bolvian Air Force in a single engine Marchetti SIA1 (which I have been corrected on and is a fast little number) I guess the BAF doesn’t get to roll like the 00’s at MI6 either.
No matter because they are both jumping out of that crate with the only parachute. Somehow everything turns out ok after wrestling for 10,000 feet with the BOND GIRL & parachute falling at 120 MPH because the chute opens 20 feet off of our LZ, a nice big soft slab of granite. BTW, the BOND GIRL walks for miles on granite stones in her bare feat…she’s a hearty lass.
It’s off the hotel to find the baddies. The hotel, located in the high plains desert of Bolivia, is called the Plaza del Sol. It is completely self-sufficient and powered by…solar….no you idiot, hydrogen fuel cells. In fact, each room appears to have its own hydrogen fuel cell and its accompanying hydrogen supply tank. The maids must make your bed and refill your hydrogen tank when they replace the shampoo in the bath, I guess. Naturally the hotel, located in the high plains Bolivian desert is made substantially of steel & stone. Unfortunately, the steel & stone in Bolivia is not quite as durable as the steel & stone you and I have grown to love as we discover when Bond causes a baddie car to crash through a wall igniting a hydrogen tank. The rest of the hydrogen tanks ignite sequentially. Darn it, I hate when that happens, you just can’t get good hydrogen tanks anymore. Again, unfortunately, the Bolivian steel & stone burns more like paper mache. Bond battles the Greene baddie but aborts to rescue the BOND GIRL who is caught up in her own subplot vendetta too trite to be explained here. Mr. Greene escapes into the desert only to meet a cryptic fate induced by other unknown baddies and Bond’s 10W-40 payback for the treatment of luscious Agent Fields.
You would be better off waiting for this to hit DVD. At least then you can slo-mo or replay the chase scenes making sense of them, spend more time with the slick Agent Fields and most importantly, FFW or skip over M’s bathroom escapades. You have been warned.
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