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Quantum of Solace

Review By: Rebecca Ford
RebeccaFord@TheCinemaSource.com

I’ve never been a fan of action movies. I don’t love violence in films. I’m more of a ‘it’s-all-about-the-story’ kinda gal.

But, with all my heart, I love Bond films.

From Goldfinger to Goldeneye to Casino Royale, I’ve loved them all. I love them for the James Bond, the Bond girls and the overwhelming chase scenes. I love them for the amazing, exotic locations and the hard-hitting fights.

So of course, I was pumped to see Quantum of Solace, the follow-up to Casino Royale starring Daniel Craig as James Bond.

And it did not disappoint, mostly.

Quantum is beautiful, exciting and fun. But it does lack the presence of past Bond movies.

In case you forgot, in Royale James Bond loses the love of his life, Vesper. So now, he’s out to find the man who did it, and stop an environmentalist from terrorizing South America.

The film opens with a car chase (Aston Martin, of course) which quickly reminds you of why Bond films rock. The heavy-hitting action and quick cuts can get anyone’s heart racing.

And chase scenes abound. Almost every kind of chase scene imaginable, really: by car, by boat, by foot, by motorcycle and even by plane. Each time it’s great fun, but can a whole movie really survive on the success of it’s chase scenes? I say yes.

What was lacking in this film was character. It is very clear that Bond is darker now, scarred from his loss. And that could have been a great character change for him, if the filmmakers had really run with it. But a sense of restraint seems to hold him back from really going over that edge.

Yet, Quantum is a beautiful film. It takes us to Italy, Austria, Russia, the United Kingdom and Bolivia. And Swiss director Marc Forster, whose past films (Finding Neverland, The Kite Runner) are known for their beauty, continues that trend with breathtaking shots of tranquil seascapes and desolate deserts. In one of the most intriguing scenes, hundreds of people gather for a viewing of an opera over the water in Bregenz, Austria.

Forster also succeeds in his intermeshing of two contrasting scenes. In that same moment in Austria, he seamlessly cuts from the violent opera onstage to the fight between Bond and some bad guys going on backstage. Likewise, in the beginning of the film, a horse race in an Italian stadium is spliced with a rooftop chase scene, pushing the tension to the max.

Of course, what’s a Bond film without a Bond girl? And this one comes with baggage. Camille, played by Ukranian model Olga Kurylenko, is—like Bond himself—out for revenge for the death of a loved one. She is, of course, stunningly beautiful, but the necessary sexual tension between her ...