"Quantum of Solace"

By: Matt Duncan
Coastal View News

Innumerable vanquished villains, countless wild and romantic love affairs, decades of swanky cinema and just one man behind it all: James Bond. Bond has gotten tougher, meaner and still cleverer in the past few years, with the help of the new blonde Bond, Daniel Craig. With Craig came more substance and a reason to suspend disbelief. “Quantum of Solace” cashes in some of the substance but none of the style accrued in “Casino Royale” for more guns, explosions, sweat and blood. “Quantum of Solace” is plenty entertaining, but well shy of inspiring.

In “Quantum of Solace” the once imperturbable James Bond (Daniel Craig) is fighting not only for God, queen and country, but also for revenge. Still beleaguered by questions and regrets after having lost Vesper Lynd (Eva Green)—the one woman for whom Bond was willing to sacrifice everything—the only stable aspect of Bond’s return to MI6 is his ruthless ability. Bond has a duty to follow orders, but a desire to avenge his loss. On the one hand is a covert organization called “Quantum” implicated in the plot that resulted in the death of Lynd. On the other hand is Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a very wealthy, very shrewd and very well-connected environmentalist businessman.

When Bond travels to Haiti to investigate Quantum, he runs across the scheming and nefarious Greene. Bond discovers that Greene is attempting to grab economic power in South America by toppling the current government and replacing it with the corrupt General Madrano (Joaquin Cosio). The only thing Greene appears to be seeking in return is the deed to an arid, useless portion of South American desert. Of course, unbeknownst to the general, the land is rich with valuable oil and water. Bond smells a rat and ignores M’s (Judi Dench) insistence that he stay on task. While investigating Greene, Bond is drawn into a relationship with Camille (Olga Kurylenko), who is attempting to exact her own revenge against general Medrano (Joaquin Cosio) for killing her family in cold blood.

The plot thickens as more is discovered about Greene’s intentions, and as the American government is drawn into a business relationship with Greene. Bond, who always plays by his own rules, becomes increasingly unpopular as he dodges bullets from eco-terrorists, corrupt Americans, and the fed-up MI6 leadership. The seemingly disparate plots begin to tangle and cohere, and Bond is left to sort it all out.

“Quantum of Solace” begins and ends with reference to “Casino Royale,” and in the meantime fails to create its own, powerful narrative. All films in a series connect in various ways to prequels and sequels, but all good films in a series also tell their own unique portion of the tale in a coherent manner. Unfortunately the story behind “Quantum of Solace” is somehow lost in the shuffle. It is up for debate whether the true currency of James Bond films is plot or action, brains or brawn. “Casino Royale” revived the series with an exceptionally brawny Daniel Craig, but perhaps even more importantly, with a clever script. In “Quantum of Solace” Craig is brawnier than ever, but at the expense of the intellectual intrigue that caught the eye of many viewers when Craig first came on. The result is a very exciting and entertaining film that lacks substance. Given the outrageously bad Bond films of the past two decades, it may be fair to note that beggars can’t be choosers. “Quantum of Solace” is still one of the better Bond films in recent decades.

“Quantum of Solace” is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and some sexual content.