Quantum of Solace
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Cast: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Judi Dench, Gemma Arterton, Mathieu Amalric, Jeffrey Wright,
Giancarlo Giannini.
Directed by Marc Forster, written (partly) by Paul Haggis.
Story: Bond's out for revenge.
Running Time: 1hr 46 minutes.
UK certificate 12A, US certificate PG-13. |
It's been hard, but I successfully managed to avoid ALL the publicity for Bond 22, as they always show the
best bits and spoil them. Having gone to all that effort, I was expecting rather more from the movie.
I'd already predicted that Daniel Craig's second episode wouldn't match the first,
Casino Royale, because it didn't have to. The franchise had already been re-ignited,
so the pressure was off. However, we might have at least been treated to some kind of visual extravaganza like
Matrix Reloaded - Quantum is just flat throughout, and feels very lazy, as if it's just been knocked out to make a few
bazillion quid. Perish the thought. Craig himself is excellent, as you would expect, though some poor scripting
has him looking like a bit of a knob more than once.
The plot manages to be simultaneously simple and hard to follow,
there's only one car chase at the very beginning, and that's not up to much, and the new characters have all the weight
of a supermodel carrying a large helium balloon. But that's not the main problem...
James Bond is all about action. Make some cracking signature action sequences and you can get away with all kinds of
silly plot devices (e.g. Die Another Day, The Transporter). The action scenes here are
some of the worst I've ever seen in a Bond film, and that includes both the Timothy Dalton turds. Seemingly trying to
copy the Bourne style, they've gone waaaay too far with the jiggly-jumpy-camera style
to such an extent that you can't really see what's going on. As soon as you've focused on one shot, it changes. People
get whacked, glass gets shattered, but the impression is of a general melee rather than a proper scrap, and it takes all
the suspense out. They use the same technique in the car chase too, which is a massive error as it makes the scene
discontinuous and thus totally worthless. I expect so much
more from Marc Forster, director of Finding Neverland,
The Kite Runner, Monster's Ball and
Stranger than Fiction. I guess he just can't do action.
I also expect much, much more from screenwriter Paul Haggis, who is starting to show hints that
Crash was a fluke. Poor show boys, poor show.
I haven't even begun to describe the flaws in Quantum of Solace, but I'm going to stop now as it's beginning to
depress me. On the drive home I was ready to give it a 3, because it did keep me occupied and the running
time did go quickly - however now I come to describe it, it's just not as good as other movies I've given that rating to,
so I'm afraid it's slipping to a 2. A big, fat number 2.
I enjoyed this film: 2/5
I think the average moviegoer will enjoy it: 3/5
Testosterone Satisfaction Rating: 3/5 - people get smacked a lot, but it
happens so fast and in such a muddle that it could've been Des O'Connor and Julian Clary fighting, I couldn't tell.
To enjoy this film: oh I don't know. Slow down time?
Quantum of Solace was released in the UK on 31st October 2008.
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