Quantum of Solace opens with a metaphorical, deep, powerful and calculating cinematographical breath in expectance of the wild ride to follow. What is then delivered is a burst of hard-hitting and slick action and a very strong title sequence which certainly improves the song. Not a great Bond song in my opinion, but it's grown on me somewhat and works pretty well with the theme and style. The action has been talked about a lot in many if not all reviews, and while I can understand some not liking it's intense, shocking and close-in style I thought it was pulled off very well indeed. Throughout the film we get many action sequences of a wide variety, but each one held me captivated. I had read so much about how the action completely dominates the film. I dissagree, and felt there was plenty of quiet scenes, some of which were extremely powerful in terms of character development and acting. While the plot is very multi-layered and intricate I could follow it fine, but no doubt it was easier having known Casino Royale well as well as having read the basic synopsis and knowing some other bits and pieces beforehand. The characters and acting throughout is consistently very good, only with the odd slip up but no problems with any of the major players. I was more impressed with Olga Kurylenko than I expected to be, she did herself proud and is a genuinely likeable, tough, modern woman. None of this attitude and bitchyness combined with poor acting that these kinds of Bond girls usually are. Mr White is extra creepy, Dominic Greene played solidly and, while not a notably grandiose villain, quite solid and unlikeable as a cog in the Quantum machine. General Medrano turned out to be quite the hate figure of the story for me and as the film went on I really wanted him to die, despite his character not taking center stage all that much.
To get quickly onto niggles I have to say they were few and usually not that big of a deal, I just have to go through them as this is a review. Some intricate details in the plot are not really explained or fully dealt with. This is more of a negative for the casual viewers as any actual Bond fans here will easily be able to and enjoy working things out. The finale showdown and the plot surrounding it is rushed into a tad too quickly which is no doubt where some reviewers have felt short changed; it leaves little room for a satisfying build up and sense of purpose about the villains demise. The various labels of places visited in the film with large and fancy fonts seemed a little un-Bond really, though not distasteful at all. The waiter who recites the Vesper recipe made me cringe, a very laboured and somewhat embarrassing piece of unnecessary dialogue. Gemma Arterton's delivery of her first line in the film is pretty bad, but thankfully she was fine for the rest of her part, so no worries really. I really enjoyed the little joke about her name (check the credits).
The film held me captivated and enthralled throughout with some real emotional reactions. All together it feels like a really interesting and slick little Bond film with depth and grit to boot. More importantly however I feel that it's an absolutely superb add-on to Casino Royale with just the right amount of a twist in the style. I enjoyed seeing Daniel Craig rattle off some fluent Spanish, unlike Brosnan's occasional and poorly accented "Buenos Dias" and "Gracias" in Die Another Day.
Again this film has a small epilogue style ending which is really well done and certainly rounds off the whole story (carried through from Casino Royale) perfectly. The very end of Quantum of Solace is a good solid cap on the end of the two films. I also can't wait to find out more about Quantum, scary stuff. All in all I think there are many reviews out there that are highly missleading, but then again we're all different. Being a huge and original fan of the Fleming books I found a lot of Fleming touches and character in this film, and the various references and nods in style etc to the old classic Bond films were very nicely done. This is without doubt the darkest, grittiest and most hard-hitting 007 film so far, but it is still very lush, exotic and fantastical at the same time - a difficult and rare combination to get. It is certainly not like a Bourne film as has been mentioned and worried about. I hope the next film with the great Daniel Craig will see 007 enjoying a little more relaxation and luxury, as I think he's earned it! Some more classic Bond shots such as Craig in a shoulder holster with his jacket off perhaps enjoying the comfort of a plush hotel suite. Oh and long live the Walther PPK! Glad to see it back.
I feel 8.5/10 is my rating for it, and that's a very high score. Casino Royale and each of my other very favourite Bond films get a 9. There's still room for a 9.5 or that elusive and utterly perfect 10, but that would require something very very special.
A final and humorous note: did you ever notice the emails in Bond's laptop in Casino Royale? He has one entitled "Stationary Request". Look out for Bond's mention of stationary in this film, I think Craig's Bond has some particular thing for it, the perfect christmas present for him would be a gift voucher for Staples, though I can't imagine Bond ever buying these things.
M's use of the S word is fantastic too, I really wasn't expecting it and it was used effectively.Enjoy the film when you get to see it!
Signing off.
