Quantum of Solace

Review by Loc

It means a tiny bit of comfort from sorrow. Yes, I had to look it up, cause quantuming solaces is not something I do regularly. But what does it mean to a James Bond flick? Quite simply, the title is as confusing as the flick itself. And that’s neither a good nor bad thing, it’s a weird thing. Quick hit: Quantum of Solace is bland jibber-jabber.

In the second installment of Daniel Craig-blond Bond, we get the first ever continuation film! Yes friends and enemies, this is a direct sequel to Casino Royale. And with it comes baggage, much like Bond’s love life. Huge Tip to all those interested in seeing this flick: if you don’t remember the first one, if you don’t recall the whole Vesper relationship, if you think Casino Royale was just a poker game, you should re-watch the first one to prep yourself for Quantum. I thought I knew enough, that Bond tracked down some dude and shot him in the leg, and that’s where we would begin. True enough, crippled guy is where we start, but you really need to remember the Bond’s relationship and why Vesper did what she did to even begin to understand Bond random acts of violence.

Ah, but don’t fret, because even if you’re just hopping onboard the Bond train, you get an entertaining film…sorta. There’s some big action pieces, starting with the high-speed car chase, followed by the roof racing, airplane stuff, big explosions at the end, I mean there’s some kabooming going on. Yet, everything seemed strangely distanced, the action never drew you into the movie and instead you were just watching stuff happen. Maybe it was the convoluted story that distracted my attention, but for whatever reason, the action sequences were there, they just were that thrilling.

Then we have the actual story. I give props to the writers, producers, and director for cooking up a real foundation to the Bond universe. There’s a big, bad organization and by coincidence, they’re named Quantum. They’ve infiltrated many high places, they are the secret hand that controls the world. It’s an interesting take and it definitely opens up possibilities in the Bond genre. The only problem: it took this entire movie to explain that! Sure, there’s the “main” plot, but that’s where all the bland action is taking place. This is the meat of the story, and, and, and, there’s no payoff. You might as well have called this Quantum of Setup.

Back to the “main” plot, which revolves around an environmentalist leader who may be doing some huge, shady dealings, as he is actually part of Quantum. Bond gets involved with some random chick, they go gallivanting about the globe to stop him, but only because the bad guy is connected to other bad guys that both Bond and the chick want to kill. In essence, the main bad guy is the Facebook connection to get to the other person you want to know. Kinda takes the edge of the baddie’s plotting.

Overall, Craig as Bond is not much of a shocker anymore, and the rest of the cast is fine. It’s funny, but you could take the Bond branding off this flick and it would exist as its own little spy flick. There’s not a whole lot of signature Bond feel in this one. The plot is a bit random, everything fits together when you retrace the steps and put it together, but really, spending 20 minutes in the car ride home figuring out what the entire flick was about is not a great selling point. And the action was big, but mediocre. So, out of 6 shaken-not-stirred vodka martinis, Quantum of Solace downs 3.5 drinks. It’s passable, by a quantum.

Addendum: So, I just caught Casino Royale, mostly just checked out the ending. It definitely helps add flavor to Quantum and builds layers of depth. Overall, the Bond world is deeper and should have richer sequels. But that only makes Quantum slightly better as its own movie, 4 out of 6 drinks.