NOW Magazine // Movies // Quantum Of Solace

Daniel Craig and Olga Kurylenko, who were both in T.O. for interviews, are lost without a decent script.

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QUANTUM OF SOLACE directed by Marc Forster, written by Paul Haggis and Neal Purvis, with Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Olga Kurylenko and Mathieu Amalric. An MGM Columbia release. 109 minutes. Opens Friday (November 14). For venues and times, see Movies.

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Movie Reviews

Quantum Of Solace

Bland... James Bland: Wonky pacing and a thin plot sabotage Quantum Of Solace

By Barrett Hooper

Writing a bad review can be quite satisfying. It’s a chance to tear a strip off the actors, directors, screenwriters, editors, producers and studio execu-twits who took two hours of my life. But there’s not even a quantum of solace in saying Quantum Of Solace is subpar James Bond.

It’s not Octopussy bad – parts of Quantum are as thrilling as any in the 22-film franchise – but it’s a huge disappointment, especially after Casino Royale renewed 007’s licence to thrill.

Bond has been reborn in Daniel Craig, easily the finest actor ever on Her Majesty’s Secret Service. He’s an even better (heresy!) Bond than Connery, and certainly more in line with what Ian Fleming had in mind.

Bluntly handsome, with ice for eyes, Craig’s 007 is a cool, cruel killer who gulps his martinis between gunfights. And he actually breaks a sweat while doing it, something Bond hasn’t done since he had a laser beam aimed at his PPK. When it comes to conveying bottled rage (and then unleashing it), nobody does it better. He, along with Judi Dench’s exquisite M, are Quantum’s only solace.

Bond has also been reBourne with leg-snapping lethality: rooftop foot chases, fender-shredding car chases and hull-smashing boat chases that would leave Matt Damon shaken.

I, however, remained unstirred.

The plot is thin and as perplexing as the title. Bond, out to avenge the death of Casino Royale femme fatale Vesper Lynd, crosses the path of an evil environmentalist named Greene (a wormy Mathieu Amalric). Greene works for a SPECTRE-like crime syndicate called Quantum (a weak attempt to make some sense of Fleming’s title), whose master plan involves destabilizing a South American regime to install a dodgy dictator and take control of the world’s largest source of fresh water.

The pacing is fractured like so many bones, the villain unthreatening and uncharacteristically dull, and the whole thing feels more like a slapdash addendum to Casino Royale than a fully realized film. No surprise that the script wasn’t finished before filming started.

Ultimately, Quantum’s biggest failure is that it tries too hard to distance itself from traditional Bond movies.

Bond has always been a fantasy – guns, gadgets and girls. So bring back Moneypenny, I say, and Q and wristwatch flame-throwers and submersible cars with ejector seats and top-secret volcano bases and truly diabolical villains hell-bent on world domination.

I’m not suggesting Moonraker-levels of camp, but a little Goldfinger would’ve gone a long way toward helping this very dry martini go down.

barretth@nowtoronto.com

NOW | November 12-19, 2008 | VOL 28 NO 11

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Comments

Posted by GGG on 11/15/2008, 05:33 AM

Daniel Craig is an awesome 007!

Finally, movie-goers can see a proper secret agent instead of a misogynistic and elitist pseudo intelligence officer with a penchant for gadgets.

I had never liked Bond movies but Daniel Craig has converted me.

Today I am going to see Quantum of Solace for the second time!

Posted by GGG on 11/15/2008, 05:41 AM

James Bond movies are not known for their riveting plots. They're known for their classism, sexism and ability to inspire boredom. It might be hard for people who have watched 21 such movies to adjust to a less classist, less sexist and more interesting James Bond.

Quantum of Solace is a very good attempt to bring 007 into the 21st century and, simultaneously, entertain.

Posted by KD on 11/15/2008, 06:00 AM

I think the James Bond portrayed in Quantum of Solace is the most convincing ever! What else is expected of a secret government assassin except raw power and a killer instinct? I grew up on the Bond movies. They were just amusing, this is riveting. Enough with the the gigolo-inspector gadget crap. That's as old as the cold war. Its refreshing to see a true-to-character agent on screen.