Quantum of Solace, or Bond is back and he is...well not as angry as you would think considering things?

Hello. It's been a couple of weeks since HSM 3, and i think i am finally ready to review again! haha.

This week is my reading week from uni. One of the few weeks off i will ever get! So i decided to go see Quantum of Solace with my friends.

My verdict: I actually really enjoyed it. I had been reading a lot of reviews that had made me question if Quantum of Solace would be worth seeing. However, i was pleasantly suprised; Daniel Craig has, i think, really got Bond nailed down, and his performance is better than his previous one in Casino Royale. The film had some brilliant visual touches, (the cinematography was astonishing, perfectly fitting the tone and mood) there was a superb homage to Goldfinger, and some of the trademark Bond humour was back (although less goofy, more black humour which i think worked wonderfully) which was missing from Casino Royale.

However, saying that, i do think Quantum has many flaws. The direction and performances are very strong, but the story is almost non existant. Quite honestly, it is extremely poor; it's as if the writer's didn't know what they wanted to achieve and threw in whatever ideas they had. Because of this, the emotional conflict within Bond that was established at the end of Casino Royale, is lost, the plot is somewhat convoluted and the villian is in my opinion, one of the weakest in Bond History. The film is almost a necessary evil to get to the next one; simply made to tie up the loose ends and establish the "Quantum group" that hopefully will emerge as a real threat in the next film. It could have been (and arguably should have been) one of the most emotionally intense Bond films ever. Instead it's cold and beyond the visual intensity, is hollow. My next problem is one that i can't fully blame on the Quantum of Solace, because every action film being made today is doing it too.

It's the "Bourne effect."

The Bourne trilogy has changed the rules in the action/thriller genre. It's perfect mixture of intellienge, amazing action sequences and frighting realism has left an imprint on modern cinema. It raised the bar. And i am sure it was the success of the Bourne films that promted the new Bond reboot. Unfortunately, Quantum of Solace's action is far too similar to that of the Bourne films. The foot chase at the start of the film was pratically the same as the legendary Tangiers Chase in Bourne Ultimatum. I understand it looks cool, and i don't think that the Bond films should stop using the "Bourne" style action because it does work when used right, but i think they should tone it down and try something different as well. I would love to see a fight between Bond and a group of assassins filmed as one long take, in the style of the corridor fight in Oldboy (One of my personal favourite fight scenes, and films, of all time.) It would look stylish and "allow" the audience to be amazed, rather than "forced ." Shake it up and try something new.

That said, it's still leagues ahead of Taken. They are not even on the same action planet! haha.

Despite my problems with Quantum of Solace, I admire it's ambition. It's bigger, more complex, and a lot more stylish than Casino Royale. But because of this, it's not as solid or concise a story, and can miss as much as it hits. Of course, when it hits, it's just magic. So i definately would say it is worth watching. It's pure escapist entertainment, with the original suave superspy himself. Fantastic...Although i would like a smarter story with a sense of purpose and emotional investment next time.

Next up will be probably be Scar 3-D. If i can actually get all my essays done. Yeah, Uni life sucks. Even when you DO have a week off! Time to find my own quantum of solace methinks...