“007: Quantum of Solace” (2008) Review

As many people know, there is a new James Bond. His name is Daniel Craig, and to tell you the truth, he is nothing like the old Bonds. I do not want to be misunderstood here. He is not an awful actor, nor do I dislike the new Bond. The old Bonds are legendary, but it was just too cheesey for me, and this new mood of realism is definitely better for me. In fact, Casino Royale was pretty much the best 007 movie I have ever experienced. But Quantom of Solace, the new addition to the franchise, was an utter failure.

The movie takes right off from the end of Casino Royale.

*WARNING* If you did not watch CR or QS, please press the back button.

Because he’s “LOVE” committed suicide in order to save him, Bond becomes mad with vengeance. He goes on a rampage to find out which organization she was in so that he can kill the one who was responsible for her doings. Because this organization was so secret and unknown, Bond is subjected to disobeying orders and disrupting the British Agency.

The beginning of the piece is a sheer thriller. Top of the line action. Literally, there existed no moments where you could relax and take a breath; but that was it. After that, the movie drags on like a wet carpet in an ice storm. I believe that the director tried to convey too much information just through dialogue-less transitions which shows the bad guys and Bond is making their moves. These transitions are quite redundant throughout the screening, and it made the audience yawn and moan in pain of boredom; especially since it was friday night.

A personal disappointment of mine is that the Bond girl did not live up to the expectations. She was just a stupid little girl who’s character did not have any tasteful personality or the sexiness that a Bond girl is supposed to possess. The character was so dull and shallow that it seemed as if she was a cameo.

Thankfully, there were some comic reliefs throughout the movie which sort of prevented me from falling asleep. I felt as if the writer(s) didn’t know what to write and decided to just add some witty lines, and that’s how much dialogue that was lacking in the movie. Because of too much action and long boring transitions, I wasn’t able to truly grasp the whole movie. It digressed the audiences’ minds from the story.

And in the end, I was throwed off by a sudden ending in which Bond realizes that revenge is not very satisfying, and that it’s pointless. I don’t know if it was just me, but I wondered, how in the world, by what process did he all of a sudden come to that conclusion? I say the moment of epiphany would have been good to use some of those silent moments in the movie to portray the dillemma and the emotions.

Overall, Quantom of Solace was a two out of five stars movie. It’s lacking capablity to communicate with the people who are watching and the terrible rhythm and the tempo of the movie aggravated me. If you’re just looking for decnet action and a cheap class of romance and philosophy, do watch, but I wouldn’t watch it ever again.