Guest Review: Quantum of Solace
As you all SHOULD know, the new James Bond film “Quantum of Solace” came out last weekend in theaters. Our beloved podcast hosts managed to see the film and shortly deemed it to be “awesome”. But for a full review, we’ve brought in a friend of ours to give his analysis. Here’s Charlie with his own review of “Quantum of Solace”:
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James Bond, an action institution, if you’re looking for the quintessential “man movie,” you rent, buy or Netflix yourself one of the 007 movies. It has long been a staple of the James Bond franchise to have big action, hot cars, hotter women, sweet gadgets and cheeky remarks all packed into on explosive movie. Simply put, 007 movies are the tits.
The newest edition to the 007 lineage, Quantum of Solace, does not disappoint either. In this, the 22nd Bond film, we see the return of Daniel Craig as James Bond. The film is the first true sequel in the franchise picking up mere minutes after the Casino Royale ends. Bond is fighting the urge to make the latest mission personal as the woman he loves has just betrayed him. Having just captured the elusive white rabbit, Bond, with the protective “M” ever present, interrogate Mr. White who reveals some new information about the organization who blackmailed Vesper and that cause the disaster at the end of the previous film. We find out that this organization is staggeringly large and influential. Let’s just say they have a lot of fingers in a crap ton of pies.
“Forensic intelligence links an MI6 traitor to a bank account in Haiti where a case of mistaken identity introduces Bond to the beautiful but feisty Camille, a woman who has her own vendetta. Camille leads Bond straight to Dominic Greene, a ruthless businessman and major force within the mysterious criminal organization known only as ‘Quantum’.” – IMDB
Now this bond movie, like the others does follow that ever present Bond formula. There is always a different star studded song for the beginning credits which are usually very unique in themselves and this movie also has these points covered in spades. The credits themselves are a collaboration of really interesting vector style flashed based animation, 3D sand animation and live actors. Like the other movies, these credits have a central focus a seems to be on sand. The credits are set to a new song entitled “Another Way to Die,” written and preformed by Jack White of the White Stripes with a collaboration involving Alicia Keys and her amazing voice and piano work. It is a really cool song that is reminiscent of the old James Bond songs and a rough and more modern style.
The next part of the formula is the action, and this movie follows along with the “Bourne Style” of action sequences, as a friend put it, much like the last one. The action scenes are creative, fantastic and often times include very fast cutting and really unusual and impressive camera movements. My heart was beating harder then average more often then not in the theater this eve. I won’t tell you anything other then you will not be disappointed as a Bond fan and they manage to involve every since element (Earth, Wind, Fire and Water) into its own action sequence.
The Bond Girls: all I can say is well played casting director. As feisty and beautiful as we have seen, but my one gripe is that this movie honestly didn’t focus on them like before because, of course, Bond is still reeling from the Vesper incident. One we see very little of and the other, well she was quite amazing and impressive and I honestly think I am in love with her. She could be my BA sugar mama. Anyway…
One thing that followed suite with the last one but had changed since the BC (Before Craig) Bonds is that it is a more serious James then we have seen in the past. Original Bond was quick with a phrase, clever pun and awesome comment in the heat of battle, or something else… In these to movies, with their different approach to the character, that being this was up and coming Bond, its not quite as light hearted. This is the dark, dirty and dangerous James and frankly, he just brings the BA straight at the screen. I dont know if you all remember the Timothy Dalton Bonds, “The Living Daylights” and “License to Kill,” those two movies were more dark and not as light-hearted as the previous Bonds. I dug those movies when I saw then, and the style of writing of these newest Bond movies is slightly reminiscent to those late 80’s Bonds.
Anyways, enough babbling, I would have to say, with the non-stop action, the amazing new bond and the different directing and editing style, this bond is among one of my favorites. The opening credits were alright, lacked a bit of substance but had lots of style. The opening song was spot on. The Bond girls were gorgeous, but I wanted to see more of Fields and definitely wanted to get to know Camille a tad better. The plot was simply amazing, it showed that no action was not without consequences. The cinematography was fantastic, taking us to some of the most gorgeous locations on earth, and some of the dirtiest and deadliest as well. And the movie addresses a real problem that could be plaguing this world very soon. All in all, I really enjoyed it, and while I don’t know about an Oscar, this was definitely one of my favorite movies of the year. Cheers to you Mr. Foster. Oh and I heart Olga, yeah you know who I am talking about…
(Special thanks for Charlie Ellibee for his in-depth Bond analysis. You can find him on Twitter here . Like this review? Want more? Let us know!)