Scan and Pan
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Quantum of Solace
British superspy James Bond (Daniel Craig) seeks revenge on those responsible for the death of Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, namely the shadowy organization Quantum (similar to SPECTRE in the early films) and one of its leaders, Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric). This course of action also brings 007 into conflict with his boss M (Judi Dench) and CIA agent Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), as Bond's mission of vengeance threatens the interests of both the American and the British governments.
Director Marc Forster (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland) seems to be influenced by the successful Bourne films in the frenetic shooting style he uses here, and for the most part it works well for creating an exciting, action-based Bond film for the 21st century, although his overuse of ShakyCam renders some scenes confusing and hard to watch. He continues the grittier feel began in the previous film, and also includes a nice visual homage to 1964's Goldfinger in one scene. Thanks to his efficiency as a director, Quantum of Solace clocks in as the shortest Bond film on record at 106 minutes. The film also redefines the meaning of the word globetrotting.
The screenplay by Paul Haggis (Crash, Casino Royale), the team of Neal Purvis & Robert Wade (The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale), and the uncredited Forster, producer Michael G. Wilson (writer or co-writer of all five Bond films produced in the 1980s), and Joshua Zetumer results in a smart and compact action film that continues to re-build the Bond character after the Casino Royale reboot (described by some as Bond Begins) while making a 46-year-old franchise seem relevant again. The more cooly ruthless portrayal of the main character moves the franchise back toward creator Ian Fleming's novels, even as the dialogue-light, action-heavy story is thoroughly contemporary.
I recently re-watched one of the best Bond films ever, 1963's From Russia with Love, which seems almost sedentary when compared to the pace of Quantum of Solace. Pacing aside, it's nice to see the rebooted films bringing back some of the classic elements of the franchise. Casino Royale waited until the end credits to use Monty Norman's classic "James Bond Theme", while this film waits until the end credits to bring back the classic gun barrel sequence.
Cinematographer Roberto Schaefer (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland), production designer Dennis Gassner (Field of Dreams, The Golden Compass), and costume designer Louise Frogley (Good Night, and Good Luck, Syriana) contribute high production values to the film. Schaefer's hard but stylish lighting sets the tone for the entire film, while Gassner adds to the list of memorable sets created for Bond films.
Composer David Arnold, who's worked on five straight Bond films dating back to 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies, provides a thrilling score while making appropriate use of the "James Bond Theme" (used more than in Casino Royale, but far less than in the pre-reboot films). The theme song "Another Way to Die" performed by Jack White (from the band The White Stripes) and Alicia Keys is seductively catchy, perfectly complementing the eye-catching main title sequence created by visual effects company MK12.
In his second outing as 007, Craig once again proves highly capable of playing the character and making him seem real, and shows why he's easily the best Bond since Sean Connery put away his Walther PPK. Craig's Bond is serious, driven, and a bit of an emotional wreck, but slowly we see him becoming the smooth spy we all know without losing the nuances Craig brings to the role.
Noted French actor Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) is good as the latest Bond villain, more low-key than past villains but still a compelling character. Dench continues to be a strong presence as M, while Wright's second turn as Leiter is effective despite limited screen time.
Forster is a good director of actors and gets effective performances out of the cast as a whole, including Ukrainian model Olga Kurylenko as latest Bond girl Camille Montes, Giancarlo Giannini as retired MI6 agent René Mathis, Gemma Arterton as secondary Bond girl MI6 agent Strawberry Fields, David Harbour as CIA section chief Gregg Beam, Jesper Christensen as Quantum's Mr. White (one of the villains in the previous film), Anatole Taubman as Greene's henchman Elvis, Rory Kinnear as M's chief of staff Bill Tanner, Tim Pigott-Smith as the British Foreign Minister, Joaquín Cosio as General Medrano, Fernando Guillén Cuervo as a corrupt Bolivian police colonel, Glenn Foster as M's bodyguard Craig Mitchell, and Oona Chaplin (Charlie's granddaughter) as a hotel receptionist who catches the eye of Medrano. Noted directors Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) and Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men) provide voices in several scenes.
Quantum of Solace isn't quite as good as Casino Royale, but it's still a worthy sequel and immediately ranks among the better 007 films. After 46 years and 22 films, no one still does it better than Bond, James Bond.
[4 out of 5 stars]
Overall, this is an entertaining sequel to Casino Royale, the 2006 reboot of the venerable James Bond film franchise.
British superspy James Bond (Daniel Craig) seeks revenge on those responsible for the death of Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, namely the shadowy organization Quantum (similar to SPECTRE in the early films) and one of its leaders, Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric). This course of action also brings 007 into conflict with his boss M (Judi Dench) and CIA agent Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), as Bond's mission of vengeance threatens the interests of both the American and the British governments.
Director Marc Forster (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland) seems to be influenced by the successful Bourne films in the frenetic shooting style he uses here, and for the most part it works well for creating an exciting, action-based Bond film for the 21st century, although his overuse of ShakyCam renders some scenes confusing and hard to watch. He continues the grittier feel began in the previous film, and also includes a nice visual homage to 1964's Goldfinger in one scene. Thanks to his efficiency as a director, Quantum of Solace clocks in as the shortest Bond film on record at 106 minutes. The film also redefines the meaning of the word globetrotting.
The screenplay by Paul Haggis (Crash, Casino Royale), the team of Neal Purvis & Robert Wade (The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale), and the uncredited Forster, producer Michael G. Wilson (writer or co-writer of all five Bond films produced in the 1980s), and Joshua Zetumer results in a smart and compact action film that continues to re-build the Bond character after the Casino Royale reboot (described by some as Bond Begins) while making a 46-year-old franchise seem relevant again. The more cooly ruthless portrayal of the main character moves the franchise back toward creator Ian Fleming's novels, even as the dialogue-light, action-heavy story is thoroughly contemporary.
I recently re-watched one of the best Bond films ever, 1963's From Russia with Love, which seems almost sedentary when compared to the pace of Quantum of Solace. Pacing aside, it's nice to see the rebooted films bringing back some of the classic elements of the franchise. Casino Royale waited until the end credits to use Monty Norman's classic "James Bond Theme", while this film waits until the end credits to bring back the classic gun barrel sequence.
Cinematographer Roberto Schaefer (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland), production designer Dennis Gassner (Field of Dreams, The Golden Compass), and costume designer Louise Frogley (Good Night, and Good Luck, Syriana) contribute high production values to the film. Schaefer's hard but stylish lighting sets the tone for the entire film, while Gassner adds to the list of memorable sets created for Bond films.
Composer David Arnold, who's worked on five straight Bond films dating back to 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies, provides a thrilling score while making appropriate use of the "James Bond Theme" (used more than in Casino Royale, but far less than in the pre-reboot films). The theme song "Another Way to Die" performed by Jack White (from the band The White Stripes) and Alicia Keys is seductively catchy, perfectly complementing the eye-catching main title sequence created by visual effects company MK12.
In his second outing as 007, Craig once again proves highly capable of playing the character and making him seem real, and shows why he's easily the best Bond since Sean Connery put away his Walther PPK. Craig's Bond is serious, driven, and a bit of an emotional wreck, but slowly we see him becoming the smooth spy we all know without losing the nuances Craig brings to the role.
Noted French actor Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) is good as the latest Bond villain, more low-key than past villains but still a compelling character. Dench continues to be a strong presence as M, while Wright's second turn as Leiter is effective despite limited screen time.
Forster is a good director of actors and gets effective performances out of the cast as a whole, including Ukrainian model Olga Kurylenko as latest Bond girl Camille Montes, Giancarlo Giannini as retired MI6 agent René Mathis, Gemma Arterton as secondary Bond girl MI6 agent Strawberry Fields, David Harbour as CIA section chief Gregg Beam, Jesper Christensen as Quantum's Mr. White (one of the villains in the previous film), Anatole Taubman as Greene's henchman Elvis, Rory Kinnear as M's chief of staff Bill Tanner, Tim Pigott-Smith as the British Foreign Minister, Joaquín Cosio as General Medrano, Fernando Guillén Cuervo as a corrupt Bolivian police colonel, Glenn Foster as M's bodyguard Craig Mitchell, and Oona Chaplin (Charlie's granddaughter) as a hotel receptionist who catches the eye of Medrano. Noted directors Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) and Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men) provide voices in several scenes.
Quantum of Solace isn't quite as good as Casino Royale, but it's still a worthy sequel and immediately ranks among the better 007 films. After 46 years and 22 films, no one still does it better than Bond, James Bond.
[4 out of 5 stars]
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