Quantum of Solace - Review

For Casino Royale to reinvent the Bond franchise in a more modern and darker take on the character, Quantum of Solace feels like a step backwards, or at least sideways. This film doesn't feel like a James Bond film, it feels like your typical action film where the main hero's name just happens to be James Bond. Two of the biggest problems that I kept on seeing in this film were the coincidences that tied the plot together and the headache enduring action scenes. Casino Royale had a plot that flowed very well. Each scene neatly set up the next one and so on and so forth with enough new information to keep the audience interested and understanding. In this film, the scenes are tied together by a needle and a thread. Instead of understanding why James Bond is going after these bad guys and really knowing who the bad guys are, the scenes are tied together by the lovely, "Oh, how convenient!" moments. Or even worse, the "Wait, why does James Bond have to go to Haiti now?" As for the action, it is so hard to watch. As soon as I saw the pre-credits car scene, I knew something was very wrong. I couldn't tell what the hell was happening because the editing was so intense and my head started to hurt. Add in the Jack White and Alicia Keyes song shortly afterwards that doesn't really sound like a James Bond song and I knew that this film wasn't going to live up to Casino Royale. It's a shame because they had some good set-pieces for some great action sequences. The foot chase through Italy, the boat chase in the harbour of Haiti, and the plane chase over the dessert, but ultimately we don't really care because we are confused as to why James Bond is doing these things. Dominic Greene as a villain is bland and forgettable and so are both Bond girls. I already forget one of their names. The one who isn't Agent Fields. If I could use two words to describe this movie, they would be "uncomplying" and "mediocre". I expected more from you 007. Not your worst effort, but definitely not your best.