QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2008)
Starring Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Gemma Arterton, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini, Jesper Christensen, Anatole Taubman, David Harbour, Jesper Christensen, Anatole Taubman, Rory Kinnear, Tim Pigott-Smith, Joaquín Cosio, Fernando Guillén Cuervo, Oona Chaplin and Jesús Ochoa.
Screenplay by Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade.
Directed by Marc Forster.
Distributed by Metro Goldwyn Mayer. 106 minutes. Rated PG-13.
Beyond having the absolute worst title in a series that has a history of awkward names (Thunderball, A View to a Kill, Goldeneye or Octopussy, anyone?), what does Quantum of Solace have to offer the James Bond series?
Well, it does bring the series up to date in modern day cinema. Sadly, that isn't necessarily a good thing.
James Bond was once a suave, cultured, smart, sophisticated killing machine – a spy who was charming, funny, sexy and most of all principled, even if he couldn't always be expected to play by the rules.
Now he may as well be Vin Diesel or Jason Statham.
After the mostly successful rethink of the Bond franchise with new star Daniel Craig in Casino Royale, it's kind of disappointing to see that in Quantum of Solace, Bond has devolved into a generic action hero.
Too much of the new movie has a been there/done that feel leading to the belief that the granddaddy of all spy franchises has been caught and surpassed by the competition like Jason Bourne.
It probably doesn't help that the new Bond girl Olga Kurylenko had already played essentially the same exact femme fatale role in the cheesy Bond-wannabe Hitman a couple of years ago. It's just further proof that what was once the gold standard of spy action movies is now playing catch-up to lesser films.
Quantum of Solace is a relatively good action film, but it is nothing more. The Bond series is supposed to be so much more.
Dave Strohler
Copyright ©2009 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: March 13, 2009.