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Quantum of Solace - review
As the final credits always have it, James Bond will return – and he certainly has. And, as it happens, he's returned around an hour after Casino Royale ended, making Quantum of Solace the first 'proper' Bond sequel ever, writes Neil Davey
Building on the mood of Casino allows first-time Bond helmer Marc (Finding Neverland) Forster to cut straight to the chase. This happens in two ways: in literal fashion, with an exciting, if visually incoherent, car chase around the narrow roads of the Italian coast; and in more obtuse style, allowing Daniel Craig's Bond to go straight into steely-eyed revenge mode over the death of his true love, Vesper. Given that steely-eyed revenge mode is probably Craig's greatest strength – you can actually believe the British government might send him out to kill people – this is a very good thing.
As hinted at the end of Casino Royale, Vesper was caught up with a secret cabal that's more powerful than anyone could imagine. Quantum of Solace thus has a very simple plot: Bond is going to find the secret cabal and destroy them.
In previous Bond films, said secret cabal would be stealing satellites or building lasers on the moon or something equally silly. This time round the silliness is left to a minimum and, instead, Bond is facing a scarily realistic secret cabal who can bypass democracy and control governments and, er, destroy economies. So hardly any topical relevance at all, then.
The cabal is run by Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), who's less megalomaniac and more pen-pushing administrator. Such is the world: when the end comes, it's more likely to be an accounting decision rather than a power-crazed maniac pushing a button. Greene's activities are also deliciously dull. He's not going to blow up millions. Instead, he's going to blackmail governments through the immoral control of overpriced utilities.
Of course, woven into the low-key fabric of the tale come the standard Bond elements, from the action set-pieces (chases by car, boat, plane and on foot) to the beautiful sidekick Camille (Olga Kurylenko) who has her own revenge to wreak via, in a departure from Casino Royale, the merry quip. Yes folks, the humour is back and Quantum packs a surprising number of laughs. These aren't the result of a innuendo-heavy Roger Moore manner but through a genuine sardonic wit, mostly from the excellent Judi Dench as M but also occasionally from Craig. There are also some neat twists to the Bond conventions, from the complete absence of the "Bond, James Bond" line to another very droll take on the vodka martini.
The film isn't perfect, as Forster clearly isn't as comfortable with the action as he is with the talking. The dramatic scenes crackle with energy but the chases feature a mix of close ups and jump cuts that leave you excited but bemused as to what's happening. It's also occasionally hard to make out Craig's dialogue but, even with these problems, Quantum of Solace is thrilling. The screenplay is terrific, the stunts (when you can follow them) are mostly old school and utterly convincing, David Arnold's score is a knockout and the acting, particularly Craig, Dench and Amalric, is top drawer.
While Quantum of Solace may not pack the same punch as Casino Royale, it's not so far off either. The sign-off line again promises that James Bond will return. On this evidence, that's cause for celebration.
* Images from the movie provided by kind permission of Sony Pictures
Quantum of Solace - trailer
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