Review of Quantum of Solace (2008) by Brian R — 29 Nov 2012

I think the critics were pretty harsh when QOS came out (I am going to be a little more harsher). The picture is somewhat good but I noticed this film is a detachment from the previous Bond pictures. For instance...

-The plot is very confusing to understand and all the characters is more or less seen as murky, including Bond. Not good.

-Bond's charm, humour and sexual innuendos has pretty much vanished showing 007 as more cold and conservative with a vengeful, spiteful attitude.

-Bond also looks kinda grounded or frustrated in some scenes. Once again, not good.

-Bond has no cozy connection with russian agent Camille (Olga Kurylenko). Absolutely none. Their chemistry is like ball four.

-Bond doesn't drink the famous vodka martini but rather drinks a vesper (cocktail) since--I guess, that was his only way of reminiscing the betrayle and tragic loss of his former lover from CR.

-Bond drinks a beer with Felix Leiter. Say what?

-Bond has the least amount of dialogue in any other Bond picture I can remember.

-Felix Leiter (Jeffery Wright) looks bored throughout the entire picture and you know what, I can't say I blame him.

-Bond runs a lot in this film. More so then he ever did in "Casino Royale" or any previous Bond picture. I guess 007 was trying to be a John Anderton type. Sorry JB but Anderton does it better.

-MI6 hiring Strawberry Fields who is an office worker assigned to lure Bond back to the UK ASAP. Like really, was this suppose to be some kind of a joke? It was obvious 007 was going to use his womanizing skills on this rather easy lay. There was absolutely no way on God's green earth Bond was going to surrender himself to a female temp. An amature female temp like that.

-The famous gun barrel sequence seems kinda tacky and I really don't see why the filmmakers had to use it at the end. Imo the gun barrel sequence was much better used in CR.

So what parts did I like in QOS? I actually liked the intro but the car chase was unbelivable to watch, Daniel Craig is the best James Bond right now and is even better then my fav previous 007 actor Pierce Brosnan, Judi Dench as M. I mean come on she is actually quite stunning in this film and has more dialogue then Bond, so in a way M's character is a scene stealer. I liked the over the top action sequences particularly when Bond is at the opera and how the director Marc Forster would edit frenetic shots between the action and the operatic scenes, the death of Strawberry Fields (Gemma Anderton) drenched in oil was an homage to a previous Bond picture which I still find shocking, Bond showing once again a sensitivity side to his demeanor to Camile and Rena Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini), admired the main titles and the theme song sung by Alicia Keys, the film rushes by real fast which is good coming from a film that is about to run out on oil, and I actually admired the villian Dominic Greene played by Mathieu Amalric. Once again QOS isn't bad but one can see the many gears turning.