Review of Quantum of Solace (2008) by Miroslav G — 25 Mar 2014

Quantum of Solace is a step down from its predecessor; simply a film that's all style and action but no substance. Casino Royale broke in new ground with a darker, grittier, and a more grounded in reality James Bond, trying to stray away from the ridiculousness, cliches, and mistakes of past entries but once again, it seems unavoidable for the franchise with this sequel.

The film's main problem is that it's extremely hard to follow; and it's hard to follow due to two reasons: The film is plagued by horrible writing, seeming to really have no story whatsoever and has Bond chasing dead ends and a so-called "personal vendetta" without giving even a moment to contemplate whether what he's doing makes any sense, making the plot extremely weak, convoluted, and just murky; and therefore takes multiple viewings to understand what's going on.

Secondly, the use of the shaky camera is too fast-paced, distracting you from what's going on and again makes the film hard to follow. Now the shaky cam may make the film follow it's realistic sense but it's pointless when you can't understand what's going on.

Now there is one thing that this film does that no other Bond film has done before, and that's telling a two-part story through two movies. Although I like the idea of having continuity in the James Bond films, this movie is just so generic and rushed that it fails to end the story of Casino Royale sufficiently or with any meaning.

Craig, however, once again delivers as Bond, arguably being darker and grittier in the role than in Casino Royale due to being fueled by revenge in the film, which works well for the character. Craig actually does so well as Bond in this film, that it sometimes feels like the film doesn't deserve him or his acting skills.

Olga Kurylenko's Camille is a great Bond girl, not only due to her being extremely sexy, but also because she can act (which is kind of a rare thing with Bond girls). So, while the film has some redeeming scenes, action, and visuals to display, it tries to compensate story with mindless action like many of its predecessors and fails in doing so like many of its predecessors.