Marc Forster’s “Quantum of Solace” was not made in an industry where James Bond films set the standard for action-spy thrillers; it was made in the age of Jason Bourne, and it shows.
Still, the small details in “Solace” are what set it apart from similar escapist fare and what makes it worth a viewing. “Solace” picks up where the previous Bond film, “Casino Royale,” left off.
British secret agent Bond (Daniel Craig) is pursuing Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a member of the crime organization Quantum, hoping to both stop his fiendish plot and avenge the syndicate’s attack on M (Judi Dench).
Throughout his travels through two continents, he is accompanied by Camille (Olga Kurylenko), who also seeks vengeance on Greene. There is very little originality in “Solace,” as it shamelessly borrows from previous Bourne and Bond films.
It starts with a car chase filmed with a handheld camera and also includes a rooftop chase, both of which are noticeably like similar scenes in the Bourne films.
Also, the story in “Solace” is basically a reworking of 1989’s superior Bond film “Licence to Kill.” Both films featured a grittier Bond that sought revenge on an international criminal with little time to romance the expendable Bond Girls.
Where “Licence” succeeded, however, “Solace” struggled.
Craig’s Bond is as ruthless as Timothy Dalton’s, but he lacked the older actor’s humanity. Kurylenko gives a fine performance, but her character was weak during her quieter scenes. Dench and Amalric gave fine performances, particularly the latter actor.
Amalric’s Green stood out among the Bond villains, portraying a more calculated criminal, as opposed to previous maniacs obsessed with world domination.
For those who might see this film for the action, it does not disappoint. It contains the aforementioned car and rooftop chases, but also a boat chase, an airplane chase and several shootouts.
The only great scene in the film, however, was one in which Bond spied on Greene and his cohorts in an opera. Forster’s juxtaposition between espionage, opera and action was the only example in the movie in which you recognized the style of the director of indie films like “The Kite Runner” and “Stay.”
Bond films used to set the standard in the spy genre when the series had its debut in 1962, but even then, there was a variety in that category with Michael Caine’s Harry Palmer series and Patrick McGoohan’s television show “The Prisoner.”
Nowadays, we have Kiefer Sutherland’s “24,” but which spy film series will set itself apart from the others?
Judging by “Quantum of Solace,” not this James Bond series.
Grade: B-
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