Garbage in Garbage Out

Rating: 4/10 (15 November 2008)

If they'd started with a tight script, they might have ended up with a decent movie for Quantum of Solace. There clearly wasn't one, at least anywhere written down that I could tell. In addition to a half-baked revenge plot, which was absolutely impossible to follow - or care about, the camera work and edits are so... clinical and high-speed that the scenes don't evolve at the right pace. You can't care about anything because it's just one action sequence followed by a vague scene, which leads to another show down in another country. Bond is perpetually cold and gritty in this film and there's no dimension to him.
But let's back up a bit and see if you agree with the ingredients to a Bond film 1. Exotic locations 2. "M" 3. James Bond doing something he's not supposed to do. 4. Steamy hook-ups with at least two different women, usually only one becomes the love interest. 5. A black tie affair of some kind. 6. Fighting and chase sequences. 7. A villain that is trying to execute some complicated plan. 8. Felix Leighter 9. "Q" 10. An opening "preamble" that breaks into the main title (writhing girl silhouettes and guns and stuff) accompanied by the famous down the barrel view of Bond.
Check marks on nearly all, except, disastrously, this film dispensed with the traditional opening sequence. The titles were a bunch of boring shots of sand and little animated Bonds running this way and that in the most unimaginative Bond main title in history. It lacked in both energy and information, and they got rid of the famous gun barrel device. That's like a birthday cake without frosting. They also had no love interest. Sure, there are two girls, but there's no chemistry or substance to the scenes.
The first scene of the film starts off with M and Bond making reference to characters and events that happened in Casino Royale. If you didn't see Casino Royale, or see it recently, then I'm afraid you're stuck. On the other hand, I have Casino Royale practically memorized and I couldn't follow the intrigue of this picture. It involved oil and water, and an eco-plot but it just didn't play.
Daniel Craig is not at fault. The film is poorly made. It doesn't cut together in a well-paced, cohesive way. So, if you're a Bond fan and want to see it despite its flaws, go to a matinée to lessen the blow. Frankly, you may still end up being disappointed and you could actually wait for the DVD.