Not a Bond Film, Not a Good Film

Rating: 4/10 (18 May 2009)

Casino Royale was exactly the film the Bond series was crying out for after the entertaining, yet disappointing Die Another Day. It certainly was a film that replicated the style of the Bourne series with its 'harder edge' and its darker tone. But what propelled Casino Royale to its status of being a great 007 flick was the fact it still felt like you were watching a James Bond movie. Quantum of Solace, on the other hand, does not feel like a James Bond movie and is not an enjoyable action title either.
The car chase that opens the film replicates the plot of the film perfectly. It is nigh on impossible to work out what on earth is going on and the film continues to transcend into this fashion. The film has plenty of action but contains no substance. A large proportion of these action sequences don't move the confusing storyline forward in any way. As a fan of mindless action films of the 90s this would normally prove to be an acceptable mishap but the fact of the matter is: the action sequences aren't exciting. Forster seems to be obsessed with shaking the camera and cutting to a new angle every other second. This leads to confusion as its difficult to tell the characters apart when the fists are pumping and the bullets are flying.
The other main qualm about Quantum of Solace as alluded to above, is the fact that this does not feel like James Bond anymore. Casino Royale had an absence of gadgets and omitted certain other elements as well. Bond had become colder and more brutal which was a refreshing change. Yet, the series still retained its glamour and its bond trademarks such as Bond's famous introduction, the gun-barrel sequence, the Vodka Martinis etc. All Quantum of Solace retained was the titles sequence. In Quantum, Bond is also far too cold, he has always been a womanizer with a certain amount of 'coldness' about him but the character has become overly brutal in this film. Also to mention the other characters, Dominic Greene is a very weak villain who just does not come across as the slightest bit evil. Gemma Arterton is irritating and Olga Kurylenko's character, Camille is just not particularly interesting.
This is not the worst film in the world and maybe if it wasn't dubbed as a James Bond film maybe I'd call it a decent film. However, Quantum of Solace is just a tremendous disappointment. The plot does not make any sense, the action sequences are filmed poorly and this just is not a James Bond film despite what the the title may say.
P.S. Why the hell does the film end with the gun-barrel sequence and how come Felix Leiter has suddenly become black in the last two films?