A big step backwards

Rating: 5/10 (19 April 2011)

We begin with a rather absurd car chase. This is followed almost immediately by a rather absurd chase on foot. Very soon after that we get an absurd boat chase. And just in case you're clamoring for yet another absurd chase sequence they toss in an airplane chase later on. Say, shouldn't there be a story in here somewhere?
After being reborn to very good effect in Casino Royale there is no way around it, the Bond franchise has taken a huge step backwards with Quantum of Solace. Casino Royale gave us a more grounded, serious, believable Bond. It also gave us a story with some heart, Bond actually being allowed to love and to ultimately have his heart broken. There was some actual emotion involved. Even though the story in Quantum of Solace picks up seemingly minutes from where Casino Royale left off all the emotion has disappeared. Instead of taking the time to further develop the character of Bond they turn him into just another action hero. Anything which has, over all the myriad Bond films, made the character unique has been stripped away. Now he's just another guy jumping off rooftops, surviving unsurvivable chases and fleeing exploding buildings. This is a Bond film which just doesn't feel like a Bond film. Which might be forgivable if there was at least a compelling story to follow. There isn't.
With all of the largely worthless, manically edited action sequences there hardly is any room for a story at all. It takes a painfully long time for the movie to reveal what it actually is about. And when it does it is a massive letdown. When the villain's big scheme is finally revealed the only sensible reaction is "That's all there is?" Really, we sat through all the headache-inducing jump-cutting nonsense for that? The big villain himself is a total dud. He goes by the name of Dominic Greene and he's just as boring and nondescript as the name suggests. This has to be the most lifeless Bond villain ever. Mathieu Amalric plays the part and it's hard to blame him for the character's failings. There's really nothing for him to work with. Where have all the grand Bond villains with their loony, dastardly plots gone? At least you can always count on a Bond girl to spice things up right? Nope. Olga Kurylenko plays the part of Camille and again a bland name suits a bland character. Camille's pretty much a complete bore and the chemistry between Kurylenko and Daniel Craig is essentially nonexistent. Playing a secondary Bond girl Gemma Arterton makes a bit better impression but she doesn't have enough screen time to really impact the proceedings in any significant way.
Really the only good thing you can say about this movie is that Craig does make a good Bond. He proved that in the first movie. Unfortunately here he is let down by a story which is often hard to follow and which in the end reveals it really wasn't worth following anyway. Casino Royale had some real heart to it, this movie has none. The story is so bad you get the sense director Marc Forster is trying to distract you with his largely incomprehensible editing. If nothing is on the screen for more than two seconds before the next quick cut can we really complain about what we've seen? This movie never gives you time to comprehend what you've seen which come to think of it might actually be a good thing. If you think about this story you're only going to be disappointed. Lame story, lame villain, lame Bond girl and a James Bond who's more lame action hero than the James Bond we've come to know and love. By the time the movie in tosses in a desperate Goldfinger homage/ripoff it comes off as a rather pathetic attempt to remind you that this actually is a James Bond movie. After Casino Royale allowed the Bond franchise to take a big leap forward Quantum of Solace is a huge step back.