Quantum of Solace needs more substance...

Rating: 7/10 (17 August 2019)

2006's Casino Royale is my favourite Bond film, as I felt it had everything a Bond film needs. A percentage of its success must go to director Martin Campbell, as he knew how to film action scenes coherently. Meanwhile, QoS's director...does not. It's choppily edited right from the beginning with a car chase that would've been thrilling if we could've actually *seen* half of what was going on. Instead, it just feels dizzying (and may cause headaches). When the chaos eventually comes to an end, we discover this movie has picked up not long after the end of Casino Royale when Bond introduced himself to the elusive Mr. White by shooting him in the leg.
Casino Royale's opening fight, which was awesome, perfectly led into a memorably unique version of the 'fun barrel sequence', bleeding (literally) into the opening titles. This one, however, just sort of abruptly stops mid-scene, cutting to far less impressive opening credits with a song from Alicia Keys & Jack White that will hopefully ensure there's never another duet performance of a Bond theme song. 'Another Way To Die' is...not good. Any attempts to make it sound the slightest bit 'Bond theme-esque' feel forced, and the entire sequence is forgettable.
This movie's unique in that it feels like a direct sequel to Casino Royale, with Bond looking to get revenge on those responsible for the circumstances Vesper Lynd found herself in. It's not long before we're treated to a chase scene on foot which sadly pales in comparison to the awe-inspiring parkour scene from the last film. The ending to this chase, with Bond pointing his gun directly at the screen felt like *it* should've led into the gun barrel sequence (missed opportunity). Judi Dench's M is worried about the pile of bodies Bond's leaving in wake as a result of his vendetta, while Daniel Craig as Bond disappointingly seems to have lost much of the sense of humour he had in the previously, which makes for a far less entertaining film this time around (though he does memorably b!tch-slap a motorbike).
The lack of Eva Green's presence is felt, as she had electrifying chemistry with Daniel Craig...which is sorely lacking here. Gemma Arterton's Agent Fields (whose first name we never hear, but you'll discover via the end credits...and then understand why she wishes to only go by the name Fields, as her fist name's a bad joke that you can't imagine any parent ever naming their kid) attempts to keep herself from falling for Bond's 'charms', but try as she might, is not immune. She proves herself 'very brave' in helping Bond escape the bad guys, the result of which leads to Bond having a revelation as M utters this memorable line to him: "Look how well your charm works, James. They'll do anything for you, won't they?".
The other 'Bond Girl', Camille (played by Olga Kurylenko), may lack some double entendre for a name, but at least she has a backstory (to go along with her back scars), which gives her character depth. She too is out for revenge and has some meaningful discussions with Bond about that (one being in a cave, following a chase sequence with planes that *should* have been thrilling, but was actually quite ho-hum). Bond gives Camille a crash course in revenge-seeking and the two of them, surprisingly, never do the 'horizontal-mambo', instead only sharing a kiss (which is unusual for a Bond film, but actually very fitting considering where both of them are at emotionally. It just wouldn't have felt right had she jumped into bed with him).
Mathieu Amalric's Dominic Greene will no doubt go down in history as one of the 'worst'/most boring Bond villains ever. His bug-eyes don't add any sense of menace to him, as he comes across more as a creep/dweeb than anything. Even giving him a fight scene with Bond near the end doesn't help. While Le Chiffre may not have gotten one with Bond in the last film, at least he left an impression. Same can't be said for Greene (though at least he's caused pain and left with a very fitting choice to make).
It's a shame that there's potential for a good movie here that mostly gets squandered. A scene at the opera *should* be memorable, but isn't all it could've been. Bad editing and odd pacing harm the film that has a relatively short runtime compared to most Bond movies, but still somehow feels as though it 'drags' in places, and even the resolution to Bond's personal mission feels unsatisfying. While I appreciated the movie somewhat more with repeated viewings, it still remains disappointing.