Quantum Of Solace : A small triumph

Rating: 10/10 (29 October 2008)

Saw QoS at the BFI screening this evening. It's intense and sometimes confusing but I came out feeling this is a film that will endure and ultimately prove satisfying.
I left wanting more at the end of QoS. I felt the film was missing something, and that it could have given me more. I have left other bond films after the initial screening feeling dissatisfied but with DAD and TWINE I knew they had nothing else to give. With QoS, I feel there is definitely a lot more there which will be revealed to me when I see the film in future and as I step back and think about it. QoS is a complex film with many layers which need to be peeled back.
The heart of the film is Bond's emotional journey as he comes to terms with the death of Vesper, and therefore it feels less consequential than other Bond films where Bond is a key player in a wide reaching plan and plot. The plot does feel somewhat disjointed at times, particularly early on in the film, and it does make some big (and sometimes silly) jumps, but reaching the end of the film I felt the plot was un-important, it was merely a vehicle to provide a framework and a tapestry to enable Bond's emotional journey to played out and illustrated.
Dialogue is scant and is split between brief exposition and some slower deeper conversations, particularly between M and Bond, and Bond and Camille. I think a lot is communicated via other means, through images and sound, through juxtaposition and intelligent montage which will need a second viewing to reveal itself as the first viewing the assault on the senses is somewhat disorientating.
Action sequences are shot in a very similar way to Paul Greengrass's Bourne films, and the comparisons are inevitable. They do work though, and are well conceived and shot.
Daniel Craig delivers a solid performance, although I have to say I was less wowed than in Casino Royale, but this is because I was not expecting such an intelligent portrayal of Bond in Casino Royale, while with QoS I was, so it was less of a surprise. Again, as in Casino Royale, this is his film, he is a primeval force that pushes the film forward.
Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric and Judi Dench are all superb, although they inevitably fade into the background at times as Dan does his stuff, however Giancarlo Giannini holds his own as an emotional core to the film to rival Dan in his few brief scenes. Jeffrey Wright is great but underused. Elvis and Medrano are less consequential than I was expecting.
The producers have taken a big risk with this film. More casual viewers who sit back with a bucket of popcorn and expect to be entertained while switching off their brains will not be pleased. The film expects you to understand Casino Royale well, and for you to engage. It could also prove dissatisfying to those viewers who are able to engage but want to see a familiar Bond-structure such as in OHMSS or FRWL, which is why I guess some true Bond fans have expressed concern. It's smart and rewarding but very very different.
I guess for the next film a more conventional structure will be required as we get back to Bond-basics, but ultimately I'm glad this film exists, and I think the Bond legacy would be poorer without it. It is the film we should have had after OHMSS. It will be a 'one-off', but it is a triumph - small, introspective and personal.
EDIT: Just seen it a second time. What doubts I had at the end of my first viewing are gone.
The action sequences are top notch. Either I was too close to the screen the first time or the fast paced editing disoriented me, but on a second viewing I followed them much more easily and marvelled at the brilliance of some of the cuts.
The plot makes perfect sense, there are wonderful little moments dotted around the film which I picked up on the second viewing that fill in a lot of the blanks, and also shed a new light on some of the plot turns. This film exists in a much more murky world with switching allegiances and hidden motives.
Minor characters, such as Elvis and to some extent Medrano remain sketches but their place in the story is clear and precise
Daniel Craig is Ian Fleming's James Bond unquestionably. This film is much better than Casino Royale or indeed any other Bond movie. In fact, it is a masterpiece. An intoxicating blend of action, suspense and drama.
It's a brave move of the producers to make a film like this, as the general public will go into the theatre with pre-conceived expectations of what a Bond film should do, which this film doesn't provide at first. But this really is top-notch stuff and it will earn its place in history