Dir. Marc Forster
Inscrutable
Bond
by
Jack Knorps
Quantum of Solace epitomizes the reason
why I have not been keeping up on the Bond films that have come out during my
lifetime (eschewing the Dalton Bonds as I was six at the time of the last one,
there have been six, and I would say I have seen 3 (GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never
Dies each counting for ½ as I watched them as “background noise”)): it is
too difficult to follow.
Of
course, this is a sequel to Casino Royale,
and picks up where that film left off, and begins with a fantastic chase
sequence, again, which may or may not be similar to the one in Licence to Kill and/or The Dark Knight Rises. Regardless, the stunt work is not a problem
for the film (nor do I think it has ever been an area where the Franchise has
suffered).
I do
want to pause for a moment to question why the Bond films must not be Rated
R. Clearly, the subject-matter is
R-rated. There is an extraordinary
amount of violence in the films, as well as sexual tomfoolery. But, Bond does not curse. The lack of the F-word keeps them PG-13. So kids can see it, and here’s a prediction: Skyfall will kill during its opening
weekend.
But do
kids really understand what is going on in this movie, or do they just like big
explosions and cool stunts? That’s my
problem. Even if you take out the
“adult” subject matter, the Bond films are meant to be seen and understood by
adults that can appreciate the political commentary they offer, as their plots
always revolve around foreign affairs.
Given that Bond is an English agent, it is even more difficult for
Americans to understand the purposes of his missions.
While
watching this film, I reflected upon watching films with my older sister. My older sister often asks a multitude of
questions during films with only slightly complicated plots. If she were to agree to watch Quantum of Solace, I do not think she
would make it through 30 minutes. And
she would miss 77 minutes and probably be no worse in her Bond knowledge.
It is significant that Casino Royale runs an epic 144 minutes
and this film clocks in at a “suitable” 107.
Maybe I just like long movies, but for some reason Quantum of Solace feels like it is missing something. My guess is that this is attributable to the
unique quality of the Craig Bonds: Skyfall
is apparently the last film of a trilogy.
Perhaps the closure that always seems to be lurking in Quantum of Solace, holding over from Casino Royale, will finally be delivered
in Bond #23.
The villain in this film,
Dominic Greene, seeks to acquire a desert in Bolivia from a Bolivian
Dictator. The Dictator tells him that he
is wasting his time—many people have tried to find oil there in the past to no
avail. Greene does not seem to
care. He offers his services—which, if I
recall correctly, involve paying off government officials so that the Dictator
may continue his reign—in exchange for ownership of this desert land. The agreement is made, and Greene is
happy-go-lucky. He is also, apparently,
a philanthropist, who is a strong advocate of environmental protection and sustainable
energy. This may or may not have to do
with “Quantum.” Later he claims that the
world’s most valuable resource is held in this desert. Perhaps that resource is Quantum. I cannot tell. Later, in a scene that law students may
appreciate, he coerces the dictator into signing a contract with his company,
which owns 60% of the clean water supply of Bolivia.
Now, Greene is played by an
extremely capable actor. At first, I
recognized him as a French actor, but I could not place him. Looking him up on IMDB, I found that he is
probably most familiar to American audiences due to his stellar performance in,
incredibly, another film reviewed on Flying Houses. The actor is Mathieu Amalric, and if The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is any
indication of his talents, then I can only conclude that he was not given a
very good role by the screenwriters.
True, he is an interesting villain, because generally we do not think of
environmental advocates as villains.
(Perhaps this is some kind of political statement too, but that would go
too far). The problem is that he is not
believable as a violent person. He makes
threats, but he does not carry them out.
I don’t even remember if he dies in the movie or not.
On that note, Paul Haggis wrote
the screenplay along with Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Now I will not comment on the latter two, but
I am sure they are capable. And I will
not blame Haggis totally, because Casino
Royale is really quite an excellent film, but Haggis is most famous for
writing and directing a certain Oscar winning film that jacked its vague title
from a David Cronenberg vehicle. Many
people decried Crash for capitalizing
on “hidden racist sentiment” that may or may not still be a factor in
present-day Los Angeles, but Haggis won again next year with his screenplay for
Million Dollar Baby, a film that was
much more appreciated—particularly for its “twist.”
Furthermore, Marc Forster
directed this film. Now, Marc Forster has
a pretty good track record. I never saw Finding Neverland but it was apparently
quite good, I found Monster’s Ball to
be quite compelling, and while Stay was
basically a “non-starter,” now that Ryan Gosling is an A-lister, more people
might have seen this film by now, and they should because it’s quite
interesting. This is to say nothing of The Kite Runner or Stranger Than Fiction (only the latter of which I’ve seen, and
which is light entertainment, but not offensive). I just have to admit that Forster does not
seem to be the best director for this film.
Nor was it the best script.
Craig himself is good, and still
icy—if not icier. The Bond Girl, played
by Olga Kurylenko, is quite beautiful, and vows revenge against the Bolivian
Dictator for crimes he committed against her family in her childhood. She is more than adequate in her role, and
one of the better parts of the movie—but unfortunately if you compare her
performance to Eva Green’s in Casino
Royale, you will see how much better that film was than this one. Judi Dench is also good as M, though I was
quite confused when she apparently got shot and then showed up in the next
scene looking very healthy without any kind of explanation—perhaps there was a
pithy line thrown out that I missed.
I believe I have said all I can
about Quantum of Solace. It’s not a terrible movie, but it’s not a
terribly exciting movie either. It is
rather confounding, but I suppose if we are to view these Craig Bonds as a
Trilogy that it is necessary to view so you will not be lost when you see Skyfall.
Perhaps the best thing about Quantum
of Solace is its theme song sung by Jack White, which is consistent with
Bond playing to the trends of the times.
If I have to attach a “rating” to my two reviews here, I would give Casino Royale 3 ½ stars, and Quantum of Solace 2 ½ stars (I would only give it 2, but the ½
comes from the theme song as well as the potential for intrigue for Skyfall—that is, the hope that they have
saved their best for the last).
