""You two do make a charming couple though, what's the expression...damaged goods.""
Being the first ever direct sequel to a 007 movie, there were a lot of expectations following this installment. Sadly, the producers and screenwriters chose to let their focus of story to fall to the fans who were upset with "Casino Royale"s (2006) lack of action in comparison to "Die Another Day" (2002), and thus overloaded this film with spectacular stunts and visual effects that stretch on for so long sometimes that it just gets...boring. And sadly, the rave reviews and kudos for Daniel Craig's performance, the use of story, and returning to Bond's roots in the predacessor fell on deaf ears as this film proves.
There was no blame on Daniel Craig who delivered the performance as expected, and as the script called for. However, the lack of interesting side characters and trimming the roles of the characters from the previous film that we liked so much {like Felix (Jeffrey Wright) and Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini)} really hurt the movie for me, while the villain wasn't too intriguing of a character to see on screen and pales in comparison to his more ominous boss Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) and former investor LeChiffre (Mads Mikkelson).
Although, making the villain be of a more modern threat that's the punchline of corporations' economic slumps, (aka: a corporate CEO) let the audience believe that the villain actually had a power base, rather than an inexplicable amount of evil henchmen like in nearly all the other films in the franchise. Despite that, it didn't help Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) excel in his character. He seemed like the greatest panzy of all Bond villians, like a Louie Vuitton obsessed power freak that cowers in fear when someone turns the gun on him when he may have just been doing the same thing to them. IE: He's all talk, not the real competent villain you'd expect like Blofeld or Chigurh, whom are both willing to throw punches, and take them.
Another villain treated as a side character was General Medrano (Joaquin Cosio) despite that he plays as much of a role in the coupe de etat as does Greene. Disappointing really. He seemed like he'd be the main henchmen in the film, but only makes appearances in the beginning and end. Awkward. As for Greene's cousin Elvis (Anatole Taubman), he's even less interesting, and doesn't speak either.
To reveal the villain's main scheme in the first half hour of the film is also a bit out of style for a typical Bond film, which has Bond's sleuthing lead him to the culprit and their evil plan. Not the other way around.
The two ladies in the film was a woman working with the Bolivian Government named Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko), whose affiliation isn't really revealed in the film, just that she has a grudge is all. Not much to the character, and after the scenes with her and Medrano, I wasn't really surprised to find out what her secret was, since it was easily guessable. As for Agent Strawberry Fields (Gemma Arterton), she too has a minimal role in the film, with a classic homage to "Goldfinger" (1964) which states that oil, not gold, is the new symbol of wealth in the world.
The pre-credit sequence was much more action packed than the one in "Casino Royale," but it wasn't as entertaining, and was equally short. Though it did pick up within an hour after the final scene of the last film, which is surprising, even for a first ever direct sequel.
The action in and of itself dragged on far longer than necessary in the several action sequnces that populate the film, and if they were reasonable length, then this could've been a mere 90 minutes, meaning that more time could've been spent on story, which there still was plenty of time for, but wasn't included.
The locations include London, Bolivia, Russia, France and more exotic places which apparently takes 007 to more locations in a single Bond film than in any other. The climax with the Eco Hotel in the Bolivian Desert is a perfect setting for revenge, and solace.
Quantum of solace literally means one's peaceful break after strssful events, and for James Bond, revenge is just the ticket. But as the film progresses, that revenge gradually turns to avengeance. So this theme that satisfies both Bond and Camille fits the movie, and despite the title, their solace is met with over the top and overrated action sequences that take away the sleuthing and secret agent spy style that we know Bond best for.
Director Marc Forster didn't really express too much interest in the project, but did still deliver an exciting action adventure film that'd perhaps come off better for me if it didn't have the 007 banner flying above it. But no question as to how amazing the action scenes and stunts were, despite that some were too long to the point of boredom. More to the point: I'm happy he's not returning for Bond 23. Though I'd be lying if I said I thought this film was terrible, since it wasn't, and is worthy of my Bond collection...just not as good as its' predacessor.
So overall, this action packed adventure will take you globe trekking with James Bond and Company, but being shorter than the rest, it strangely relies on action to tell this complex story rather than, well, story like the predacessor which could feasibly fit this film's mere 106 minute runtime for its' simple plot in comparison to this one. And if you haven't figured it out yet, I thought it could have been much better. But you'll still enjoy the adrenaline rush that Bond brings to this film...and contrare to what Forster says, the original ending would've sealed off this storyline, as it seems that 'Quantum' is well on its' way to being the new 'SPECTRE.' But who knows? Only time will tell...
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