When the Bourne Identity was released it changed the way action movies were thought about. Much of the visual hyperbole of the genre was replaced by gritty “realism” and steadycam shots. The marriage of the Bond mythology with this new style of storytelling was done well in Casino Royale, particularly as the film sought to capture the essence of Bond, returning to the Bond of Ian Fleming’s novels and moving away from the humour drenched cariacature that Bond of the movie world had become.
The success of Casino Royale showed that this was a popular treatment, with fans appeased over the perceived break with tradition by a movie that delivered solid action, performances and storyline. Anticipation was therefore high for Quantum Of Solace, the follow up to Casino Royale directed by Marc Forster.
It’s difficult to sum up my feelings about Quantum Of Solace. It is a good action movie that plays out well as a revenge flick. It ticks all the Bond boxes, with fast cars, expensive suits, beautiful women and exotic locations. The problem that I had with the film was that it felt like it was ticking the boxes. Many of the familiarities were conjured up by attempts at cleverness on the part of the filmmaker – references to Bond’s drink of choice and way with women felt injected rather than natural, a hamfisted nod to the fans.
When I first saw The Incredibles, I was most reminded of Connery-era Bond. The island lair, the sneaking around, the traps and contraptions. The locations were certainly there in Quantum Of Solace, but instead of scenes like Blofeld’s volcano lair, we’re treated to an eco-friendly desert hideaway, replete with hydrogen fuel cells. Bond has always made slightly topical films, but in this case the global climate chaos motif is writ large on the whole film – even the villain, Mr Greene, uses the cover of an eco-friendly tycoon.
With the story arc that started in Casino Royale being wrapped up by Quantum Of Solace – it pays to rewatch Casino before seeing Quantum – there is promise for more films, especially given the presence of the sinister Quantum organisation, the spiritual successor to SMERSH from the Bond of old. Overall the rebooted Bond is picking up some nice momentum, and it would be nice to see the elements that have been introduced into the rebooted franchise starting to expand and grow.
Overall I enjoyed Quantum Of Solace and the way that it tried to still be a Bond film while living up to its responsibilities as a modern action movie. I do have some reservations about the removal of some of the elements that made the franchise so much fun, and hope that like Christopher Nolan and co managed to do so well with the revamped Batman franchise, the Bond team can start to push the boundaries a little more to capture the fantasy elements of the character and his deeds. A solid three Snifters out of five. Or it would be if Snifters hadn’t been discontinued. I need to find a new rating system. Any ideas?
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