Quantum of Solace

Quantum Of Solace continues where Casino Royale left off and is a sequel, which is something new for fans of 007. Following the death of Vesper Lynd, Bond (Craig) joins M (Judi Dench) to search for a secret organisation responsible for his beloved’s demise. There are plenty of kiss-kiss, bang-bang in this movie. It starts off with a high speed car chase, followed by gun and fist fights, and the now signature chase over rooftops. There are also boat chases and aerial dogfights.

The movie Casino Royale reveals a new James Bond, supposedly before he became the suave, smooth British secret agent we are so familiar with in the movies Dr. No, From Russia with Love, and the many others that follows. Daniel Craig is a good choice as a young James Bond; his rustic appearance, a diamond in the rough. In Casino Royale, he earned his ‘double oo’ status by killing two men. One of the many inconsistencies is a female M (Judi Dench) while subsequent M were all male.

While in the first movie, James Bond is portrayed as a psychopath in self-discovery, the second movie shows a darker side of Bond as a psychopath in denial and out of control. The death of Vesper and his denial of his love for her drove him to the edge of madness as he leaves a trail of dead bodies behind. The violence in the new Bond is brutish and thuggish, unlike the other Bonds. There is a sense of cruelty and sadism in his movements and reactions. There is totally no humour. Like Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, this new Bond faces his inner demons and he fights the sense of betrayal, and of love from the now dead Vesper.

The whole movie is a mad rush as he tries to discover the ultra secret organisation behind the death of Vesper and are manipulating the whole world. It is corny that oil and environmental issues were brought in as well. In spite of the dramatic chase and fight scenes, it was dreggy as well as audience try to figure out what is so big a deal in Bolivia. One also feels like being in the middle of a trilogy, like in the second Lord of the Rings movie, waiting for the third movie so that things will fall into place. Like Star Wars Episode One, Two, and Three, the producers have an unenviable task of fitting the puzzles into what the audience know to be the ending of the series. However, I feel Daniel Craig tries too hard so that instead of being an introspective psychopath searching for redemption and forgiveness, he appears very wooden in his acting.

On the whole, it is a good Bond movie for fans, of which I am a great one. However as a Bond fan, I left the cinema somehow unsatisfied (I watched it on its opening day 6 November 2008 in Malaysia). Somehow the inconsistencies ekes me; like the cool cell phones and the super cool computer interface in MI6 HQ which is not compatible with the time period of a young Bond and of course, the female M, whom we last saw was very sarcastic to the previous Bond (Pierce Brosnan). I went in expecting steak and received a potato salad instead. I honestly feel that the producers and directors should be creating a son of Bond; James Bond, Jr rather than a younger Bond.





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