“Okay, not the best, I admit but not so bad…”

I always thought Quantum of Solace was a dumb title and after seeing the aforementioned movie I still think it is. Luckily, the movie does not take after the title, while it’s not great, I also found it mildly entertaining.

The problem with the movie though is with it’s story and pacing; it’s balls to the wall action with dental floss of a plot holding it together (Running Man Syndrome). Don’t get me wrong, the action scenes are spectacular but with the thin plot the action scenes amount to nothing. There seems like there a grand story to tell but we only get the tip of the iceberg here. I rarely ask for movies to slow down but had Quantum of Solace slowed itself and actually allowed for more quieter moments it would have helped make the movie more cohesive and more comprehensible. I’ll admit, it took me a moment to figure out why people were shooting.

I do feel like the movie does make a conscience effort to do more showing and less telling and it’s most evident with Mr. Bond. Daniel Craig plays him as bad ass as ever but there are hints of remorse and longing that help make the character more than a one trick pony.  My favorite scene is after a fight, Bond watches a man bleed out to make sure he’s dead, the look on his face and his reaction really help sell the character of a man who angry but also at peace with his job. Without Daniel Craig, the movie would have sucked hard but his performance carries the film.

The bond (no pun intended) between M and Bond is also very telling and quite interesting. Judi Dench carries her part and actually seems to hold her own against Bond. Olga Kurylenko is again, stunningly beautiful, but more importantly shows some promise here (she got bonus points for managing not to get naked or having sex). She gives her character shades of depth and emotes quite well; while she isn’t all together belieavable wielding a gun she is serviceable. Gemma Arterton is also beautiful but ultimately kind of useless; I would have actually traded some of the Olga Kurylenko scenes for more of Gemma’s character. I thought her chemistry with Bond was more palpable and entertaining. Mathieu Amlaric seemed kind of lost and was a really lame villain. He didn’t seem to match Bond’s physical appearance or his strong charisma; he does scream like a girl though and that was kind of funny.

Quantum of Solace wasn’t a terrible movie but I can see how people didn’t like it; the movie seemed more of an extension to Casino Royal rather than a sequel. I know they’re planning on four more of these suckers so I can only hope that they find a better balance between the balls to the walls action and the story.

I wouldn’t recommend this movie if there were more interesting fair but it’s enjoyable and it’ll help kill an hour and a half if you’ve got nothing else to do.

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