Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email What? Finish ready ah? Ehh..what happened? That kid-faced guy is the villain? That’s it? You mean that was the climax? Wei, sure this is James Bond movie ah? No kick at la.
Yup, that basically surmises the latest James Bond flick – Quantum of Solace, the second one starring Daniel Craig. The babes this time were Olga Kurylenko and Gemma Arterton. The bad guy is Mathieu Amalric.
There were lots of hype and thumbs up for this movie which is a direct sequel to the previous movie, Casino Royale. The storyline starts with a car chase (in Italy) after which Bond brings a man to M. A traitor in M’s security team starts shooting and everyone either runs of gets killed. Bond chases the traitor and the guy dies.
The kidnapped fella mentioned something about a group that is everywhere and have their people in all kinds of places. That sets off the search. Bond thinks that the group was responsible for the death of Vesper, the Bond girl in Casino Royale, his lady love. Thus its a personal vendetta for Bond.
After briefing in UK, he moves to Haiti.
In Haiti, he finds out about Dominic Greene, of Green Planet, a philanthropist, environmentalist, and a bad guy with a hidden agenda. He also meets Camille (Olga) who is also trying to get to Greene. Greene reminds me of a grown up Ron Weasley (from Harry Potter movies).
Basically, Greene is hoarding a precious resource – water, and then charging countries in South America to provide water services. He manipulates changes in regimes and leaders to suit his business.
The Americans (CIA) seem to support Greene as long as they can get a favorable regime in place in those countries.
So, Bond is left on his own to clear his name, get his revenge, and save the world. The movie moves from Haiti to Austria, Italy, Bolivia.
In Bolivia he manages to get his ally (Mathis) and fellow agent (Gemma) killed by the bad guys. This makes Bond more angry. He gets information from CIA ally Felix that Greene is planning a meeting to pay off Bolivian leaders. So, off he goes.
The climax of the movie is set in a hotel which is actually a petroleum depot (?) in the middle of Bolivian desert. It was not spectacular like other Bond movies, nor did we realise that it was the climax.
The dialog between him and M was as usual very duelistic. Other plus points were the car chase at the beginning, the Italian opera scenes, and…hmmm…that’s about it. It didn’t have that feeling that we were watching James Bond. No gadgets, no romance, no Bond in tight situation (well, we can count the plane fight I guess). The villains died easily.
By the way, the movie is rated PG13, but I can swear that I saw two kids in the cinema. Also, there’s a bit of controversy brewing because some nudity were shown towards the end involving the assault victim at the hotel.
Conclusion: People will be disappointed that the Bond elements were not really visible in the movie. Craig looked the part of a hurt soul, but still able to be lethal. Bond girl Olga did her part reasonably well. And when the end comes, people will be left asking “that’s it?” Not sure if this is a Bond movie after all.
Cast: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench, Giancarlo Giannini, Gemma Arterton,
Genre: Drama
Acting : 6/10
Story : 5/10
Special Effects: 6/10
Cinematography: 7/10
Overall Oomphness: 6/10
