Movie Review: Quantum of Solace

credit: Quantum of Solace

For one reason or another, Quantum of Solace feels as though it’s the least memorable Bond movie in the Daniel Craig era, though it’s easy to think that a lot of people would gladly argue with this point since it might stand out as one of the best to several fans. But the whole idea of the hero taking on an environmentalist villain sounds like something that might have been better off as a Captain Planet plot rather than a 007 movie. Still, the chance to see a couple of other Bond girls enter the category was nice, even if there are people out there that might bristle at the term ‘Bond girl’ for various reasons.

The overall plot of this movie felt about as confusing as any other movie in the franchise, but it also feels messy when it begins to unravel and become easier to guess, perhaps because it doesn’t really establish the kind of high stakes that Bond is usually pitted against. Maybe it’s a personal matter, but this Bond movie didn’t feel like it created the same effect. 

credit: Quantum of Solace

The villains didn’t appear to be quite as effective. 

Seriously, a lot of the other movies have villains that are terrifying and look as though they can mess Bond up without his customary plot armor, but this movie didn’t really feature a villain that appeared capable of such a thing.

If anything, it was as though this movie decided to give Bond a break by throwing someone at him that wasn’t cut out to handle  007, thereby making it certain that the spy would end up winning at the end with the customary bumps and bruises that are a part of the job, but nothing that might have really indicated that he was in serious trouble.

If a villain is ever really dedicated to killing Bond, it usually happens that they’re going to pull out all the stops and really take it to the MI6 agent in a way that will make it clear that there’s a chance that Bond might not survive without movie magic and the type of plot armor that’s nearly impenetrable. 

Even the Bond girls weren’t really that great. 

No offense to the women that were used for this movie, but for some reason, they just weren’t as impressive as those that have shown up in other movies. Bond girls aren’t always going to be perfect, that’s kind of easy to accept, but there are times when those who are selected to star alongside whoever is portraying James Bond don’t quite do it for everyone, and this is one of those times.

Again, there are bound to be a lot of those who would disagree with such a sentiment, especially since Bond is such a huge star and those who are selected to share an adventure with him are usually believed to be the best that can be found to star alongside an individual that’s held up as one of the best spies to ever be produced in the history of cinema. Now and then, however, there are individuals that don’t quite feel as though they were as effective as others that have come and gone over the years. 

credit: Quantum of Solace

Perhaps it was trying to be a bit too clever. 

That might be the case, or it might be something else that makes this movie come off as a bit different from the other Bond movies. It’s fair to say that a lot of fans would deny this to their dying breath since the idea is that you don’t badmouth Bond unless there’s a good reason.

Some would even go so far as to say that every Bond movie is clever and well-written, but that’s a challenge that a lot of other folks might want to take since the truth is that some Bond movies are about as simple as one can get and the effects and the actors tend to make it appear more impressive than it really is. Quantum of Solace feels like it was trying to come off as a little too intelligent for its own good, which could be why it had a very different feel to it. 

An environmental lean to a movie can be beneficial or harmful. 

There are movies that can make environmentalism work for the overall plot and come off looking pretty clever, but this isn’t one of them. Maybe it’s the fact that the mere mention of the environment was more of a distraction than anything, or maybe it was the fact that it just didn’t fit as a Bond story.

This movie didn’t fire on all cylinders in any case since it felt like something that could have been covered in another movie as a side note while contributing to the main thrust of the movie rather than being the main point.