Monday, November 17, 2008

Movie Review: Quantum of Solace


SYNOPIS: Bond, Daniel Craig, is out for revenge of his love Vesper’s death in this outing, though he is still unsure if she was true to him. After a breathtaking car chase to Siena, he brings in Mr. White, Jesper Christensen, to an underground area beneath the Piazza del Campo on Palio di Siena. While questioning him, White indicates that there is a vast conspiracy that M, Judi Dench, and Bond know nothing about and then laughs manically. Another agent who has been with MI6 for years, Mitchell then shoots M and runs to escape into the crowd in the Piazza. White escapes.

The Piazza del Campo

After chasing Mitchell through the crowd and across rooftops,

over balconies,

down belfries, and Bond finally has to kill him in self defense. Then Bond literally follows the money to Haiti and kills a hit man and then takes a ride with his beautiful mark, Camille, Olga Kurylenko, girlfriend of the head of the Environmental Concern Domnic Greene, Mathieu Amalric. Camille is no dummy, and figures out that she was to be killed and tosses bond out of her car. He swipes a motor bike and follows her to the docks.

Camille

Commander Bond commandeers a motor bike

There, she confronts her beau, who has a meeting with exiled General Medrano, Joaquín Cosio, of Bolivia.

General Medrano, Dominic Greene and Elvis

Dominic has made a deal with the General that if he stages a coup the General will sign over a piece of useless dessert to him for mineral rights, figuring that there is oil there. Then he tosses in Camille as a parting gift. Camille seems to go willingly. But, Bond sees this and has other ideas. A spectacular boat chase ensues during which he rescues the damsel and leaves her with locals.

Commander Bond commandeers a motor boat


Commander Bond transfers a rescued damsel to a local man

Bond checks in with M, and tells her about Dominic and she calls the CIA. Agents Felix Leiter, Jeffrey Wright, and Gregg Beam, David Harbour, are sitting in a private jet saying that Dominic Greene is of no interest to them. They ring off and M tells Bond the CIA is interested. Her assistant asks how she knows and she replies that she was just forwarded to the South American Director. We then see Dominic Greene getting on the private jet with the CIA guys. Bond gives M a tail number and she orders him a private jet going to Bregenz, Austria.

The floating set for Tosca on Lake Constance

Cristiano must see this movie because he will love this part! The bad guys hold a meeting during Puccini's opera Tosca. They all get earpieces in their gift bags shaped like the letter “Q” for Quantum, the name of the evil organization. James Bond knocks out one of their men and steals his gift bag, dastardly I know, so that he can play along. He hides way up in the opera set (stage left, near one of the spotlights) so that he can watch the players and see who they are and take photographs to send live to M. Then towards the end of the meeting he cuts in and says “May I say something? You guys need to find a better place to meet.” [I disagree.] There is a shootout during the execution scene in Act III of the opera and Bond escapes, though another MI6 agent of dubious allegiance is killed.

M calls Bond back to London. When he fails to comply, she revokes his passport and credit cards. He travels by wooden boat to a hilltop villa in Italy to an old friend for help, Mathis, Giancarlo Giannini. I enjoyed seeing Giancarlo in this role. Together they travel to La Paz by Jet. Upon their arrival, they are met by Stawberry Fields, Gemma Arterton, a MI6 agent with orders to bring Bond in ASAP. But the next flight to London isn’t until the following morning. So, Bond seduces her and we get our one and only sex scene in the entire movie with extremely limited G rated nudity.

Commander Bond with MI6 Agent Fields

In a nutshell, Bond meets up with Camille again, it turns out that she wanted to have revenge on the General who killed her entire family and then burned her house down when she was a little girl and that is why she went with him on the boat. Together, they figure out what is going on, that there is no oil, but it is water that Quantum is after and save the day.

Commander Bond saves the day!

Bond moves on to Kazan, Russia where he meets his new nemesis, Yusef Kabira, Simon Kassianides, in the company of Corinne, Stana Katic, from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Corinne is wearing the same necklace that Vesper had from Yusef. Bond points that out as he presents the same necklace and asks her to leave and report herself as a leak to her department. She leaves. He turns Yusef over to MI6. As he is leaving M asks him if he killed Yusef. He answers her saying “I don’t think the dead want vengeance.”

Yusef Kabir (He is way sexier when he is not smiling)

REVIEW:

So much happened so fast in this movie that I am going to have to see it again! If you like action and exotic locations, this one is for you. Bond can still fight his way out of any situation against any number of guys and you find yourself believing it. I just want to rent it and run it in slow motion so I can watch all the moves and follow them with my eyes. I know that so much effort was put into choreographing all of it and it is lost watching it actual speed. Then of course he is a terrific method actor as well. That adds to the believability too. Though in this film, compared to the last one, he is not in love, merely brooding, so that is not as much of an acting stretch for Mr. Craig. I much prefer and enjoyed to see him in love (and way more naked). All of the actors were top notch in this film as were the sets and the stunts.

Finally we get a handsome nemesis. He is just too pretty to kill; that is my opinion on it! Who cares what the dead want! It is all about what we the living want and need. When will Bond learn that? I give it

**** of five stars.

8 comments:

Cristiano Mancini said...

I hated it ! Too much commotion for nothing. The movie was not going anywhere. It started with a great sequence filmed in Italy ( even thought they used three different locations way far one from another ) and then ended in a boring Bolivia ...please ! He is hot , no question about it ..and his Tom Ford wardrobe even more !

Sue said...

Oh no! Sorry you didn't like the movie Cristiano! Yeah, the dessert in Bolivia was kind of slow...

AJ Llewellyn said...

Hi Sue, I haven't seen the movie yet but I adore Daniel Craig and can't wait for it to open in the US! Glad you enjoyed it. You and I have good taste in men!
:)

Sue said...

Thanks AJ!

Anonymous said...

I've read that Daniel Craig wants Bond to do a gay scene. Maybe it will be with Simon Kassianides. I would watch.

Sue said...

Me too! We can always hope!!! ;)

Sue said...

Daniel Craig has played gay before.

Anonymous said...

hi Sue !!

Wouaa I can not wait to watch! it must be a good movie. Your post looks cinematic criticism. I had the pleasure to translate and viewing of images