Quantum of Solace is the sequel to Casino Royale, so it should be understood that the movie has a certain handicap. Is Casino Royale the best James Bond film ever made? Is Daniel Craig the best 007? Those are stupid arguments I have with my dad and uncle when they’ve had a little too much to drink. But Casino Royale is an example of the best the genre can offer, and that says enough.

Accordingly, Quantum of Solace has rather large shoes to fill. And it doesn’t really cut it. 

Quantum of Solace opens with a pretty crazy car chase that ends in Bond (Craig) interrogating his only lead, Mr. White (Jesper Christensen), as to who killed Vesper Lynd (see Casino Royale before you see this movie). White informs 007 and his superior, M (Judi Dench), that their mysterious organization is huge, and that they have people everywhere. A bad guy sleeper agent comes out of the woodwork, and the film’s second action sequence takes place.

These sequences, including the visually stunning Bond title credits, featuring the love-it-or-hate-it tune “Another Way to Die” by Jack White and Alicia Keys, all take place in what feels like the first 12 minutes of the movie. From this point on, Quantum of Solace struggles to further explore the ominous organization, build a subplot involving another wounded Bond girl (Olga Kurylenko), and keep an new action scene coming every 10 minutes or so. The Bond franchise is 22 films old, and this might be the first time where too much is going on to keep the formula afloat.

Photo courtesy of petersaurus.blogspot.com

But then again, Quantum of Solace is all about changing the formula. Gone are the catchphrases (“Bond. James Bond.”), which aren’t nearly as missed as you might think. The opening gunshot followed by blood washing over the screen has been moved to the end credits. And the villain, Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), has no qualifying trait that marks him as the villain (e.g. bleeding eyes, golden weapons, a penchant for voodoo, etc).

Greene has a diabolical plot involving water hoarding and government overthrowing, but the script for Quantum of Solace doesn’t spend too much time on that. It’s more interested in hinting and prodding at Quantum, the evil organization Greene works for — the same masterminds behind Vesper’s death. The film spends its best moments with the idea of Quantum, and one sequence involving an opera is one of the most intriguing Bond Moments (yes, it’s an official term) in recent memory.

What strikes me in particular about Quantum of Solace is that it’s finest moments are the ones without explosions or chases or gunfire. James Bond has always been more interesting when he’s being a womanizer and smooth operator, or when he’s doing the cool spy stuff. But director Marc Forester does not agree, and his 007 is one who prefers the Jason Bourne route (which is wierd, considering Forester’s resume is made up of entirely non-action films like Finding Neverland and Monster’s Ball).

To review Quantum of Solace is to consider every James Bond film to come before it. Is it a Goldfinger or Casino Royale? Not even close. I doubt this even constitutes a GoldenEye or Dr. No. Nope, Quantum of Solace is more of a Tomorrow Never Dies or an Octopussy: it’s a little ridiculous, a tad over plotted, but it gets the job done with its sense of style and occasional winning moments. 

Still, this is a pretty big step backwards from Casino Royale.