Is there solace in revenge? Bond and “M” sniff a shadowy international network of power and corruption reaping billions. As Bond pursues the agents of an assassination attempt on “M,” all roads lead to Dominic Greene, a world-renowned developer of green technology. Greene, a nasty piece of work, is intent on securing a barren area of Bolivia in exchange for assisting a strongman stage a coup there. The CIA looks the other way, and only Bond, with help from a retired spy and from a mysterious beauty, stands in Greene's way. “M” wonders if she can trust Bond, or if vengeance possesses him. Beyond that, can anyone drawn to Bond live to tell the tale?
Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Thriller
Runtime: 106 minutes
Rating: 6.9/10 (79,880 votes)
Release Date: 29 October 2008
Country: UK, USA
Languages: English, Italian, French, Spanish, Swiss German, German
Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Sound: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and some sexual content.
Director(s): Marc Forster
Producer(s):
Barbara Broccoli – producer
Callum McDougall – executive producer
Anthony Waye – executive producer
Gregg Wilson – assistant producer
Michael G. Wilson – producer
Writer(s):
Paul Haggis – (written by) and
Neal Purvis – (written by) &
Robert Wade – (written by)
Cast:
Daniel Craig – James Bond
Olga Kurylenko – Camille
Mathieu Amalric – Dominic Greene
Judi Dench – M
Giancarlo Giannini – René Mathis
Gemma Arterton – Strawberry Fields
Jeffrey Wright – Felix Leiter
David Harbour – Gregg Beam
Jesper Christensen – Mr. White
Anatole Taubman – Elvis
Music: David Arnold
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Not only the Americans, but James Bond purists will be unhappy at aneffort to create another action hero like Jason Bourne. This is not theJames Bond we grew up with, but a caricature that spends most of histime in polo shirts instead of tuxedos. He really has nothing ofsubstance to say throughout the film; he just bashes one head afteranother. The Governator does a better job of that, as evidenced inCommando.
Some will certainly note the distinctive Anti-American theme runningthrough the film, but that is not a bother since it's the governmentthat is criticized, and rightly so for it's support of right-wingdictators when it suits them.
As an action film, it was exciting and worth watching. I just expectsomething more sophisticated from Bond, and Olga Kurylenko was reallywasted.
The opening song was the worst Bond song ever. No class.
In the beginning there is trouble…there's always trouble. Momentsinto a Bond adventure, we buckle up for a wild ride. When the openingsequences are clever, well planned and preposterous enough, thefollowing ninety minutes usually follows suit.
The plot in a Bond film is nothing more than filler. To elaborate onwhich ruse is used to set 007 loose is pointless. There has been onething missing from recent Bond outings though. Namely his nemesis'super powered bodyguard. Gone are the 'Odd Job' and 'Jaws' typehenchmen that he had to overcome before saving the earth, and theheaven's above. What we have been seeing in the past two Bond offeringsis a healthy dose of 'Parkour' instead.
This is the French acrobatic art of running, leaping, jumping andlanding like a cat on any structure available. Parkour is naturalpropulsion and making use of anything in one's field of vision to keepmoving. In Quantum of Solace, Bond puts it to good use. It makes forexciting maneuvers as the action goes up, down and all around. I findits inclusion to be a great boost to natural stunts and leaving CGIwhere it belongs, in the background and at a minimum.
Audiences are smart enough to know when effects are in play. We havebeen through the initial 'all green screen' productions and thehyperbole accompanying them. FX have their place, but make it count forsomething if it has to be used. Blockbusters in the latter half of thelast century, namely 'Earthquake', 'Towering Inferno', and 'ThePoseidon Adventure' led to the 'Die Hard' franchise. Then theresurgence of comic book characters as Matinée Idols. Bond is not acomic book figure.
Daniel Craig has done a fine job in creating his own version of Bond.He does so while maintaining all the right moves. His is the study of aman with a heavy past, present and by the end of the film, future. Heshows just enough emotion, letting his subtle nuances light thecharacter. Craig gives us a more human, a more believable Bond.
Playboy flare is unnecessary for this Bond. He has a natural charismathat doesn't require the facial gestures and randiness of hispredecessors. The audience does not have to be hit over the head withBond's allure. We get it. His romance is simply a compliment to the sixvodka source of energy. Bond is mission focused. Sleep must wait. Thisis the foundation of the way the man does business.
'M' has a beefier role this time out. Dame Judith Dench is spot on. Youget the sense that all Bond really needs is his trusty sidekick andvice-versa. 'M' does all this and more for Bond. Ms. Dench speaksvolumes with a glance and this film is so much the better with her init. With much respect to Mr. Craig, she is also the finest actor in thefilm. I am sure he would agree.
'Quantum of Solace' is a fine companion to 'Casino Royal'. Not the bestBond film, but an interesting study of the character we always want toknow just a little better. And in that sense, we have been rewardedthrough Craig's performance. And we shall continue to seek out thisBond… James Bond.
The James bond follow-up to Casino Royale, which was an impressivedebut for Daniel Craig as bond, is not as efficient in telling thestory, nor as creative, but it has much more action, eye candy, and abetter homage to the older Bond films, especially the Roger Moore ones.As was the case with Batman Begins, and the Dark Knight, it seemed thatCasino Royale set up the atmosphere for more action to come in Quantumof Solace, unfortunately Quantum of Solace wasn't a masterpiece ofscenes and sequences along with story lines as The Dark Knight was,however this was kind of expected as Casino Royale, a good film, was nomasterpiece either. But to its credit, Quantum of Solace is farsuperior to any Pierce Brosnan Bond film, and a pretty entertainingmovie.
Marc Forster is suppose to be a better choice for this type of filmthan Martin Campbell, I mean forster clearly has better films uner hisbelt, but it seems Campbell who is known for action adventure/films,would have probably been a better pick for this one as well. Forstermade some decent dramas with Fining Neverland and Stay and a reallygood drama with Monster's Ball. His vision is nice here in Quantum ofSolace, but as far as direction, visual aspect and overall production,I liked Casino Royale more, but no doubt about it, all in all, MarcForster is a better director, and it was interesting to see him directthis Bond flick. Both The Kite Runer and Stranger than Fiction are twoof his films I haven't seen, thus I didn't comment on them and I'veheard great things about his upcoming project which is a collaborationwith Michael Stracyzsnki who has adapted a Max Brooks novel and wrotelast year's Changeling script.
Back to this film, Its not supposed to be realistic, and its plot isn'tthe most engaging, but it at least manages to do something that MichaelMann's Miami Vice definitely didn't do, and that is keeps usentertained throughout the entire movie. Overall, a must-see for Bondfans and action fans. 8/10 #433 on my list of favorite movies ofall-time.
I previously commented on this movie. But since then, I bought the DVDand have watched it with pure admiration for every single second.
Following the events of Casino Royale, we see Bond who has beenbetrayed by his lover, and so James locates the men responsible forthis treachery, realising in the process that it was not an act ofbetrayal by Vesper, but love.
This film has some excellent scenes and some disappointments but itcaptivates you in a way that no other Bond film has been able to do.
I will quickly state were I felt the movie failed. The dialogue was notas riveting as previous films and the 'Rouge Agent' aspect has beendone before. Dominic Greene was a good villain, but would have liked toseen someone more menacing and cunning…
Now the 'great' aspects, within the first second we the audience arepounded by the heavy, dark and moody music. And catch glimpses of theAston Martin, which gives it a more menacing look and then we witnessone of the greatest openings to a movie…Bond drives violently in anarrow tunnel, trying to get away from the baddies as they shoot andcrash their way through.
Bond rips the door of his Aston open by swerving violently and rushesthrough the traffic, eventually shooting his enemy off the road andthen drives into a hide-out. Opening his boot, he stares at his hostageand smiles; followed by the tingling music.
And then he chases a rogue agent across the rooftops of Italy and hangsfrom a rafter as he tries to grab his gun in time. The plane scene wasa little disappointing while the end is a visual extravaganza.
The introduction of Camille is done brilliantly and I can simply saythat she is probably my favourite 'Bond Girl'. Tough, intelligent andbeautiful. The theme song is also a bonus and how the desert becomes awoman…A visual feast…
Those who complain that there are no gadgets, or that its too actionpacked. The truth is that the drama aspect of a 'Spy-Movie' has beenlong gone… I would like to see gadgets come along in the future,something small….Not a car that turns invisible… But a'Gadget-less' Bond is still exciting…
Looking forward to the third.
What to say about this movie, well as I sat down with my fellow cinemagoers… okay dodgy title lets see where it goes. Goodish car chasethen the………..music……….kicks in, I HATE THIS SONG don't getit don't like it and was the most painful part of an otherwise averageBond movie, I did mention I hated this song didn't I?? Sorry calmeddown now. First off he has no gadgets, this is deliberate and wasmentioned in Casino Royale and on all the documentaries, this is Bond'sfirst days he has no gadgets, he uses his brain and his training fromthe armed forces not the C4 hidden in his OMEGA watch or theinvisibility spray hidden in his suit (sorry couldn't resist). Also heuses a lot of hand to hand combat which is close quarters and very niceto watch. Next to the Bourne movies some of the best I've seen in thisgenre of movie. Story for Bond is terrible and blotchy at best, alsothe director blatantly tried too hard to make this movie better than itcould have been, but to be honest what I love about this movie are thefollowing. Bond is tired he looks like he hasn't slept in a while Craigpulls this look off superbly. He is so on a revenge mission and itshows He continues with his mission even when officially suspended Ifin doubt have a look yourself and don't take my word for it you'llprobably love it. Either way enjoy
Recap: Still shaken by Vesper's betrayal and death Bond continues tounravel whatever secret organization she belonged to. His leads pointto Dominic Greene, an highly regarded environmentalist andphilanthropist who has a side business of overthrowing governments. ButGreene has very high connections in a good many countries, and Bondsuddenly finds himself alone, at odds with his own management on who isfriend or foe.
Comments: The second chapter in the "new" Bond, and even if the oldones are good, Casino Royale and now Quantum of Solace, in my mind, hasrevived the franchise. Daniel Craig does a great Bond, a little moreserious and dark, but still with a touch of the unique humor that onlyBond has.
Quantum of Solace is a full paced action from beginning to end, andthat is both its strength and weakness. It is highly entertaining fullof exciting duels and chases, at land, sea and air. There is never adull moment. There is always the next step in his mission, the nextfight. However, because of that the movie never shifts down a gear tolet the character develop or the mysterious story develop further. Alsothere is no time to be deviously sneaky or learn about new gadgets. Iknow I said I liked the more serious Bond, but at least an appearanceof Q would have been fun.
Olga Kurylenko does her part as the Bond-girl well. But she too is allaction, because of the aforementioned lack of time to developcharacter. We get a brief introduction of her history in passing, butit is mostly here a little more character development might have beengood. Bond we already know quite a lot about, or at least we think wedo.
One thing I also like about Bond, it is the promise that there will bemore. There is clearly more to work with in this storyline, and Bondwill return. I also wish he would return a little sooner.
8/10
Sounds contradictory, I know, but Quantum of Solace is exactly that.
Bond is back and out for revenge. The first Bond movie to be more of acontinuation than a sequel, Quantum starts with Bond trying to deliverMr. White (shot in the last scene of Casino Royale) to M. Of course, heis being chased by men with machine guns. During the interrogation, Mr.White tells M, "The first thing you should know about us is… we havepeople everywhere." And he means everywhere, including MI-6.
The movie is non-stop action. There's very little drama, and almost nohumor. Come to think of it, there's a lot missing from Quantum no vodkamartini, no Q, no gun-barrel sequence, and Bond only got one kiss. Andsomehow, three writers couldn't figure out a way to include the line,"Bond, James Bond."
Yes, this was a great action movie, but it just wasn't a Bond movie.
This movie is definitely pretty awesome. The thing with this Bond movieand Casino Royale, is that they are leaning away from traditional Bondthings, and that's okay! Craig is doing a great job as Agent 007. Hemay not have Bonds typical attributes, but he does the best job out ofall the previous Bonds in showing 007's emotional side. The only thingsmissing, but don't take away from the movie at all, are the traditionalBond attributes. If you are going to see this movie, and expect thetypical Bond things (Laser watch, ejector seats, Pen Bombs) then youWILL be disappointed, but this film does a superb job without thatstuff, and it STILL feels like a James Bond movie. You can expect agreat story, lots of great action sequences, and excellent performancesfrom actors like Daniel Craig. All in all, this is a great movie. 9 outof 10.
M: Bond, We want you back. Bond: I never left.
While the Bond franchise was getting staler by the day, with theprotagonist ("Bond, James Bond") growing older and getting a tadfoolisher, earning a bit more obstinate hatred from his head, M, it wastime Bond changed. And well, he did. With a supercool avatar, entersDaniel Craig who slips into the legendary fictitious British SecretService Agent 007 James Bond with ease, thereby adding a new angle andspice to his character. James Bond is now a bit more serious andintense, and a bit less of a playboy (though he still is a bit of it).His love for Vesper showed the audience that he was not much of awomanizer that the previous Bonds were shown to be. The realism nowshows that James Bond does not have to be dependent enough on gadgets,which justifies the sudden disappearance of Q (also sometimes known asthe Quartermaster), who is rumored to return in Bond 23, alongwithMoneypenny, whose reason for disappearance is yet unknown, but does notbother you if you are an unbiased Bond fan.
Post the release of CASINO ROYALE (Craig's first Bond film, therebymarking a reboot of the Bond franchise, transporting it into acompletely new timely, thereby disposing of the unnecessary gadgetryand the likes) most critics wend as far ahead as to say that Craig hasto be the best Bond since Sean Connery. I had gone to watch ROYALE atthe cinemas, and I rightly feel so, because of the mere fact that thisBond is far more intelligent and does not need to depend on metallictoys to move forward the story.
Two years later comes the twenty second instalment of Bond, which turnsout to be the first direct sequel to the previous film. Since theprevious Bond film (according to myself) was an explosive actionthriller with all the ingredients to keep audiences at the edge of theseat, my expectations had skyrocketed for this one. And so, despitesome highly offensive reviews, i grabbed a DVD to watch this movie.
And guess what? My expectations were more than met. And how! The filmstarts immediately after it had ended, with the scene pre-titlesequence showing Bond being chased by a string of people (later turningout to be Mr. White's men). This very scene registers in your mind,making you wait for the movie to begin. The title sequence does notinclude the gun-barrel sequence, as had it been included, it would havemade for a very illogical one, as Bond is not yet ready to remain aDouble-O unless he accomplishes one of his most personal missions,thereby uncovering an organization's (named Quantum, thereby giving thetitle a suitably dual meaning) sinister motives, that being monitoredby the smooth and dark nemesis, outwardly an innocuous environmentalistindustrialist, Dominic Greene (played to the T, and fantabulously, byMathieu Almaric). The Bond here, for the first time, is emotionallyscarred, seeking revenge, and thereby, "Solace", by finishing off, oneby one, each of the people involved in the omnious outfit calledQuantum. M here acts more like a mother-figure to Bond (though notopenly shown, but subtly expressed through the conversations ("You looklike hell; when was the last time you ever slept?", says a concerned Mto James Bond; I won't write further, as some conversations betweenBond and M are very poignant). The gunbarrel, instead, appears in theend, therefore making it sensible enough, showing us that 007 is now infull form.
The action is explosive and doesn't give us time to breathe. For thosewho compare the action to the Jason Bourne franchise, let me tell themthat Jason Bourne has already carved a niche for himself and hischaracter (that of an amnesiac American Government-employed assassin)is miles apart from Bond (a ruthless, heartbroken British Seret Agent),not in terms of likability or betterness, but in terms of the fact thatboth have their own respective place, and should not be mixed up due tobiasedness.
Acting is explosive. Daniel Craig emotes perfectly, making us feel forhim. Olga Kurlyenko emotes similarly, and thereby they make a strikingpair, though they do not romance. In turn, in their last meeting andconversation, she barely kisses him upon the forehead, with Forstergiving us one of those many poignant emotional moments in the film.Dame Judi Dench has shown those shades of M that have not been seenbefore. She acts to perfection. Her straightforward, snappy attitudestill remains ("Impress me…", "Surely you know better than this…"and other such statements show that while she still respects Bond,professionally as well as emotionally, she can still retain her snappyprofessional composure). And how can we foget the villain? MahtieuAlmaric does a smooth Job playing the suave villain.
Overall, I felt this Bond movie was very much needed in the franchiseto aptly know the characters in the movie as well as in the franchise.While Bond's and M's character-sketches are vividly and lavishlyexplicit and detailed, the other characters have also not been leftout. I felt it was a fantastic outing and a worthy successor to thehigh-octane thriller CASINO ROYALE. Beat me or whatever, it won'tchange my opinion.
I rest my case, and give it a 10, just like I would give for CASINOROYALE.
A fantastic follow up to a great film done with great direction. MarcForster has a fantastic eye for the camera frame, starting from thepull in over the lake in Italy to the gun fight in the opera house. Hehad a strong grasp of the character driving the action. The sets andlocations. He did his homework and made a great film.
The heavy action is cut fast and holds the beats of the scene well andgive you a gritty feel with the hand held camera technique when he usedit.
His casting was inspired with Mathieu Amalric fairly against type as aBond villain. Unlike Blofeld. Unlike Goldfinger. Amalric talks quietlybut swings one big damn stick. Olga Kurylenko has to have they mostexpressive eyes I have ever seen. I was immensely impressed with thehotel sequence with Bond and her in the fire.
As a life long Bond fan this film brings back to me the Connery days ofBond. Where it wasn't all about the action but what was inside theframe. A classic Bond film.