Quantum of Solace

Badass poster huh? So, I finally caught the latest 007 flick the other day. I went into the cinema with tons of bad comments made about the movie by various people to me. 

Well I can understand what Yew Eng meant when he made the remark that James Bond should be suave and classy and all. And it was hilarious when Sakif pointed out that in previous Bonds they all hold pistols with silencers and stuff like that right? In this one Daniel Craig's holding a friggin' AK47! Hahahaha. In this poster.

So bearing in mind all the 'reviews' made of the movie to me, what is my take on this? Well there's two ways to look at this. Isn't there always?

One way of course is to look at this movie just like any other person out there. James Bond is supposed to be classy, suave and not aggressive and violent. Excuse me people. Do you know what 007 means? Its his licence to kill. But okay he goes a bit overboard with that this time. So if you absolutely adored Pierce Brosnan, you probably hate Daniel Craig as Bond. My honest opinion however, is that I love Daniel Craig. Maybe better than Brosnan. I love the new Bond.

New Bond you say? What new Bond? Well actually the 'new' Bond is the early early Bond. Confused? Allow me to explain if you don't already know this.

Quantum of Solace is the direct sequel of Casino Royale (2006) and they share the same timeline. Literally QoS begins like a few minutes after where CR left off. In CR, it was Bond's first ever mission. What does that mean? Bond was a new, fresh, raw 00 agent. This is the explanation for him being the violent, aggressive killer he is in both CR and QoS. Plus the fact that he lost the woman he loved in CR, Vesper Lynd. Which explains why in other Bond films he never gets attached to any woman. Hence to numerous Bond girls. Haha. So really quickly, the Bond portrayed by Pierce Brosnan is the 'experencied', 'matured' one, years after the one portrayed by Daniel Craig.

So about the movie, Quantum of Solace. I agreed with the numerous people who complained they didn't get enough of the Aston Martin. Beautiful. And the part where Bond is chasing the Quantum insider who tried to kill M and they end up hanging from ropes trying to reach for their guns, I felt was a scene very similar to what we would see if Jackie Chan was in Cirque du Soleil. 

I thought the cinematography was exceptionally good and gave the audience a real sense of urgency and danger. Other than the times it made me a little dizzy. Haha. I was good. 

The acting was well done. Again, I love Daniel Craig. If you notice, he has his own type of classy-ness in his swagger and all. Olga Kurylenko, I thought did a good job with her South American accent. I especially liked Mattheiu Amalric in his portrayal of the antagonist Dominic Greene. He hust looked like a raving mad lunatic that was under control didn't he? Well that lunatic side of him was unleashed when he was fighting Bind in the burning hotel. I just loved the crazy screaming.

This being an action movie, it didn't disappoint. I loved the fact that in this movie there was a rooftop chase scene, a car chase scene, a boat chase scene and a plane chase scene. Friggin' awesome. Should've had a bike chase, a train chase, a helicopter chase, maybe even a space rocket chase. Then the movie would be complete. Haha.

Some stuff I was disappointed with or didn't like.

No catchphrase of Bond...James Bond.

Aston Martin treated badly.

James Bond falling through glass and ceilings and whatnot and still fit as a horse.

Camille Montes' gross scars on her back during the pier scene. Later explained that she was in a fire as a child. Made her look like Mohinder Suresh though. Haha.

I read somewhere, forgot where, that "It's a good action movie but not a good Bond movie". I can agree and disagree on this. It is a good action movie. No doubt about it. Not a good Bond movie? Questionable. If you're comparing to the typical Pierce Brosnan Bond, then CR and QoS aren't your cup of tea. But if you're the kind of person that appreciates the story behind everything, you'll appreciate the story of Bond early on in his espionage career and think this was a good film. Like me. So two different ways to look at it. And I find myself rating another movie in different ways again.

As an action flick, 4 out of 5 popcorns.

As a Bond film, 3.5 out of 5 popcorns.

Overall the movie for me was 3.75 out of 5 popcorns.

And I say the movie is well worth paying for to watch.

VOTE for me!