Quantum of Solace (Marc Forster, 2008) Review

And here we have the only direct sequel in the Bond franchise. It was a bold step but there was much of the story left to resolve. So the darker, more action orientated take on Bond that Daniel Craig managed to pull off surprisingly well. Does a new idea in the Bond world work or not? Let's find out!

When we last left Bond (Daniel Craig), he had been betrayed by Vesper who died in the process. Now Bond wants revenge on a organisation called Quantum. Bond finds that Quantum is linked with a man named Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) who wishes to take over a part of Bolivia so that some clients of his can use it for themselves. Bond teams up with Camille (Olga Kurylenko) to try and take down Greene and Quantum since the CIA have chosen to ignore this. M (Judi Dench) is unsure if she can trust a revenge fuelled Bond but only time will tell if he will succeed.

I feel that this was much more action driven. There was lots of action last time, that's for sure, but there were lots of moments otherwise. All I remember specifically is action. The opening car chase, the chase later on, the finale etcetera...and while that's good and all, that was only part of what makes Bond so good. The Bond girls (which are alright), the villain (not very memorable), the cars (this one has a very nice one) and the gadgets (...non existent this time, I'm afraid). Still, Craig is good as Bond and the action is pretty good...plus I love me some revenge plots (Licence to Kill for example).

I feel all the REALLY good stuff went into Casino Royale. Sure, Quantum of Solace is good but it's not AS good as Casino Royale. Olga Kurylenko is very good but was it just me or did the other Bond girl, Strawberry Fields (Gemma Arterton), die in a rip off of Goldfinger? How do you rip off yourself?! Dominic Greene is okay, I guess. Once again, they missed out on a classic Bond finale. While Bond DID fight Greene, he didn't finish him off...aw well. At least they tried.

Quantum of Solace is a decent sequel to one of the best Bond films. The action is good, Daniel Craig is still a great Bond and it finishes off what Casino Royale started. It's not as good as Casino Royale but it's good enough. Anyway, join me on my next review of one of my most aniticipated films of the year: Skyfall (when it crumbles, we will stand taaaaall and face it all!)

Verdict:
8/10
A good sequel to Casino Royale. It continues some of the great things from that film but misses just a few aspects that made the previous one so good.