Quantum of Solace (2008)

 

That escalated quickly. 

The reboot/rebranding of Bond with Daniel Craig was off to a great start, as 'Casino Royale' was a damn great film. Maybe a tad too long, but it did what it set out to do with gusto. 

Then why is 'Quantum of Solace' an incomprehensible mess of a film? 

Picking up almost immediately where the previous one left off, Bond is delivering mr White to M, but it turns out that one of her bodyguards also works for the shady organisation that was hinted at in the previous one. 

Look: I know it's Spectre, you know it's Spectre, but the film keeps insisting it is called Quantum and will drop the pretense by the next film, so who gives a toss anyway?

It's most definitely Spectre, though.

Then Bond is trying to find out more about this organisation, which leads him to Dominic Greene, CEO of a company that on the surface is investing in ecological preservation, but which in fact - and here comes the massive shock literally no one got - is a front for shady dealings and part of a greater organisation set to destabilize the world for profit. 

No really: colour us surprised. 

There's a subplot with Olga Kurylenko as a woman who seeks revenge on a Bolivian general who wants to become the next president and Greene is after Bolivia's water supply, but it all amounts to absolutely nothing. It's not as if Bond's intervention stops the organisation from still controlling Bolivia.

Yes, you heard me: nothing Bond does in this film has any consequence whatsoever. He does manage to get Mathis (from the previous film) and Strawberry Fields (Gemma Arterton) killed, though. 

And I am not joking about Arterton's character. That really is her name, even if it's never mentioned in the film. 

If you're wondering why my description of what happens is so succinct, it's because not much happens. The film is mercifully short and yet it tries to cram in so much it feels like a bloated bowl of M&M's laced soup. No, that metaphor doesn't make sense, but neither does this film. 

What doesn't help, is that the action is cut and edited in that incomprehensible ADD-fashion. Seriously: if you can follow what is happening during these scenes, I tip my hat to you. For some strange reason, the director thought it was a good idea to have action shots not last longer than two seconds, and the simple rule of establishing direction is immediately thrown out of the window. If you can survive the fit-inducing opening carchase, well then: bravo. 

It's not a total loss, as Daniel Craig is great in the role and Judi Dench has more to do as M. In fact, it's these two that save the film from being a total disaster. But saying it's not a 'total disaster' doesn't stop this one from being an absolute clusterfuck.