Sometimes Hollywood makes me proud. Most of the time it's through investigative documentaries like 'The Smartest Guys in the Room' and 'Deliver Us From Evil.' Other times its from small indie films like 'City of God,' or 'Slumdog Millionaire' (which I will review shortly). But there is also that rare time when a mainstream blockbuster will make me proud. A good example of that would be Blood Diamond: A successful message movie that masquerades quite well as an action adventure story. It is truly a feat to make a movie that is important to our time and still have a huge amount of people go see it. 'Quantum of Solace' is such a film. It portrays a sinister plot that is much closer to reality than any other Bond film has ever been (Thus it is actually somewhat educational) and it managed to rake in 70 million dollars over the first weekend. That means a huge amount of people went to see a popcorn blockbuster and unknowingly left with a generalized knowledge of how real world atrocities and modern government coups are actually performed. A viewer that sees this movie might have a better understanding of what is happening right now in the Congo or Darfur. In fact, this movie's nefarious scheme is loosely based on real events that took place in Bolivia in 2000. They were called the Cochamba Water Wars. Look it up. To me, seeing a bad guy doing evil that actually happened is a little more chilling than a bad guy with a volcano hideout threatening to take over the world.
What isn't realistic is how James Bond, played by Daniel Craig, is able to take down the entire conspiracy by brute force. He's quite a fighter yes, but he really is only one man. In many ways this movie is the opposite of 'The Dark Knight.' Instead of an 'insurmountable enemy' we have a 'indestructible hero' cliche. Bond is a man that can dodge machine gun fire, win fist fights in a matter of seconds, and spend quite a long time in burning rooms without getting too hot or dying of smoke inhalation. Still on principle I will give the movie a fresh rating. One because it succeeds, like 'The Dark Knight,' on a popcorn blockbuster level. And Two because I happen to agree with its political views, (unlike 'The Dark Knight.')
In comparing this movie to Casino Royale, it is hard which is better. Both have superior and inferior sequences relative to the other. The first picture had a much better action sequence. The second suffers from 'Michael Bay' syndrome. That is to say that it is cut so fast and so close that it is hard to tell what exactly is going on. Compare the roof chase in this movie to the roof chase in 'The Bourne Ultimatum.' They are shot in roughly the same style, but the 'Bourne' chase was much more effective because every once and a while they had the camera zoom out and give us some context as to the distance between the people, where they had come from, and where they we're going. 'Casino Royale' did that (with jokes I may add). This one didn't.
The bad guys in 'Quantum' are vastly superior to Le Chiffre in 'Casino Royale.' Mathieu Almaric plays the very sleazy Dominic Greene, the head of an organization that is using nefarious means to take control of the country's water supply. Once they have it, they will create a drought that will topple the democratic government. Through their corporation they will subsidize a renegade general to take over. In exchange for the subsidy the general will grant the corporation a legitimate monopoly over the supply and a large grant of land in which the underground reservoirs lie. Greene possesses no deformity like regular Bond villains. He doesn't have weird henchmen, or insane plans. He doesn't plan on taking over the world. He only wants the water. What makes this villain so scary is that he is the face of modern evil. People like him are not a fiction. (Another great movie about an evil water scheme based on true events: Chinatown.)
'Casino Royale' on the other hand was funnier than this movie. Craig was not so brooding, he had some witty banter going on. In this movie he is presented with situations that aren't so funny. A woman receives a tragic death, one that tops the gilded fate of an earlier bond girl. In this movie, Bond finds her on his bed covered in oil. She had been drowned in it.
'Quantum' has a better bond girl than 'Casino' did though. Her name is Camille and is played by Olga Kurylenko. Camille mirrors James in that she too is out for revenge. The general murdered her family in Haiti. (Quite believable. Generals have been doing that for centuries in Haiti). She has been waiting to get back at him for her entire life. Olga has a perfect delivery and timing to her lines. Her eyes burn hatred. She's beautiful but has a face of stony determination. She and James make a great pair. (I loved the little details here too. Notice the vaccination marks on Olga's arm. She truly is from a third world country.)
Overall Quantum is a very satisfying revenge tale and a righteous antidote to 'The Dark Knight.' It is one of this year's best blockbusters and a worthy addition to the Bond canon. Truly the entire Bond series has peaked in the 21st and 22nd installment.
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