Friday, November 7, 2008

QUANTUM OF SOLACE

QUANTUM OF SOLACE
Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Dame Judi Dench, Mathieu Amalric, Giancarlo Giannini, Jeffrey Wright.


Cinema 2, Shang Cineplex



Bond. James Bond is back with a vengeance!

This time in an intensity filled, action packed movie with a strange title, Quantum of Solace. A fitting continuation to the previous offer, "Casino Royale", it kicks off with an exciting high speed car chase through the narrow, winding streets of Italy.

His main motivation is to avenge the death of Vesper Lynd. The woman who doublecrossed him and paid dearly for it with her life. The woman, he fell utterly in love with, so much so that he tendered his letter of resignation from the British intelligence agency! In "Quantum of Solace", he puts up a tough exterior to show that he has moved on with his life yet we all know he is still deeply hurt by the deceit as well as the death of his lady love.

His quest to trace the organization who manipulated her leads him to the most exotic places on earth. From the narrow streets of Tuscany, the villas in Italy, the chaotic Haiti, the charming Austria to the vibrant South American cities. He is relentless in his pursuit as he figures in all types of races from boat, high speed cars to bikes. He is also constantly fending off attacks from his assailants that "M" berates him for killing everyone since they need them alive to be interrogated. Yet Bond is still ably guided by the indomitable "M" who has the latest technology at her disposal.

Yet you somehow get the impression that you aren't watching a Bond movie. There are no fancy gadgets, no worldwide threat, no political intrigues, no shaken not stirred martinis, no maniacal villain, no memorable one liners and he doesn't even get to bed the official Bond girl.

Nevertheless I thoroughly enjoyed this second installment of Daniel Craig as 007. I even prefer it to "Casino Royale" with its boring casino sessions. In "Quantum of Solace", he is more believable with just the right blend of ruggedness, maturity and wisdom mixed together for a modern day spy dealing with relevant current issues like environmentalism, covert conglomerates and corruption at the highest level.

My only misgivings are the dizzying action sequences. Since they were filmed using hand held cameras it gave me headaches. And I was disappointed with the lousy theme song. Alicia Keyes was shouting at the top of her lungs and the song itself is utterly forgettable. Anyways inspite and despite these distractions, I was one very satisfied Bond fan!

No comments: