Some Thoughts On Quantum Of Solace

Note: This post contains SPOILERS

Rather than posting a review (which I'd already be late on, as it is), I'm instead going to turn this into a sort of response-to-general-criticism piece that happens to review the film at the same time.

First, let me just say this -- Quantum of Solace is not Casino Royale. A lot of people have been saying this, most of them disappointed with that revelation. However, I don't mean this as a negative. This is a film that is very much a natural progression of everything Casino Royale set up. Still, it's also a very different movie in many ways. Casino Royale had the unenviable task of reinventing a franchise. Fortunately, the film turned out to be something of a master work, at least in terms of redefining a decades-old series. And being the "first" movie in a franchise, it was also necessarily epic in scope.

So enter Quantum of Solace. This is a film that relies heavily on the audience having watched the first movie, having understood the new direction they were taking Bond in. This a modern, realistic Bond, set in a modern, realistic world. And he is more than the super-suave Bond your parents are familiar with. He is a highly efficient killer, but still a man with his own flaws and weaknesses. He hurts when you cut him. Cut him deeply enough, and he'll scar. This man carries the baggage of his past.

This is how we find Bond when Quantum of Solace starts, mere moments after the events of CR. We follow Bond as he gradually unravels the heavy tapestry of a mysterious organization working to undermine global stability. And while this business with global conspiracies must sound fairly standard for a Bond film, where QoS departs from traditional Bond plot lines is that it is a movie concerned chiefly with the psyche of its main character. The action is just a backdrop.

Critics and viewers who have complained about the lack of a plot or any sense of real emotion need to give the film another viewing. The plot is definitely there (albeit some of their concerns may be founded, but more on that later), and to proclaim the movie is emotionless and lacking in character development is dangerously close to lazy film digestion. The entire film is about Bond going through a profound but subtle transformation. After he was left vulnerable, betrayed, and deeply hurt by the death of Vesper Lynd in CR, he has to at least act like he can't be touched again. But really, QoS is about a strongly shaken Bond seeking a very personal form of revenge, and not just that, but also validation that his love and faith in Vesper were not misplaced. He is reckless. This is the Bond from CR unleashed. He wants to destroy, wants to kill, wants to exert his muscle-fortified will on everyone because it failed him so spectacularly in CR.

But then, he begins to change. Very subtly at first, but it's a momentous shift. Key to his transformation are Olga Kurylenko as Camille, Judi Dench as M, and Gemma Arterton as Strawberry Fields. Camille gives him someone to commiserate with. Her similar fate gives him a means for introspection, and in guiding her through her rage and despair, he finds a way through his own. M gives him someone to be accountable to, and she is also someone who sees his quest for what it really is, but still finds a way to trust him. She grounds him, however slightly, when he's lost all concern for anything but his own interests. And finally Fields humanizes him. Her death is an epiphanic moment for Bond, the idiomatic last straw spurring forward the understanding that is at the heart of his metamorphosis. He finally realizes that his actions have very real consequences for other people. All of their deaths carry weight now. For the first time, he feels guilty, he feels responsible. And in turn, this change allows him to confront everything Vesper's death meant to him. Having found this measure of solace, he is able to move on and take care of business. That is what the movie is about--James Bond becoming the James Bond we have come to know. We witness the growth; we see past the polished veneer and discover the scar tissue lying underneath it--damaged but stronger than before.

Now to address the plot issue. It's unfair to say the film has no plot, but this criticism is getting at a real problem of the film. Be it the script or Forster's direction, much of the plot isn't properly revealed. We're unsure who Bond's real target is during the movie, never certain how far up the ladder we're expected to go. We also can't see, even in a vague sense, where the movie is headed. Because of that, each location change or new development grows more and more disorienting. The climactic action sequence doesn't feel climactic; it could just be another action sequence in an action-heavy movie. Which leads to another of the movie's problems--Forster's work with the action sequences are hit or miss. Sometimes, they come off as the gritty and intense personal struggles they're meant to be. But more often than not, they're dizzily shot and difficult to follow. All of these things muddle the plot, forcing us to have to piece it together either on the fly or in retrospect. And when we finally come to the final scene, it's hard not to be left with a sense of dissatisfaction. It's a great scene, and a powerful conclusion, but doesn't carry the weight it should because we weren't properly greased for it. It feels like it could be the ending to a completely different movie. And for those obstacles, the movie may come off as plot-less.

But those who manage to identify the film for what it is before the end--that is, a deeply personal story of transformation for Bond--will find the ending to be a very logical and distinctly satisfying conclusion for the film. It’s a powerful end to a movie carried by powerful scenes, though it's true that the film is a bit lacking in connective tissue. Flawed though it may be, the film still advances a new Bond that is incredibly gratifying and exciting to watch. Naysayers complaining that the filmmakers are trying too hard to make him into Jason Bourne are misguided. This isn't Jason Bourne. This is the making of James Bond as Ian Fleming intended him to be--charming, deadly, but ultimately human. This movie does the heavy lifting for the entire re-invented franchise, bringing us ever closer to realizing this new Bond. And it is the Bond that I hope to see for years to come. I could watch a million 007 films about this James Bond, and I'm hoping the success of Quantum of Solace ensures that we see Craig continue his work in the 007 franchise for as long as it stays this fresh. Love it or hate it, QoS is definitely a necessary step in the right direction.