Movie Review: Quantum of Solace

The 22nd official James Bond film released this past weekend. I'm a fan of Bond movies, and the hype has been up since Casino Royale a couple of years ago. It wasn't too hard to talk my friends into going to see the new flick. On Saturday night, I put down my $7.50 (yeah, student discount) and sat back to enjoy a thrill ride of a flick. Here are my thoughts.

Plot: Ego-maniacal bad guy has plans to destabilize a country and make a ton of money. Said bad guy is part of a secretive bad guy organization. Bond sniffs out the plan and goes about trying to stop it.

Starring: Daniel Craig in his second spin as Bond, Judi Dench as M, Mathieu Amalric as the bad guy, and Olga Kurylenko as Camille (aka, the Bond girl...no complaints from me).


Review: Easily the most action packed and fast paced Bond movie ever made. Right from the beginning (about 5 minutes after the end of Casino Royale), the movie hits the accelerator and never really lets up. Of course, cramming in all of these action sequences does come at the cost of the story and character development. I'm not really complaining about this though. Honestly, I don't go to a Bond movie for spectacular plot and character development. I feel like you still find the character of Bond continue being formed throughout the flick. After watching the movie, the title for the film makes a lot more sense, but I won't explain it at the risk of giving things away (not a major spoiler, but still a potential spoiler).

I felt the plot builds its way throughout the movie, and for the most part, the audience learns things as Bond does. It was nicely done and keeps you engaged during the non-action sequences. As for the action, exhilarating is a good word to describe it. A combination of handheld camera shakiness and stationary angles. Craig continues to deliver as Bond, but does not yet have that suave/charming aspect down yet. I'm hoping that will continue to evolve as the character of Bond does in these newer series of films. Olga Kurylenko is very attractive, and her character weaves through the story convincingly.

Final Analysis: 4 out of 5 stars. Recommend viewing for fans of Bond, action movies, and entertaining thrill rides. Sit back and enjoy.