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Quantum of Solace Movie Review

“You shot him at point blank and threw him off a roof.  I’d hardly call that showing restraint.” - M
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Quantum of Solace is directed by Marc Forster and is the second film to star Daniel Craig as James Bond.  The film also stars Judi Dench, Olga Kurylenko, Gemma Arterton, and Mathieu Amalric.  Taking place directly after the events of Casino Royale, this film finds James Bond investigating Quantum, a mysterious organization responsible for the death of someone close to him.  His investigation leads him to Dominic Greene, a member of Quantum who is trying to occupy territory in Bolivia.  Throughout the film, Bond tails Greene in hope of finding answers as to what Quantum is.
Casino Royale gave the Bond series a fresh new feel and showed us what a dark version of Agent 007 would look like.  Quantum of Solace keeps the grittiness and violence of Casino Royale, but there doesn’t seem to be as much passion or originality as there was in its predecessor.  It also doesn’t seem to know how to be graceful like Casino Royale was.  All of the smoothness of that film is replaced with brute force in this one.    
The editing and cinematography are quite ugly in this film.  The reason Casino Royale had such great action scenes was that they were filmed using long takes and wide shots, allowing the viewer to clearly see everything that was going on.  In Quantum of Solace, all of the action scenes except for one are plagued by constant quick cuts and are filmed using a variety of jarring close-up shots which make the film look incredibly chaotic and jumbled. 
The character development is also not great.  Dominic Greene, the film’s villain, is boring and uninteresting.  He doesn’t seem to have any real motivation for doing the things he does.  There’s no reason for his actions.  He comes off as an angry man in a suit, not a Bond villain.  Bond villains are supposed to be intimidating and tough, and Greene is neither.
The opening song by Jack White and Alicia Keys is lackluster at best when it comes to vocal performance.  The instrumentals are great though, and the visual components of the opening sequence are interesting and fun to look at.  The musical score throughout the rest of the film is quite good and is enjoyable to listen to.  It’s just a shame that the actual movie isn’t as good as its music.  
Quantum of Solace isn’t a terrible movie though.  It also has a few things I really enjoyed and appreciated.  For example, Daniel Craig is magnificent as Bond.  He retains all of his wit, charm, and total badassery that was present in Casino Royale.  The rest of the acting isn’t bad either, and you can tell that all of the actors are really trying their best even though neither Marc Forster’s direction nor the script is very good.
In the end, Quantum of Solace is not a great film.  But it’s not as bad as some people make it out to be.  This is by no means a horrible movie.  There are many things to appreciate here, and I had a relatively enjoyable time watching it.  That being said, it isn’t enjoyable enough for me to watch it again any time soon.
Rating: PG-13
Grade: C+

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