Quantum of Solace

After his phenomenal portrayal of James Bond in 2006’s Casino Royale, many thought that Daniel Craig had the potential to strike cinematic gold for a second time. Unfortunately, the latest 007 installment failed to live up to all of the hype.

Craig’s shaky, erratic performance of Bond was pointedly off base. Although the character is traditionally known for his cool head and even temper, Craig portrayed him irrational and unstable.

Instead of being a charming man of mystery, Quantum of Solace’s hero was an angry, vengeful bully whose belief in rogue, self-implemented justice left a path of destruction in his wake. This new approach seemed to cause him to abandon his sense of judgment, throw caution to the wind, and completely forget his duty to serve his country before his own interests.

However, Craig cannot be expected to shoulder all of the blame for the film’s many shortcomings. A weak plot combined with unrealistic characters and an overly politicized message also crippled its quality.

The film attempted to take the series in a new direction by shifting the blame for acts of terror and injustice on the tainted interests of first-world governments. By calling into question the morality of their actions, Quantum of Solace creates a setting in which the world is dominated solely by greed. To me, this seemed a bit too extreme. Although there is certainly widespread corruption and conspiracies between government officials, the idea that almost all people in power are inherently evil was overwhelmingly pessimistic.

The situation also created a ridiculous double standard regarding the methods that one can take to achieve justice. While Bond is infuriated by the murder of innocent people, he has no qualms about killing them for revenge. He hates terror organizations for working outside the legal system to get what they want, yet Bond often ignores the direct orders of his superiors to advance his own agenda.

I also took issue with the fact that Quantum of Solace relied heavily on the plot of Casino Royale. Unlike past Bond movies, which could be seen as seperate entities, this film took for granted that the audience had seen the previous Bond flick.

Although the film lacked plot substance, its stunning action sequences deserve to be commended. Quantum of  Solace’s breathtaking car chases, boat crashes, and explosions  were the only reminents linking it to traditional Bond films.