Movie Review: Quantum of Solace (2008)

After a masterful performance in Casino Royale, Daniel Craig as James Bond has degenerated into a generic action character that relies less on the combination of savvy and skill and more on ruthless brute force. The last time I checked, Bruce Willis in Die Hard was doing that sort of thing.

But ironically, what makes Quantum of Solace a bit of a joy to watch are the very good action and chase sequences in the first act of the film. We see a finely crafted car chase scene in the Italian highway and a run-around in a town Siena, Italy. Somewhere in the middle of the movie, action sequences were superimposed with an operatic soundtrack. Pretty spiffy, if you ask me.

But the real let down is the story. James Bond films were always about villains and their schemes that were easily understood by the audience. The villain was really a scrub, and the scheme was pretty weak. And how it was tied down together was really confusing at times. I can't help but compare this Quantum of Solace to Casino Royale. If Casino Royale was a royal flush, Quantum of Solace is just a straight.

Rating: 2.5/5