QUANTUM OF SOLACE

quantum

Overall Impression — Gone are the quips, the easy going air of superiority.  It’s an action movie, first and foremost and a well-structured one with an interesting stakes character.

THE FOUR QUESTIONS

Who’s your main character? — James Bond

What’s he trying to accomplish? — Defeat the plans of the evil Dominic Greene (professional), keep Camille safe as she seeks revenge (personal), and avenge the death of his girlfriend Vesper Lynd (private).

Who’s trying to stop him? — Dominic Greene.

What happens if he fails? — Camille dies, and the South American peasants are left without water.

THE FOUR ARCHETYPES

Orphan — Bond is all alone after the death of Vesper Lynd in CASINO ROYALE.  Even though he’s called off by M, he continues to seek vengeance and is the outcast of MI-6.

Wanderer — Bond travels to various exotic locations (apparently, the most in any Bond film) following the trail and leads which will bring him to those who betrayed and killed Vesper.

Warrior — Bond meets Camille, saves her and realizes that they have a shared destiny.  He now knows who is behind Vesper’s death (Greene) and is actively pursuing him and the cartel who are threatening

Martyr — Bond is willing to give up his own life to help Camille get the revenge that he himself was unable to get.

AND, IN THE END…

I’m not sure who pulled the trigger (so to speak) on the idea of making Bond the “blunt object” that M accused him of being in the previous Bond movie (CASINO ROYALE) but blunt he is.  I saw a review that likened Daniel Craig to a crash test dummy.  He certainly doesn’t get much chance to emote, and his Bond doesn’t arouse much empathy for a man who just lost the one girl who could love him for who he is.  That being said, the film follows the rules of structure and thanks to hyperkinetic action is never uninteresting to watch.  Tellingly though, neither the story nor Bond’s journey lingers in memory.  Ultimately this is a film that leaves us shaken, but not stirred.

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