Quantum of information

This is a picture of Daniel Craig, as James Bond, running along the roof of a hotel located in the middle of the desert. Who would stay there? No one, it seems, unless you're a criminal doing a dirty deal. Maybe it's just that the hotel hasn't officially been open to the public yet, or maybe I'm thinking too hard. It's a challenge to write critically about something that you really enjoy. For instance, I thoroughly enjoyed Quantum of Solace, yet I'm about to begin writing critically about it. Here we go.

Daniel Craig's James Bond, as I have previously stated, is closer to the books than the 20 movies proceeding Casino Royale had portrayed. The recent James Bond reminds us that killing isn't glamorous and is in fact a dirty business done by dirty people. (Sure all the ladies want to fuck James Bond, but do you really wanna live with him? The only reason that his apartment is clean is because he's never there. And while we're on the subject, have you seen the posts from women who want to fuck Heath Ledger's Joker? It's ridiculous. And insane. Do these ladies really think that they can survive the night with that psycho?)

Anyhow, Quantum of Solace was amazing to watch. The action, which was about 90% of the movie, was great, and inventive, highly stylized, really well done, packed a punch, etc. I have to say,though it makes me sound aged and infirm, that there was far too much cutting and breaking of the most basic rule in film, the 180 degree rule. I know that rules were made to be broken, but there is a scene in which Bond chases a criminal through a maze of underground sewer tunnels. Sometimes it seemed as if James Bond was no longer the pursuer but the pursued. Director Marc Forster could learn a few things from The Bourne Ultimatum, which had a ton of tightly filmed chase sequences. The thing that separates The Bourne Ultimatum from Quantum of Solace is that you never lost your place in Bourne. There were a few moments where I had to turn off and simply accept that I knew Bond was chasing the bad guy and just wait for the next clear depiction of that so I could participate in the film again.

Quantum of Solace did have its moments of greatness, like its nod to Goldfinger. I won't spoil that scene for you, but it's unmistakable and awesome. I felt that Quantum of Solace wanted to reference another Bond movie: From Russia With Love. The evil baddies in Quantum are a group of powerful people with a uniform motive, and I felt that Quantum was trying to be a bit of a throwback to S.P.E.C.T.R.E. (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion). But From Russia With Love did it better, and with more humor and irony. S.P.E.C.T.R.E.'s agents are everywhere, as are Quantum's, but Quantum is full of a bunch of people who are the same. S.P.E.C.T.R.E. is a group made up of wildly unique individuals. From Russia With Love shows us that in a 5 minute sequence. Quantum of Solace provides us with cursory and unsatisfying information regarding their villains in about 30 seconds. Advantage: From Russia With Love.

Go see Quantum of Solace. It is a crazy ride and you'll have a great time. The action is some of most fulfilling I've seen in a while, and the locations are grand and colorful. The only thing that seems to be left behind is plot, but it does exist, it's just very sparse. You might be reminiscing that the old Bond movies weren't very plot-heavy either, but I think you'll find that you are wrong. Go back and watch a few Connery / Moore Bond movies and you'll see just how deeply their plots go. There's something at stake in those movies, and you really feel that Bond is the only man for the job. Jason Bourne could've easily waltzed his way through Quantum of Solace and probably have cost his government a lot less money.