Small Measure of Solace

Today I caught the latest James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. You may recall that I mostly liked the previous installment, Casino Royale, though with a few reservations.

Most of what was good about that film continues to be good here. Daniel Craig continues to play a "weightier" Bond that feels and evokes some genuine emotion, rather than glibly gliding through a fantasy. It's a good tone for the franchise, and meshes well with Judi Dench's incarnation of M (as well as the other returning characters from the previous installment).

This film picks up the story within an hour of where the last film ended, and tells the tale of Bond's search for revenge, and discovery of a powerful and secret criminal organization along the way. It's a pretty good set-up for a fun ride. Given the gravitas Daniel Craig brings to the role, I would have wished for some more examination of revenge and what the quest for it does to a person. Nevertheless, I understand these movies are supposed to be whiz-bang action adventures first and foremost, so I can't hold that too much against the film.

But what I can hold against it is that all said action and adventure was just this side of terrible. The cinematography and editing of this film is some of the worst I can recall ever seeing. It's all shaky, close-up, and visceral in the manner of so many modern movies -- but that alone does not put me off as it would some people. It may make some people motion sick, but I feel this style of filmmaking can be done very well and be very effectively.

That was not the case here. The writers skillfully found logical ways to weave in a car chase, foot race, boat chase, and plane fight, all in under two hours, but not a one of these sequences is comprehensible. There's never 10 consecutive seconds of action in the movie where you can actually follow what's going on. Effects happen with no clear cause. The sense of geography, where everyone and everything is in relation to each other, is repeatedly muddled. Cuts are too quick for the eye to register what's happening, too quick for there to even be a gut response. You lose the very core of what you go to these kinds of movies to see -- I never once thought, "wow, that was cool!" because I was too busy going, "wait, what was that?"

In short, I feel like there was a pretty good script here (and a great cast), but it failed in bringing what was on the page to the screen. I give it a C+. I hope that Bond will do much better next time around,