Quantum Of Solace

Quantum of Solace is a unique entry in the James Bond series in many ways, writes our movie critic Carl Jones.

For starters, it's the first film with a story which follows on directly from its predecessor.

It's more brutal, bruising and unforgiving than any 007 movie in history.

At just one hour 45 minutes, it's the shortest.

Is Carl shaken or stirred by Bond

And without doubt, its ruthless disregard for virtually all the traditions which have earned Ian Fleming's spy his place in cinema's hall of fame will divide fans right down the middle.

So, yes, it's most certainly a memorable affair.

When Daniel Craig signed up for Her Majesty's Secret Service in 2005, this is undoubtedly the sort of film he had in mind, full of steely determination, pent-up rage and no-nonsense stuntwork.

But please, Mr Bond, can we have a little more humour to keep the family audience amused?

No-one wants a return to the safari-suited Roger Moore era – that simply wouldn't wash in the far more cynical and suspicious 21st Century. But if we can't have Moneypenny or Q, at least flood the screen with iconic Bondian images, drop-dead cool moments, and for the guys, a feeling that "I wish I could be that man".

Quantum of Solace has no time for such niceties. It's loud, brash, frenetically edited, and 100-miles-an-hour right from the opening pre-credits sequence, a breathless Aston Martin car chase around the shores of Lake Garda.

Bond is hunting down the mysterious Quantum organisation which he holds responsible for the death of his girlfriend Vesper Lynd at the end of Casino Royale. The trail sends him criss-crossing the world from Haiti, Panama, and Bolivia to Austria, Italy, Russia and London, by twin-engined plane, motorbike and speedboat.

En route, he encounters feisty Camille (Olga Kurylenko) who is on her own mission of revenge, and has an all-too-brief encounter with prim and proper MI6 agent Fields (Gemma Arterton), before sniffing out oily tycoon Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) who is up to something very below-board in Bolivia.

This is not a James Bond movie. It's a Daniel Craig action thriller. He carries it from start to finish, and carries it well. As a result, though, apart from Judi Dench who gets a couple of scene-stealing moments as M, the rest of the cast have little room to shine.

Kurylenko, surely one of the most beautiful Bond girls ever, does her best with a too peripheral part, and what should have been the most iconic scene of the film featuring rising starlet Arterton is tamely wasted.

Many of the production crew from the Jason Bourne series have been enlisted to give Quantum a more uncompromising attitude, and it shows throughout.

Craig launches himself into the stunt scenes with almost frightening determination, including a frenetic chase with hand-held cameras across rooftops and underground in the historic Italian city of Siena. Despite the lean running time, the movie packs in more action than any other 007 adventure.

The 40-year-old star makes no apologies for the fact that Bond has fewer catchy one-liners and is seemingly a more emotional man.

"It makes for more interesting viewing," he claims.

"I've genuinely pinched a lot from Ian Fleming, I think his Bond is very psychological, he thinks about things, he's morally ambiguous, he's an assassin, he kills people for a living, but he always goes after the bad guys."

Frenchman Amalric sums up the movie's attitude: "After Casino Royale, Bond is almost a broken heart, he wants to know why this girl Vesper committed suicide in front of his eyes. Why did she betray him? And now it's about the good and the bad inside himself, is he an assassin or is he a secret agent?"

Therein, for me, lies the disappointment. We're not sure. And however bare you strip the formula, if James Bond is to appeal to the mass market audience eagerly awaiting his next assignment, he should always be first and foremost a secret agent.

Otherwise, he becomes just another bloke who kills people.

A licence to kill is all well and good, but without a licence to thrill too, it doesn't pack the trademark 007 punch.

Rating: 6/10

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