Bond Secret File #22 - Quantum of Solace

Introduction: 7/10

The key ingredient to a Bond film is an exhilarating, unique and entertaining opening followed by a good theme song.  Quantum of Solace has neither of those.  While the chase scene, which picks up directly where the last film left off, is well done it really isn't anything special for a James Bond film, especially a film which has the daunting task of following one of the best Bond films to date.

Title Song: 3/10

Officially the worst Bond song to date.  Originally this great honor was supposed to go to Amy Winehouse (which I was extremely looking forward to because she's a great singer), but due to her drug issues the performance of the theme song was handed to Alicia Keys and Jack White, a combination which screams really asks "what where they thinking!"  The title song Another Way To Die can literally be described as noise.

Another player with the slick trigger finger for Her Majesty. Another one with the golden tone voice
poisoning your fantasy. Another bill from a killer turned a thriller into a tragedy

A door left open. A woman walking by. A drop in the water. A look in the eye. A phone on the table. A man on your side. Oh, someone that you think that you can trust is just, another way to die.

Another tricky little gun giving solace to the one that will never see the sunshine.  Another inch of your life sacrificed for your brother, in the nick of time.  Another dirty money “heaven sent honey”, turning on a dime.

Well, a door left open. A woman walking by. A drop in the water. A look in the eye. A phone on the table.
A man on your side. Someone that you think that you can trust. Is just. Another way to die.

Hey! Another way to die!  (Another way to die…) Shoot ‘em, bang bang! Oh oh oh oh oh oh! Oh oh oh oh oh oh! Oh oh oh oh oh oh! Oh oh oh oh oh oh…

Yeah. Hey hey hey! Another girl with her finger. On the world singing too. Don’t you wanna hear? Another gun thrown down and surrendered. Took away your fear. Hey! Another man that stands right behind you looking in the mirror

Oh, a door left open. A woman walking by. A drop in the water. A look in the eye. A phone on the table. A man on your side. Someone that you think that you can trust. Is just. Another way to die.

It’s another way! Shoot ’em up, bang bang! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! (Another way, another way…) Yeah!(Another way, another way…

Bond: 8/10 

I had nothing but good things to say about Daniel Craig in the first film, but the second time around there doesn't appear to be much improvement in the character, or overall performance of Craig.  Now I understand there's not much time in between the occurrences of these two films for any real major character changes, but this time around Craig actually appears to be quite dull, where in the previous film we saw a wide variety of emotion from Bond.  Possibly that was the idea the writers had going into this sequel, but I didn't find it as effective in the film. 

Bond Girls:

 

Camille Montes: 7/10

Supposed girlfriend of the film's main villain, Dominic Greene, Camille motives for being with Greene are solely to gain access to General Medrano the man who killed her father and mother and left her to die inside their burning home when she was a child.  Bond interrupts her attempt in killing Medrano and spends the rest of the film, like Bond, seeking retribution for the murder of those she loved.  Camille is played by newcomer Olga Kurylenko, whom you might remember from the horrible film Hitman.  While that film was bad Olga's character was one that would have been an excellent Bond girl.  I felt her character in Quantum of Solace, like Bond, was rather dull, one dimensional and doesn't provide the viewers anything to get caught up in like Eva Green.

Strawberry Fields: 6/10

An MI6 file collector sent to collect Bond and bring him back to London.  Her role is remarkably short, and uninteresting.  Basically she's the kick start to Bond's random womanizing, as he woos her and she ultimately meets an untimely demise.  Ironically that demise is probably the best scene for her character as it's a blatant homage to one of the best Bond films, Goldfinger.

The Villains:

Dominic Greene: 8/10 

Part of the organization known as Quantum (possibly the same as S.P.E.C.T.R.E) Greene is using his environmental endeavors as a cover for inter-country domination.  Staging a coo in Bolivia and gaining control over the countries water supply Greene seems to be successfully playing his cards, that is until Bond comes along.  Greene is a weaselly type Bond villain, someone it's easy to dislike and believe, he's not the best of the Bond villains but he definitely provides a conceiving performance.

General Medrano: 6/10

Other than the fact Medrano killed Camille's family in the past he's pretty much only a pawn in the main plot of the film.  Greene promises him a military coo in Bolivia to help him regain his power, in exchange Greene wants the Bolivian desert, a seemingly worthless plot of land that actually holds the entire countries water reserve underground.

Total Rating : 6.5/10
Overall (Including Film Rating) : 7/10

7/10