Back in action!
By Waqas Hassan Sharif
‘Quantum of Solace’ is an actual sequel of Casino Royale with Daniel Craig now firmly establishing ownership of 007 on his second outing...
Opera plots are often far-fetched and illogical. We shouldn’t be surprised that Bond movies are the same. At their best, they provide us with the same excitement and escapism. Bond is the longest-running film franchise (‘Quantum of Solace’ is No. 22). Previously, the Bond films have been a series, but ‘Quantum of Solace’ is an actual sequel - an approach Ian Fleming used in his books, but which was dropped from the movies because the novels were filmed out of order.
Daniel Craig has really settled into the role of Bond, making it completely his own and even bringing a slightly softer side that previous Bonds have lacked. Blue eyes on fire and jaw set to resolute, Daniel Craig clearly owns Bond in Quantum of Solace: but it’s the relentless pace, the quality of art direction and production design - in fact, director Marc Forster’s sheer technical ambition - which raise the bar and make this one of the most remarkable action films ever made.
The story carries on where ‘Casino Royale’ left off. Intelligence surrounding an MI6 traitor who almost kills M (Dench) sends James Bond (Craig) to a bank in Haiti, where a case of mistaken identity introduces him to beautiful Camille (Kurylenko), a woman with her own vendetta. She in turn leads him to ruthless businessman Dominic Greene (Amalric) who is also linked to the mysterious organisation that blackmailed the woman Bond loved. Bond’s mission takes him to Italy, Austria and South America as he discovers Greene is conspiring to take control of one of the world’s most important natural resources and must find a way to stop him.
Frenetic, full of chase sequences and sudden switches in location, the film has a demented energy about it. Bond has been shown racing through gutters, alleyways and over rooftops. We’ve seen him in a motorbike and on a boat. Not much later, he’s in a plane. The breathless antics may be more Jason Bourne than James Bond but that doesn’t prevent 007’s latest excursion from exerting a fierce grip that never really lets go of your senses from the traditional opening car chase - this time in the Italian Alps - to the closing scenes across the arid plains of Bolivia.
In an era marked by franchise bloat, it’s entirely admirable that ‘Quantum of Solace’ is the shortest Bond movie to date - it drops a great many of the long-running series mannerisms (callous quips, expository lectures, travelogue padding, Q and Moneypenny) as it globe-trots urgently from Italy to Haiti to Austria to Italy again to Bolivia to Russia with stopovers in London and other interzones.
As for the Bond girls, Olga Kurylenko is superb as Camille (delivering an impressive Spanish accent) and her hard-edged quest for vengeance leads to one of the best scenes as Bond advises her on how to kill her prey. Gemma Arterton is equally good as Agent Fields (we only find out her first name during the end credits), but she’s given woefully little screen time, to the point where you wonder if some of 
her scenes were cut out. As a more typical Bond girl, Gemma Arterton dispenses a disarming brand of cool chic.
With Daniel Craig now firmly establishing ownership of 007 on his second outing, the franchise looks safe in his hands for further global domination at the box office. Tightly scripted, it delivers handsomely on spectacular set pieces in exotic locales from the Italian Alps to arid planes of Chile. All in all strong performances, a hard-edged script and terrific action sequences make Quantum of Solace a highly enjoyable Bond movie.
* The film is being shown @ Cineplex and cinemas all over Pakistan.
No comments:
Post a Comment