Daniel Craig reprises his role as James Bond in Quantum of Solace, which is a good thing since it picks up, quite literally, where Casino Royale left off. Daniel Craig offers a new type of James Bond, one who is less caviar and martini, and quite a bit more shaken and stirred, with some rough edges to be worked out... or stabbed into the nearest enemy operative. As we find 007 in the beginning of Quantum of Solace, he is heartbroken over the betrayal and loss of his leading lady and love-of-his-life (or at least the last half of the movie), Vesper Lynd, from the story in Casino Royale.
The story in Quantum of Solace introduces a mysterious organization called "Quantum," which seems to be essentially a privatized freelance multi-national intelligence agency with only its own interests in mind and global-class resources at its disposal. MI6's M and, quite frankly, the entire branch find themselves quite embarrassed to find that not only has Quantum been out there without MI6 having any knowledge of who or what it is, but the dastardly organization has people everywhere, as Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) so aptly put it. While MI6 seeks to find out more about the organization, Quantum is busy making nice with the shadier government organizations that, basically, make various corners of the globe run, playing each side against the middle in order to make a power play and extort tributes from whomever they choose to set in power. Their influence reaches far, indeed, and soon M is ordered to pull Bond back in. She reluctantly agrees to do so, but James Bond isn't about to let that happen; he has a mission to accomplish. This puts Bond at odds with both sides, leaving him a scarce few people he can trust as he seeks to take on the world to determine what Quantum is trying to do and to exact revenge on those who have killed someone for whom he cared a great deal.
Although Vesper died in the last film, this film does have its share of "Bond Girls." First, there is the "main" Bond Girl in the film, Camille (Olga Kurylenko, Max Payne), who is seeking revenge against the evil dictator who personally killed her father, ravaged and killed her mother and sister, and then set her house ablaze and left her behind to die. The other Bond Girl in Quantum of Solace is Strawberry Fields (Gemma Arterton), a young office girl from MI6 who was simply supposed to bring Bond in, but both she and James both end up seeing action in the field.
Action fans have reason to rejoice. The movie's first scene opens onto a very fast, very confined, very expensive car chase with automatic weapons. You also get a close quarters knife fight, an escape and subsequent chase through the cavernous underworld and rooftops of an ancient, rustic city, assassination attempts, a boat chase, a fight that takes place hanging from ropes, ceiling and scaffolding and a final fight in a building that is both exploding and burning down around everyone. There may be a dull moment to be found, but you'd have to seek them out and keep your eyes peeled or you might miss them.
Quantum of Solace is a great movie in its own right, but, if you're interested in behind-the-scenes information, the special features have a lot to offer. One thing that I noticed in the movie, but didn't fully appreciate until I watched the special features, was the use of "retro" styled elements in the film, to connect with the era from which 007 sprang, such as the prop airplane used in the dogfight sequence and the look designed for Strawberry Fields' character. Other elements have been highly modernized. I'm specifically referring to MI6's headquarters. They have an intel room that is reminiscent of Minority Report, but looks like it could almost be built today, with the Microsoft Surface or similar multi-touch interfaces.
If you liked Casino Royale, you'll enjoy Quantum of Solace. While its not quite as good, its still a really fun ride.
* Yes, yes, I know, I know. Quantum of Solace is, in fact, the 22nd Bond film. I just kept hearing this in passing and, sadly, it threw me.
