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I had to watch the latest Bond movie twice, "Quantum of Solace," to make sure I
wasn't missing something. Following in the tire tracks of the fantastic 2006
Bond re-boot, "Casino Royale," "Solace" doesn't quite capture the intricate
storyline and toughness of that picture.
“Quantum of Solace" is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. This is a review of the Blu-ray.
It might be unfair to compare the two Daniel Craig as James Bond films. Unfortunately, "Royale" raised the bar very high. After seeing that film, I sat there and said, "Wow!" It takes a lot for a movie these days to impress me, but that film reinvented the Bond mythology and took it to a new level. Bond was back, and he was exciting to watch.
"Solace" opens with an exciting action sequence with Bond battling the bad guys on a road with hairpin turns. We soon discover that this is a continuation of "Royale." Bond is ticked and ready for revenge at all costs. That's where the film lost me. Bond is normally cool under pressure. He's not a revenge seeker. A good or great Bond movie has a solid plot and a villian worthy of Bond's mission. This movie has none of that, unfortunately.
I do understand that this is essentially an extension of "Royale" -- the second half of that film, if you will. But if both movies were combined into one 3 or 4 hour epic, the second half would fall flat.
Daniel Craig surprised a lot Bond fans with his version of the Sean Connery/George Lazenby/Roger Moore/Timothy Dalton/Pierce Brosnan spy character. He brought some of the grit of Connery back to the role, while adding his own persona. He is a good Bond. Yet in "Solace," we're given a one-dimensional Bond. He's expressionless and too cold. This isn't a Bond movie you warm up to.
I can sort of buy Bond's ticked off for the death of his honey in the last movie, Vesper (Eva Green). She was hot and there was some chemistry between her and Bond. But the cheeky charm of Bond is that he'll find and bed another woman! No time for grief! We never saw a Bond grieve after Lazenby did in the underrated "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969). It wasn't necessary.
The villains in "Solace" aren't anything to email your friends about. Evilness aside, there's nothing really memorable about Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), other than his appearance reminds me of Roman Polanski in "Chinatown."
The Bond girls, as usual, are still pretty and hot. Olga Kurylenko has the looks, but doesn't have much depth to her character. I liked that Eva Green had some spunk to her Vesper character. Kurylenko, unfortunately, is more eye candy here.
On the positive side, the film runs quickly and the action scenes, like almost any Bond film, do hold your interest. Bond films are known for their precision stunts and clever camerawork. My issue with this film, in particular, is that it seems the filmmakers are relying on digital effects too much. It's not to say that other Bond movies didn't rely on then-current effects technology or some poor rear projection work. But I suppose I'm saying I miss the practical stunts and real world action. This film does have that, yet I felt I could pinpoint the visual effects work too often.
The Blu-ray is nothing short of stunning in every regard. It looks and sounds fantastic. The picture is rock solid without looking too over done. Craig's blue eyes pierce the screen while Kurylenko's bronze tan shines.
The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is very powerful, sending your speakers into hyperdrive. I found myself turning down the volume a bit just so I didn't disturb my neighbors! As a preference, I prefer an uncompressed PCM audio option on Blu-ray discs, but the DTS-HD tracks are very good. There's plenty of bass action when appropriate and dialogue is clear.
Some Bond fans will enjoy "Solace," while others won't find it as entertaining. I'm in the latter camp on this one. Though not the worst Bond, it doesn't rank up there for me as high as "Casino Royale" has for the more modern Bond flicks. It isn't as bad as "License To Kill" (1989), either. This is so-so Bond.
Bill Kallay
Special thanks to Click Communications
Photos: © Danjaq LLC. All rights reserved.
“Quantum of Solace" is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. This is a review of the Blu-ray.
It might be unfair to compare the two Daniel Craig as James Bond films. Unfortunately, "Royale" raised the bar very high. After seeing that film, I sat there and said, "Wow!" It takes a lot for a movie these days to impress me, but that film reinvented the Bond mythology and took it to a new level. Bond was back, and he was exciting to watch.
"Solace" opens with an exciting action sequence with Bond battling the bad guys on a road with hairpin turns. We soon discover that this is a continuation of "Royale." Bond is ticked and ready for revenge at all costs. That's where the film lost me. Bond is normally cool under pressure. He's not a revenge seeker. A good or great Bond movie has a solid plot and a villian worthy of Bond's mission. This movie has none of that, unfortunately.
I do understand that this is essentially an extension of "Royale" -- the second half of that film, if you will. But if both movies were combined into one 3 or 4 hour epic, the second half would fall flat.
Daniel Craig surprised a lot Bond fans with his version of the Sean Connery/George Lazenby/Roger Moore/Timothy Dalton/Pierce Brosnan spy character. He brought some of the grit of Connery back to the role, while adding his own persona. He is a good Bond. Yet in "Solace," we're given a one-dimensional Bond. He's expressionless and too cold. This isn't a Bond movie you warm up to.
I can sort of buy Bond's ticked off for the death of his honey in the last movie, Vesper (Eva Green). She was hot and there was some chemistry between her and Bond. But the cheeky charm of Bond is that he'll find and bed another woman! No time for grief! We never saw a Bond grieve after Lazenby did in the underrated "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969). It wasn't necessary.
The villains in "Solace" aren't anything to email your friends about. Evilness aside, there's nothing really memorable about Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), other than his appearance reminds me of Roman Polanski in "Chinatown."
The Bond girls, as usual, are still pretty and hot. Olga Kurylenko has the looks, but doesn't have much depth to her character. I liked that Eva Green had some spunk to her Vesper character. Kurylenko, unfortunately, is more eye candy here.
On the positive side, the film runs quickly and the action scenes, like almost any Bond film, do hold your interest. Bond films are known for their precision stunts and clever camerawork. My issue with this film, in particular, is that it seems the filmmakers are relying on digital effects too much. It's not to say that other Bond movies didn't rely on then-current effects technology or some poor rear projection work. But I suppose I'm saying I miss the practical stunts and real world action. This film does have that, yet I felt I could pinpoint the visual effects work too often.
The Blu-ray is nothing short of stunning in every regard. It looks and sounds fantastic. The picture is rock solid without looking too over done. Craig's blue eyes pierce the screen while Kurylenko's bronze tan shines.
The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is very powerful, sending your speakers into hyperdrive. I found myself turning down the volume a bit just so I didn't disturb my neighbors! As a preference, I prefer an uncompressed PCM audio option on Blu-ray discs, but the DTS-HD tracks are very good. There's plenty of bass action when appropriate and dialogue is clear.
Some Bond fans will enjoy "Solace," while others won't find it as entertaining. I'm in the latter camp on this one. Though not the worst Bond, it doesn't rank up there for me as high as "Casino Royale" has for the more modern Bond flicks. It isn't as bad as "License To Kill" (1989), either. This is so-so Bond.
Bill Kallay
Special thanks to Click Communications
Photos: © Danjaq LLC. All rights reserved.
Blu-ray Quick Glimpse
MOVIE
An "ok" Bond outing
TALENT
Director: Marc Forster
Cast: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Olga Kurylenko
FEATURES
Music video, behind-the-scenes and more
RATING
PG-13
BLU-RAY
Picture: Excellent
Sound: Excellent
GEEK OUT
The stunts are still awesome!
TECH SPECS
Aspect Ratio (2.39:1)
DTS-HD MA 7.1
BLU-RAY RELEASE DATE
March 24, 2009
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