"I did."
"You catch who ever did it?"
"No, not yet."
"Tell me when you do, I'd like to know how it feels..."
Still reeling from the death of the woman he loved, Vesper (Eva Green), MI-6 Agent James Bond (Craig) jumps at the chance to take down the people that killed her. While trying to interrogate Mr. White (Jesper Christensen), the man responsible for her death, Bond and M (Dench) learn that he is part of a larger organization that has people planted everywhere... including M's personal bodyguard who helps Mr. White escape.
MI-6 has no knowledge of the organization, Quantum, and a search of the bodyguard's apartment turns up minimal answers. One clue leads Bond to Haiti, where he saves Camille (Kurylenko) from an assassination attempt. Her boyfriend, Dominic Greene (Amalric), hired a hitman to get her out of the way. Greene is the head of an ecological company and a member of Quantum, and is collaborating with a Bolivian general, Medrano (Joaquin Cosio), to overthrow his government.
After learning their plans, he teams up with an old ally, Mathis (Gianni) to stop Greene and Medrano. Meanwhile, the FBI sends two agents, including Bond's friend Felix Leiter (Wright), to negotiate with Greene... and convince MI-6 to send Strawberry Fields (Arterton) to remove Bond. Will Bond avenge Vesper, or will he fall victim to Quantum?
This film picks up minutes after the end of Casino Royale, and is the first direct sequel in the James Bond film franchise. But unlike it's predecessor, QoS does not work. Casino Royale revamped the Bond franchise. The story was easy to follow and the action sequences were awesome. Somehow the powers that be decided it would be a good idea to ignore everything that worked there when making this film.
There is too much going on... too many side plots and it gets confusing. The action scenes are still good, but the rest of the movie can't keep up. The villain is...eh. He isn't menacing or even a little intimidating. And his reasons / master plans are just a little weak. Also, is it necessary to have 2 Bond girls? Olga Kurylenko's Camille is good and has an actual reason to join forces with Bond... Gemma Arterton's Strawberry Fields is unnecessary. Her character is barely in the film and doesn't contribute to the plot. Daniel Craig is still a decent Bond and Judi Dench continues to make her character a highlight. In fact, the filmmakers give her more screen time in this film.
Not even close to the worst Bond film, but not as good as I was expecting.
Quantum of Solace (2008) 106 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and some sexual content.
Director: Marc Forster
Starring: Daniel Craig as James Bond
Olga Kurylenko as Camille
Mathieu Amalric as Dominic Greene
Judi Dench as M
Giancarlo Giannini as Mathis
Gemma Arterton as Strawberry Fields
Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter
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