The first inclination is to ask whether “Quantum of Solace” is as good, better or worse than Casino Royale? One thing is for certain, they are two entirely different films. Both have a comparable amount of action, but Quantum of Solace isn’t as interested in over developing its story thus removing nearly 45 minutes of Royale‘s running time, a move I applaud and welcome. As good as Casino Royale was the first time around, it does not hold up as well on repeated viewings due to a story that is far more bloated than it need be. Quantum has no such problem as action set pieces are the story and they are quite fun to watch.
Quantum of Solace bounces from Austria to South America and everywhere in between with a certain flair. Bond is on a vendetta to get revenge against those that killed Vesper (Eva Green) at the end of Casino Royale, which quickly reveals the existence of a massive secret organization MI6 knows far less about than they or even the villains had expected. What could be the answer to such a problem? For Bond it means killing anyone and everyone in his way in a film best described as a James Bond film in a Jason Bourne world.
The Bourne films brought a certain level, and certain kind, of action and Quantum of Solace seems to have taken Bourne‘s success as something of a challenge. Where the majority of Jason Bourne’s battles were fought hand-t0-hand or involving one big chase sequence, in Quantum Bond gets those things out of the way in the first scene and then moves on to boat chases, plane chases and exploding set pieces along the rest of the way. Many may see this as sacrificing story for action, but let’s face it, even Casino Royale was rather light on story, it just managed to make it seem bigger than it actually was. Bond has never been about story as much as it has been about action, and with action this good and this tightly edited together you don’t need much story to have a good time.
Just as in Casino Royale, and every other Bond movie for that matter, there are bad people doing bad things and Bond is out to stop them as well as out to settle his own score. As the villainous business man Dominic Greene, Mathieu Amalric is actually rather weak, but Bond is hardly facing off against one man in this flick. Greene is just another baddie in a long line of many. This flick is about stacking up obstacles for Bond to get rid of and it becomes a test to see how he can do it bigger and better each time around.
Quantum of Solace is the adult version of a summer time blockbuster. The action sequences have a gritty edge to them and Daniel Craig as James Bond has very little interest in small talk or any talk for that matter. At the end of Casino Royale M (Judi Dench) asks Bond, “You don’t trust anyone do you James?” He replies, “No.” She adds, “Then you’ve learned your lesson.” With this film it seems he not only doesn’t trust anyone, he doesn’t care about anyone either.
Bond still manages to get out a few choice one liners, but for the most part he is a man on a mission and it seems the goal to set him up as a hard edged womanizer with very little heart to speak of was instantly taken care of with the death of Vesper. There are no playful moments and no frolicking in the sand. Bond’s only sexual escapade in this flick is an off-screen one night stand that was handled with little care, mirroring what we are to assume Bond thinks of the woman he was spending his time with.
After 22 films there is very little left to be known about James Bond and the 144-minute Casino Royale made sure to tell us anything we needed to know about Craig’s Bond and then some as the two films play rather well together with Quantum picking up its story almost exactly where Casino left off.
To answer how Quantum of Solace compares to Casino Royale, I prefer Quantum, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I am in the minority on that choice.
