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Using many non-professional actors, Marc Forster does a deft job of adapting Khaled Hosseini's be...

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The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

News Story - 23/10/2008

Quantum of Solace review - Bond is back with a vengeance

Milo Wakelin finds that revenge is a dish best served by Daniel Craig.

Bond is back with a vengeance in this gritty, witty, thrilling follow-up to Casino Royale (2006) which easily matches the high expectations set by its predecessor.

Known for the award-winning dramas Monster’s Ball (2001), Finding Neverland (2004) and The Kite Runner (2007), German-born director Marc Forster ensures that the 22nd Bond film is about far more than the contents of 007’s gadget drawer.

After his happiness was shattered by the events of Casino Royale, Bond is determined to seek a 'quantum of solace' - the scant comfort offered by revenge. Hard on the heels of a shadowy
international organisation, he crosses paths with Camille (Olga Kurylenko) a mysterious young woman who has her own score to settle.

This time round, the role of Bond villain is relished by acclaimed French actor Mathieu Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, 2007), who portrays nefarious eco-philanthropist Dominic Greene with all the air of a psychotic Claude Rains. Grinning like a malevolent toad, Greene unfolds a scheme to seize hundreds of square miles of seemingly empty Bolivian desert and depose the country’s leaders – and Bond is the only one standing in his way.

True to form, Daniel Craig delivers another muscular performance which threatens to eclipse Sean Connery’s turn as Ian Fleming’s ruthless assassin; Judi Dench – who has become something of a Bond institution in her own right - reprises her role as M16’s vigilant spymistress. In the absence of a Moneypenny, M seems to have become Bond’s confidante as well as his keeper, and their relationship now exhibits a frisson that would have made even Fleming (and Freud) blush.

Fleming created James Bond in an age where jet travel was a luxury, and the world of concierges and casinos, maître d's and martinis stood in stark contrast to the austerity of the post-war years. Shot on location in Austria, Spain, Mexico, Italy, Chile and Panama, Quantum of Solace has the feel of a glossy travelogue - one which offers some spectacular backdrops to the requisite action sequences - including a chase set in Bregenz open-air Opera house that must count among the high-points of the entire Bond franchise.

Classy, kinetic and supremely entertaining, this superlative sequel is well worth putting on a dinner jacket for.

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