QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2008)

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"I don't think the dead care about vengeance."

OK! So we've, or "I'VE" I guess, lolz, reached it finally, my final review for the James Bond movies. At least for now. I've been REALLY looking forward to this movie a lot, despite the fact that "Casino Royale" was so slow for me because the trailers for this one made it look amazing. So when I saw that it was coming out, I had a conversation with Cryptkeeper about James Bond, and he decided, with A LOT of pressure on me to give the okay (LOLZ!!!!!), to send me the James Bond movies to borrow. So they arrived, and I began my long and tedious, yet completely fun, project of watching and then reviewing the entire series. So then I began, and the night before last, I watched "Casino Royale," having finally gotten to it. So I was ready for this, and let me start by saying that I'm GLAD I watched "Casino Royale" the night before I saw this movie, if I hadn't, I'd have been completely lost throughout the movie. You DO need to see "Casino Royale" before you see "Quantum of Solace." Remember that, it'll help. The next thing that I want to say is that I'm not confused by the other reviews saying this didn't feel like a Bond movie, I see what they mean, but I completely disagree, despite a few facts from the movie, I really thought this felt like a Bond movie. The thing I disagree with from the other reviews, is the fact that everyone keeps saying "Oh, it didn't live up to 'Casino Royale.'" I disagree. I say it surpassed "Casino Royale" tenfold, and I STICK by that opinion with all my heart. This was definitely an awesome movie, and if you listen to any of the world's OTHER critics, that say the movie is absolutely terrible, then you're dumb because you'll be missing out on something that is INCREDIBLE. Do NOT doubt that in the slightest.

The director this newest installment of the epic James Bond series, is Marc Forster, who is new to the series, and like always, the presence of a new director can be a nail biter in big series like this, though I don't know why I still bother worrying about the directors for this series, since every one of them seems to have done an amazing job whenever a new one is chosen. I mean, there are some series, like the "Halloween" series for instance, and I always mention this, but it's true, that have different directors for nearly every sequel, and the series still is awesome. However sometimes, like with the "Friday the 13th" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series', that when they get a new director, it's usually not a good thing. However, Marc Forster definitely does a great job with the direction of this movie, and really goes all out with it, making a movie that DEFINITELY surpasses it's predecessor. The writers of this movie are the same ones who wrote the screenplay for "Casino Royale," Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis, and Robert Wade. They completely create this movie all on their own, only basing it off of characters created by Ian Flemming. This one is a bit different than all of the other James Bond movies that weren't based from Ian Flemming's books. This one is a completely new story, yet the name of it, "Quantum of Solace," of course, IS in fact the name of a short story in "For Your Eyes Only: Short Stories" by Ian Flemming. So while the name is not new, the story is. Like I said, different. At any rate, it's definitely an awesome story, created by writers that DEFINITELY know what they're doing. That's for damn sure. The director and the writers of this movie definitely work together VERY well on this movie, and give us a movie that we TRULY deserve.

The visuals of this movie are DEFINITELY great, and DEFINITELY define this movie as one of the better visual experiences of the series. This one feels particularly empty again, seeing as how there aren't any gadgets for James Bond to use whatsoever in the film. This is a fact that ANNOYS the shit out of me, but not enough for me to hate the movie. I mean, I understand that they're bringing the series into this century and such, but why get rid of gadgets? They're quite possibly one of the coolest aspects of the film, and it's annoying when stuff like that happens to films that try and bring a character in to an age that that character might not be meant for. Anyway, now that I've finished that rant, I have some awesome visuals to mention. The first, is of course the Bond Woman, who is ABSOLUTELY SMOKING HOT, in this movie, as Cryptkeeper will most DEFINITELY agree with me on. Definitely worthy of the title of "Bond Woman." Then of course there are all of the action scenes in this one, which there are plenty of, since it's pretty much a nonstop action James Bond film. The first action scene to mention would be the opening scene where Bond is chasing down a man who shot Mr. White, the man that he captured at the end of "Casino Royale." It's an awesome chase sequence with lots of different action moments. Then of course there's the scene in the opera, where Bond is questioning "The Quantum," which he just found out about. There's not a TON of action in this scene, but it's definitely an awesome one to watch. Finally we have the scene where Bond is chasing another man on a boat. It's definitely an awesome chase scene, that's for sure. There's one more visual that I want to mention because I think it's an awesome one. It's pretty much EXACTLY like the scene where Bond discovers the body of Jill Masterson, all painted gold, in the movie "Goldfinger." The only difference from that "Goldfinger" scene is the fact that the woman that is found dead, Agent Fields, is completely covered head to toe in black oil. She's in exactly the same position as Jill Masterson was as well, which is awesome. So the visuals of this movie are definitely done well, and are definitely great. They definitely add to the visual experience of the film as well.

The storyline, as I've mentioned slightly before, is completely original, though the name is not, deriving from one of Ian Flemming's short stories. I really like it when they decide to make a new story not based from Flemming's work because it shows that not ONLY can we create awesomeness from Flemming's books, but we can ALSO create awesomeness from our own minds using the same characters that Flemming created. This has to be, as I always mention, the only series that can survive twenty-one sequels and still be awesome. I really like how they come up with new ones for the series, it's really cool. This is like the only series that I can think of that can ADD to a book series. I mean, "Lord of the Rings" is going to attempt that with the bridge story between "The Hobbit" and "The Fellowship of the Rings," but we're not sure what to make of it. With THIS we knew it was going to be good because they've already made movies that have nothing to do with the books from which they were created. All I have to say, though, is that they better not attempt that with the "Harry Potter" movies. lolz. I'm serious, though. Anyway, what I really liked about the story of this one, is the fact that it branched pretty much DIRECTLY off of "Casino Royale," it's predecessor, and that makes this the first of the series to directly follow the previous installment. I think it's pretty neat. Anyway, the storyline of this one is very good. James Bond has lost Mr. White, his only lead to find the killers of his love, but soon he realizes that there's more at stake, as he figures more and more out, and then finds that the organization behind the killing of his love, is much bigger than he'd once thought. Now he's become a fugitive, and has to search for answers on his own. It's a story that really grasps your attention, and holds you down. You pretty much don't want to look away whatsoever, which is DEFINITELY a great thing. So the storyline is DEFINITELY a good one.

Stepping once more into the role of James Bond, is actor Daniel Craig, whom I didn't care for as Bond in "Casino Royale," but now I really don't think he's that bad. James Bond has captured the man who was behind the murder of Vesper Lynd, the one woman that he's ever really loved. However, as they question him, M and Bond realize that there's more to this than they'd once imagined, as Mr. White tells them of a gigantic organization that has people everywhere. After disclosing this information, he nods at one of the MI6 guards, and the guard shoots the other guards, and frees White, but White gets shot. Bond chases the killer out of the door, and into the streets. After finally killing him, Bond returns to find that White has disappeared, and is no longer laying "Dead" on the floor. After checking a leak in MI6, they find something in Haiti, and Bond is sent to investigate. While he's there, he decides that Dominique Greene is someone of great importance to be checking into. As he watches the man run his business, Bond meets a woman named Camille. She seems to be a very determined Russian woman, and he is interested, though not as much as he was in Vesper. However, she despises Bond, and pretty much disappears. Bond then contacts the one man whom he never really wanted to contact again, Mathis, after M pulls all of his funding and everything else that he needs to get around, making him a fugitive once more (Which you all know is one of my favorite things that they do to Bond in the series. LOLZ!!!!!). Bond originally thought that Mathis was a traitor, but after interrogation, they found that he was not. Mathis agrees to help Bond out, since Mathis has decided it takes guts to admit you're wrong, and apologize as to the fact. Mathis gets Bond an invite to Dominique Greene's party, where Greene is going to introduce his latest work of good. Bond soon meets with Camille again, on his mission, and he learns of her past, her very sad past at that. He teams up with her to bring down Greene, but it seems that Greene is completely unwilling. That's when Bond realizes what Greene is really after, instead of the world's oil supply. Daniel Craig was great in this movie as James Bond. Initially, I didn't like him as Bond that much, but this movie seems to have redeemed him for me, at least for now. He really did great at capturing the suave and sophisticated James Bond, but at the same time he got Bond's new revenge driven nature down good, too. He really gets all of Bond's other emotions and feelings down good, as well, and delivers a convincing, believable, and realistic performance as a character that you can feel for (Since he's driven by revenge, but no one is on his side, or seems to want to help him gain justice and revenge.) and even relate to (Since I'm sure you've wanted some form of revenge, but needed help or something like that, but everyone seems to have turned against you. I know I have, anyway.). He was definitely a great casting choice for the role, when they cast for "Casino Royale," even if I didn't care for him then. I'm definitely glad that he came back, though.

Starring as our newest Bond Woman, Camille, and one of the hottest yet, definitely deserving of the "Bond Woman" title, is actress, Olga Kurylenko. Camille is a woman who, like James Bond, is driven by revenge. Her parents and family were killed by a Bolivian General, with a nasty sex drive. But instead of killing her, he lit the house on fire, and left her there to die in the inferno. She escaped some how, though, and went on to gain her revenge. She was left only with a tiny mark, a burn on her back, and that's her defining trait. She went on to work for the Bolivian Secret Service, and her cover is as Dominique Greene's wife/girl fried, wasn't clear which. Anyway, as she arrives at a hotel, to gain information from someone, she meets James Bond, though she still thinks it's her contact, instead of the British Secret Agent. However, as Bond rifles through the case that he stole from the man he'd been searching for, the leak from MI6. As he discovers the true meaning behind the briefcase, with the gun in it, so does Camille, and she tries to kill him, but only succeeds in kicking him out of the car. She returns to Greene, who betrays her, after finding out what she was up to, though she claims the info was to his benefit. She is pawned off to the very general that she wants revenge from, and her chance is there, but Bond "Saves" her, and takes away her chance. She once again ditches him, and heads off. When she runs into him again, he's figured out who she was, and what she was up to, and they decide to team up, though it's a reluctant teaming at first, and neither get along. Camille finds out that Bond is driven for revenge, like she is, since her only goal is to wipe out the Bolivian General, and Bond's only goal is to get to Vesper's old Boyfriend. Camille finds herself falling in love with Bond, as the Bond Women always do. lolz. Olga Kurylenko DEFINITELY does a great job as Camille. She plays the hardass, and kickass character very well, and makes it an excellent character. She gets down all of the feelings, and worries of the character, too, and really delivers a completely convincing, completely believable, and completely realistic character that you can feel for (Since she lost her whole family, and now she is so driven by revenge to get to the one man that she wants dead, that she does ANYTHING to get that revenge, no matter how much she doesn't want to.) and even relate to (Since I'm sure you've wanted revenge that bad for some reason or another, and maybe you've even lost your family to some tragic event, and felt it was someone else fault. Sorry if you have, too.). She was definitely another great casting choice for this movie.

Mathieu Amalric stars in this movie as our newest, and possibly one of my most favorite, Bond Villain, Dominique Greene. Dominique Greene is the owner/founder of Greene Enterprises, and he is a very well connected man. His organization is one that takes over things in different countries, and helps them out, while at the same time creating disarray in the government, and allowing people to gain office that would be good to the OTHER organization that he works for. This is the very same organization that M, James Bond, and the rest of MI6 want to find out more about. Right at the moment, Greene is working on negotiations with a Bolivian General, who is going to take over as President when Greene's company finishes there. Greene offers the man everything he could possibly want in this position. Greene's one and only desire is for a stretch of the desert in Bolivia. The General agrees, since he knows that there's no oil in that region, since his country has been trying to gain oil from there forever. When he informs Greene of this, Greene only smiles and says that maybe, and maybe not, but he just wants it so that he can continue his oil pipeline, and continue running his business. He soon realizes that James Bond, a British Secret Agent is on his tail, and that he's had contact with his lovely Camille. Camille, in fact, has become something that Greene is tired of, and now he sends her off with the General, however, Bond crashes into the boat, and saves Camille from him. Now Greene is slightly pissed. While he is meeting with his other organization, "The Quantum," they discuss things about the oil and other things going on, when Bond's voice enters there ears, and tells them that they need to find a new place to start meeting. Now Greene is completely angry. However, he has a plan, and has Bond attend his party where he's going to announce his workings in Bolivia. He has Bond attend, and then has a plan to have the police catch Bond and put him away. However, when he finds out that Bond has escaped, and still is after him. Now Greene has to worry about Bond as he tries to go on with his real plan, which is kind of a spoiler, so I will not mention it in my review, just go see the movie. Mathieu Amalric does a great job as the villain in this movie. I really like how he portrays the character, and really makes it a good one. He really gets the vile, and evil nature of Greene down, as well as his seemingly carefree nature when it comes to the danger for others, since he really just doesn't care. I really liked his portrayal, and it is completely convincing, completely believable, and completely realistic. He was definitely yet another great casting choice for this movie.

Judi Dench once again returns to her role as M, the role that she's coveted and starred wonderfully in since 1995's "Goldeneye" with Pierce Brosnan (It was his first Bond film actually, if you remember correctly.). M has been informed that Bond has captured a certain Mr. White, who is in connection with the organization that had Vesper Lynd corrupted into stealing the money from the Casino Royale winnings. She goes to where he is, and with Bond there, interrogates him. She finds out about Mr. White, and the organization that he works for, and she consistently grows more and more worried about it. That's when Mr. White says that the organization has people everywhere, and asks a guard if he's right. As he does, the guard shoots some of the other guards, and runs, as he accidentally shot Mr. White. M runs from the scene, lest she be killed, and passes an agent on the stairs. She worries about Bond as he escapes to go after the man. When Bond calls back, he informs her of what happened, she tells him to return. That's when she finds out that the agent she passed on the stairs had sprang Mr. White free and not dead from the shot. Now she begins to worry even more. She sends Bond after this agent and when she finds out that Bond killed the agent. She tells him to return and debrief them on it, but Bond says that there's a lead on it, so he's going after it. She says no, and tells him to return. When he hangs up and goes after him anyway, and so she has his credit cards and his passports to try and get him back. She knows what he's after, and understands the revenge, but soon she hears that he's killed more people for no reason, and now she has to get him back because she's getting pressured for it. However, she trusts Bond, and knows that he has a lead, and is after something real. M trusts Bond, and doesn't really try all that hard to get him, though she makes it look like she does. lolz. Judi Dench is probably my all time favorite M, and she really does a great job in this movie as the character again. I also liked how, like in "Casino Royale," she seemed to have a bigger part than the character's ever had in the series, except for "Casino Royale" of course. lolz. She really gets M's worries, her emotions, and her anger at Bond all down very well, as well as getting the tough nature of the character down as well, and really goes with it. She makes it a completley convincing, completely believable, as well as completely realistic character, as well as a character that you can feel for (Since she's got so much on her hands, and with every wrong move that Bond makes, she gets blamed, and so now she's even MORE driven to find Bond, and get him back.) and even relate to (Since I'm sure that you've gotten in trouble before for everything that someone else did, and even though you knew that it's not your fault at all, you also knew that there's nothing you could do about it. I know that that's happened to me before. It's annoying as shit. LOLZ!!!!!). She was DEFINITELY ANOTHER great casting choice for this movie.

All in all this was another excellent James Bond, and despite what everyone else says about the movie, since they're WRONG. This definitely felt like a Bond film, despite some missing phrases and gadgets, but was REALLY AWESOME. The director of this movie DEFINITELY knew exactly what he was doing, and how to make an awesome movie, and definitely goes with it. It can be a bummer to see a movie ruined from a new director, but in this case, such does not happen, since this was an awesome movie. The writing of this movie is done by the exact same writing cast of "Casino Royale" and they all do a great job with it, creating for us another new and awesome storyline that we can all love like none other, Ian Flemming would definitely be proud, I'm sure. The visuals of the movie seem empty again, but are ultimately amazing, and create for an awesome visual experience for the movie. Always awesome to see the visuals for the James Bond movie, and with this new one, they were definitely done very well. The storyline goes along with the movie and it's visuals very well. It's an original one, and it's one that is awesome, and definitely keeps your interest throughout the whole movie, which is a good thing, since you almost never want to look away at all. The acting of this movie ties everything together perfectly, and makes it one hell of a movie. All of the actors and actresses deliver performances that are completely convincing, completely believable, and completely realistic, as well as making characters that we can feel for, and even relate to, on variously different levels. If you don't believe me, then it's your loss, but if you're a huge fan of James Bond like I am, then I know you'll DEFINITELY love this newest one as much as I did. REMEMBER! Don't listen to the other critics, it's really an awesome movie. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about!!!!! LOLZ!!!!! This is my last review in the series, as well, and I'd just like to thank Cryptkeeper (AGAIN!!!!! LOLZ!!!!!) for letting me borrow the first twenty-one so I'd be prepared for this one!!!!! I really appreciate that, like always!!!!! LOLZ!!!!!

THIS CONCLUDES PART TWENTY-TWO IN MY TWENTY-TWO PART REVIEW SERIES FOR THE JAMES BOND MOVIES. I'VE FINISHED REVIEWING ALL OF THE BOND MOVIES NOW, HOWEVER, JAMES BOND WILL RETURN!!!!! LOLZ!!!!!