 DAMAGED GOODS |
| Review Date: January 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Michael C. Smith, San Francisco, CA United States |
Some reviewers and fans of the Bond films have complained that this film is a lesser effort in the series and pales in comparison to "Casino Royale". They have missed something important in their assessment of the film. When Dominic Green says to Bond that he and Camille Montez have something in common, that they are both "Damaged goods" he has clearly put before the audience the crux of the film that is "Quantum of Solace".
The film picks up only minutes after the end of "Casino Royale" and we are presented with a very damaged and changed James Bond. As revealed in the first film by Vesper Lynd's assessment of him upon their first meeting on the train, James Bond is a man who came up from humble beginnings and was given a privileged education but never allowed to forget his low origins. This has made him a very guarded loner with a chip on his shoulder, a perfect candidate for recruitment by MI6. In his words to her later on in the film, Vesper has "stripped me of my armor." But by the end of that film he is a man scarred by the death of his love, the armor is back on never to be penetrated again. He is now becoming the Bond of legend and a man bent on revenge.
So in "Quantum" there is no reason for the old fashioned quips or much humor in this man. Yet if you pay attention the character of James Bond as played by the incomparable Daniel Craig he lets us see that there are cracks in the armor. Something of a human heart still exists in him. This is played out in the scene after the plane crash where Camille asks him about his past. Craig shows it in his eyes in the most marvelous example of his layered and subtle acting style. Craig builds and molds a deeper, darker more complex Bond than we have ever seen before, a character more true to the books than in previous incarnations of Bond.
The action in the film is superlative and stylish. The opening car chase is indeed a nail biter only surpassed by the Sienna chase moments later. This too is then topped by the DC10 aerial battle towards the end of the film. The stunts are breathtaking and propel the film at top notch speed. But perhaps the most stunning and original sequence is the gun fight in the restaurant at the Opera house. This is played without sound effect as the score of "Tosca" commands the ear and heightens the emotion of the scene. This is inspired and brilliant film making taking in account all aspects of editing, cinematography, score, and acting. And since I mentioned music I cannot leave out the incredible delicious score by David Arnold who has infused his Bond scores with the much need taste of John Barry. He captures the glorious Barry sound and builds brilliantly upon it.
All the principle players give superlative performances. Judi Dench command attention as she always has as "M". Giancarlo Giannini redeems himself and is truly touching as Mathis. Mathieu Amalic is appropriately slithery and devious as the villain Green. As Agent Fields, Miss Gemma Arterton brings a light and fun light to the film. Finally in the role of Camille Olga Kurylenko holds her own opposite Daniel Craig. This is no mean feat and she is wonderful, athletic and touching in the film.
In the end Bond does find a quantum of solace and ends the film in a telling way. A small gesture that lets us know he is now moving on but not without a tinge of sadness. This beautiful sad ending is a refreshing and moving way to end a Bond film.
"Quantum of Solace" is a fast paced film that demands attention to the small details and respect for superlative performances by all involved from the director Marc Forster to the entire cast and crew.
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Two-Disc Special Edition Loaded with Extras
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| Review Date: March 19, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Cubist, United States |
With the successful reboot of the James Bond franchise with Casino Royale (Three-Disc Collector's Edition), fans speculated what the next adventure would be and who would be the director. With the new look and attitude expertly established by Martin Campbell, the producers made the decision to have Marc Forster helm the next one, Quantum of Solace. At first, he seems like a rather odd candidate to direct as he's known mainly for edgy independent films like Monster's Ball and the sentimental biopic Finding Neverland (Widescreen Edition). However, his choice makes more sense once you realize that his films are predominantly character-driven and Casino Royale had much more of an emphasis on character than most other Bond films.
Forster does a surprisingly excellent job creating a lean, no frills revenge story under the guise of a Bond film. He is more than capable of handling the action sequences, of which there are many, and invests us in Bond's personal quest for vengeance all the while fulfilling the usual expectations of a Bond film: beautiful women, death-defying stunts, exotic locales, and world-dominating villains.
The first disc features a music video for "Another Way to Die" with Alicia Keys and Jack White in a slick video done very much in the style of the opening credits sequence. As far as Bond songs go, it's actually quite good and a definite improvement over Chris Cornell's song for Casino Royale.
Also included are teaser and theatrical trailers.
While there are several featurettes on the second disc they are very substantial in length.
The second disc starts off with "Bond on Location," which takes a look at the challenge of finding original locations all over the world for the film that fit the specific visual look that Forster wanted to achieve. This included set design, how the extras looked and so on.
"Start of Shooting" examines the daunting task of following up the phenomenonal success of Casino Royale. Craig had to do much more extensive training for this film, including things like stunt-driving.
"On Location" sees Forster viewing the film's various locations as characters unto themselves. They shot in some pretty remote areas.
"Olga Kurylenko and the Boat Chase" takes a look at the new Bond girl and how they viewed her character as Bond's equal. The actress did a lot of physical training so that she could do many of her own stunts.
"Director Marc Forster" talks about what he brings to the film. The cast speaks admiringly of him.
"The music" examines composer David Arnold's work on the film and how he tried to reflect its themes in the music. Alicia Keys and Jack White talk briefly about working together and we see footage of them shooting the music video for their song. |
DAMAGED GOODS
|
| Review Date: January 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Michael C. Smith, San Francisco, CA United States |
Some reviewers and fans of the Bond films have complained that this film is a lesser effort in the series and pales in comparison to "Casino Royale". They have missed something important in their assessment of the film. When Dominic Green says to Bond that he and Camille Montez have something in common, that they are both "Damaged goods" he has clearly put before the audience the crux of the film that is "Quantum of Solace".
The film picks up only minutes after the end of "Casino Royale" and we are presented with a very damaged and changed James Bond. As revealed in the first film by Vesper Lynd's assessment of him upon their first meeting on the train, James Bond is a man who came up from humble beginnings and was given a privileged education but never allowed to forget his low origins. This has made him a very guarded loner with a chip on his shoulder, a perfect candidate for recruitment by MI6. In his words to her later on in the film, Vesper has "stripped me of my armor." But by the end of that film he is a man scarred by the death of his love, the armor is back on never to be penetrated again. He is now becoming the Bond of legend and a man bent on revenge.
So in "Quantum" there is no reason for the old fashioned quips or much humor in this man. Yet if you pay attention the character of James Bond as played by the incomparable Daniel Craig he lets us see that there are cracks in the armor. Something of a human heart still exists in him. This is played out in the scene after the plane crash where Camille asks him about his past. Craig shows it in his eyes in the most marvelous example of his layered and subtle acting style. Craig builds and molds a deeper, darker more complex Bond than we have ever seen before, a character more true to the books than in previous incarnations of Bond.
The action in the film is superlative and stylish. The opening car chase is indeed a nail biter only surpassed by the Sienna chase moments later. This too is then topped by the DC10 aerial battle towards the end of the film. The stunts are breathtaking and propel the film at top notch speed. But perhaps the most stunning and original sequence is the gun fight in the restaurant at the Opera house. This is played without sound effect as the score of "Tosca" commands the ear and heightens the emotion of the scene. This is inspired and brilliant film making taking in account all aspects of editing, cinematography, score, and acting. And since I mentioned music I cannot leave out the incredible delicious score by David Arnold who has infused his Bond scores with the much need taste of John Barry. He captures the glorious Barry sound and builds brilliantly upon it.
All the principle players give superlative performances. Judi Dench command attention as she always has as "M". Giancarlo Giannini redeems himself and is truly touching as Mathis. Mathieu Amalic is appropriately slithery and devious as the villain Green. As Agent Fields, Miss Gemma Arterton brings a light and fun light to the film. Finally in the role of Camille Olga Kurylenko holds her own opposite Daniel Craig. This is no mean feat and she is wonderful, athletic and touching in the film.
In the end Bond does find a quantum of solace and ends the film in a telling way. A small gesture that lets us know he is now moving on but not without a tinge of sadness. This beautiful sad ending is a refreshing and moving way to end a Bond film.
"Quantum of Solace" is a fast paced film that demands attention to the small details and respect for superlative performances by all involved from the director Marc Forster to the entire cast and crew.
The Blu-ray presentation is utterly beautiful. A magnificent picture that fairly pops off the screen. The sound as well is astonding and puts you right in the middle of the action. As for the extras there are plenty. The best being a featurette entitled "Bond On Location". Also presented dubbed in French, Spanish and Portuguese, and subtitled thus and in sever Asian languages including Chinese. This is a must have for any Bond fan. |
Bond Redux
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| Review Date: November 15, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Kevin L. Nenstiel, Kearney, Nebraska |
For the first time, James Bond appears to have a past. This film follows right on the final scene of Casino Royale, building the idea that in the previous movie we got only a glimpse of something larger. Bond is torn between grief and duty--the first time I recall that we've seen him aware of the consequences of his own actions--and we get to glory in the action-drenched halo of that grand internal conflict.
But that doesn't mean the Bond formula is squandered. He still has a flair for camera-friendly action, a keen awareness of who is the good guy and who is the enemy, and an unerring ability to charm the clothes off beautiful women like Gemma Atherton. And, just as in the last film, he has eschewed his former high-tech mode of espionage in favor of a more visceral physicality in his confrontations.
This is not to say that he has no tech. His home base at MI6 has state-of-the-art surveillance and recon equipment. But Bond himself identifies enemies by taking their picture with his camera phone, and his weapons are off-the-shelf models. This makes Bond a much more powerful figure when he overcomes his own low-tech limitations and proves himself better equipped than hoi-polloi like you and me. Well, like me anyway.
The story turns around the environmental damage humanity has wreaked on the world, and the fear that when rich and powerful people get behind environmentalism, they may not be doing it for good reasons. It is also highly critical of American and EU involvement in the domestic affairs of other nations. It implies that First-World forces may well be nefarious operators in the larger world. If you believe that the rich are good people, or that US foreign affairs are always noble, you may walk out of this film with a chip on your shoulder.
Some trademark action scenes run a little long, and are awfully close together in such a short film (only 106 minutes). Some of the early chase scenes in particular run about a third longer than they require to drive their point home. In saying that, I have to stress that they don't hurt the movie that much. I remember watching The Matrix Reloaded, where some of the action scenes lasted over fifteen minutes and felt like they were stealing from the story. No such problem here: the story feels tight and direct. I just wish the action would be more concise so we could get to the next step.
I know some people dislike Daniel Craig's Bond: too young, too blond, too rough-cut and jagged. But if you liked Craig's last entry in the fold, this movie will carry your enjoyment forward. A brutal, in-yer-face James Bond, the gritty realism of this version of the character is an insight into the world of black ops in this post-Cold War world. Breathless and mighty. |
Video and Audiophiles will feel this Blu-ray release is an excellent reference for High Definition awesomeness!
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| Review Date: March 23, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Dennis A. Amith (kndy), California |
Non-stop action, Daniel Craig continues to shine in his roles as James Bond and for the Blu-ray, it lives up to standard set by `Casino Royale' with a perfect 10 in both the video and audio category. Simply a must own Blu-ray for Hi-Def audio and video enthusiasts!
The 22nd James Bond film and the sequel to the critically acclaimed hit "Casino Royale" (2006) is now out on Blu-ray. With "Casino Royale" one of the highly hailed Blu-ray release with perfect video and audio quality, "Quantum of Solace" is a release that audio and videophiles will have high expectations for. How well does the Blu-ray treatment of "Quantum of Solace" come when compared to its predecessor? Read on!
VIDEO & AUDIO:
The collector's edition of "Casino Royale" set the bar for many Blu-ray fans. It achieved perfection in the audio and video category but how does "Quantum of Solace" rank against its predecessor? It also achieves perfection.
"Quantum of Solace" is featured in AVC @ 28MBPS at 1080p with an aspect ratio of 2:40:1. If there is one thing to remember, Director Marc Forster and Director of Photography Roberto Schaeffer are a major duo. Like Chris Doyle is to Wong Kar Wai, Forster and Schaeffer are just tremendous in their planning of locations and the shots they want to achieve.
With "Quantum of Solace", from the shredded metal of the car chase scene, the blue skies and blue oceans in Haiti to the middle of nowhere in the Bolivian desert, you get a very colorful visual perspective and that is what the two have been achieving with their previous films such as "Stranger than Fiction" and "The Kite Runner". Picture quality is amazing and action scenes coming alive on your HD set is amazing, especially when balanced with the audio.
And for audio, "Quantum of Solace" also delivers. The main English track is 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and the revving of the car engines to the bullets being shot, metal piercing metal, you hear it from everywhere. A perfect score on picture and audio quality. Expect your subwoofer to take a beating and your windows and even objects on the shelf to move, because "Quantum of Solace" is just amazing to listen to.
This is what audiophiles really want, a reference title that has audio that can match the perfection of picture quality and that is what you can expect from this release. Both picture and audio quality achieve perfection.
The other audio tracks in Spanish, French and Portuguese are in 5.1 Dolby Digital.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
For the special features of "Quantum of Solace", the following features are included:
* "Another Way to Die" Music Video - An interesting collaboration featuring White Sripes guitarist/singer Jack White and soul R&B artist Alicia Keyes. An unlikely collaboration and a song that fans either loved or hated. I bought it on iTunes when it first the single was first released, so suffice to say I enjoyed it. The music video utilized the similar MK12 style like the opening credits of the film and showcasing Jack White playing drums, playing guitar and singing while Alicia Tunes is playing piano or singing. A very stylish music video.
* Bond on Location - A 24-minute special feature featuring interviews with Director Marc Forster, the producers and the talent in regards to this film. If there was segment that caught my attention, it was when the crew would go into these inhospitable areas and sanitize it and give something back to the community. For the Haiti sequence, the crew redid the plumbing in order to clean the place up and in essence, gave a much better plumbing system than what the people were used to having previously. If anything, the people on the streets were supportive of the crew but it's the diligence of the crew to get very difficult shots, which includes a sequence shot during a major event in Italy. So, it was really interesting to see how many locations were in the film and the challenges the crew had to meet and eventually succeed.
* Start of Shooting - A near three minute featurette with interviews with Forster, Craig and other talent of the expectations of this film and understanding the challenge that they face but excited of how the film is turning out to be.
* On Location - A three minute featurette with interviews with Forster, talent and crew on the equipment used to film scenes like the airplane scene in Baja, Mexico and the Bolivian scenes in Panama.
* Olga Kurylenko and the Boat Chase - A two minute featurette on Olga Kurylenko going through training on how to fight and even having to be part of the boat chase scene. A scary moment for the actress who felt she was not up to par to do the scene but eventually did it and happy that she did.
* Director Marc Forster - A three minute featurette with interviews with the talent and how it was for them to work with Director Marc Forster.
* The Music - A near three minute featurette with an interview with composer David Arnold on composing the music for "Quantum of Solace" and then getting it prepped for the orchestra. And also behind-the-scenes of the making of the theme song by Jack White and Alicia Keyes for "Another Way to Die".
* Crew Files Behind-the-Scenes Clips - There are a total of 34 crew files that were posted on the official website. Each crew file features interviews with staff behind-the-scenes and can be played as one full 45-minute featurette or on their own. Each crew file lasts around 1:45 seconds and actually gives you the full depth of behind-the-scenes coverage of the making of the film. Included are on-set footage and interviews with:
1. Introduction by Producer Michael G. Wilson
2. James Grant, Location Manager - Panama City
3. Ana Endara, Extras Casting -Panama
4. Toby Hefferman, Second Assistant Director
5. Roberto Schaeffer, Director of Photography
6. Cliff Fleming, Pilot - Aerial Unit, Mexico
7. Chris Munro, Production Sound Mixer
8. Skip Evans, DC3 Pilot - Aerial Unit, Mexico
9. Callum McDougall, Executive Producer
10. Tim De Zeeuw, Director General, European Southern Observatory, Chile
11. Guido Cebasuolo, Line Producer, Italy
12. Naomi Donne, Make-Up/Hair - Bond Girls
13. Pat Baily, Go-Camera Operator/Rigger
14. Simon Crane, Additional Unit Director
15. Jeanie Udall, Unit Nurse
16. Michael Lerman, First Assistant Director
17. Chris Lowe, Supervising Art Director
18. Ben Cooke, Stuntman
19. David Pountney, Artistic Director, Bregenz Festival
20. Terry Bamber, Second Unit Production Manager
21. Debbie McWilliams - Casting Director
22. Dean Bailey, Driver - Ultimate Arm Camera
23. Anatole Taubman, Actor
24. Graham Kelly, Picture Vehicle Supervisor
25. Chris Corbould, Set Supervisor
26. Paul Engelen, Make Up Designer
27. Eddy Joseph, Supervising Sound Editor
28. Rick Pearson and Matt Chesse, Editors
29. Ben Radatz and Tim Fisher, Title Shoot Directors
30. Kevin Tod Haug, VFX Designer
31. Alicia Keyes, Singer
32. David Arnold, Composer
33. Paul Brown, Music Video Director
34. Producer Michael G. Wilson - Closing
* Theatrical Trailers
With "Casino Royale", there were two releases and the latter "Collector's Edition" release would sport special features galore. In fact, many of the special features in the previous collector's edition release were around 24-minutes long, does "Quantum of Solace" achieve perfection in the special features category? Despite the many listings of special features, lengthwise for many of them are around three minutes long. So, unfortunately, special features-wise, it doesn't achieve perfection but there are a good number of special features that will keep Bond fans busy for a few hours.
JUDGMENT CALL:
With the extreme success of "Casino Royale", Daniel Craig and Director Marc Forster definitely had to face major pressure in making sure "Quantum of Solace" would also become a film that would stay in the mind of audiences and become a financial success.
"Casino Royale" was enjoyable at all levels. Action, romance but a storyline that was intriguing and fresh, you couldn't help but be excited for the sequel. In fact, the collector's edition of "Casino Royale" on Blu-ray is regarded as among the top releases to own and show off High Definition to your friends. So, "Casino Royale" definitely set the bar. The question is if they could followup the excitement with the sequel.
"Quantum of Solace", the film now under Marc Forster's ("The Kite Runner", "Stranger than Fiction", "Finding Neverland", etc.) direction made me excited. For one, Forster is good in bringing digital art like he had in "Stranger than Fiction" by bringing back MK12 to do the opening credits and also the computer technology in the film which was very cool to see. But moreso that his film focuses primarily on storyline and character development.
And with Paul Haggis ("Letters from Iwo Jima", "Flags of Our Fathers", "Million Dollar Baby", "Crash", etc.) and previous Bond film writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade writing the film, you definitely had high expectations for the film.
If one thing that I enjoy about Forster as a director is that he and Director of Photography, Roberto Schaeffer are an excellent duo. They know what kind of shot to get and make things look good on screen. With that being said, there is no doubt about the picture quality on this Blu-ray. It's perfect. The audio quality of the film and since it's non-stop action, this is what audiophiles thrive on and "Quantum of Solace" delivers.
But what separates "Quantum of Solace" and "Casino Royale" is that the writers went a different direction with the sequel. The film focuses more on non-stop action and unlike "Casino Royale", not so much on the overall plot. That is where "Casino Royale" shined. The many layers given to the storyline and Daniel Craig's character and to show the various complexities and to test everything about James Bond and put him in the worst situations as possible but to see him emerge from it.
"Quantum of Solace" has James Bond going the path of a Dark Knight's Bruce Wayne. A man who wants revenge, a stoic man who seems distant and cold and if anything, our minds stay fixated on the action and beautiful cinematography but by the end of the film, you feel that you missed out on those small intricacies of character development. I felt no true chemistry between James Bond and Camille, whereas the staple of James Bond films is that Bond and major female lead (or multiple female) bond. Camille is so emotionally tortured that she's seeking out revenge that she spends more time kissing the film's antagonist Dominic Greene. So, that was a bit surprising. And if we do get any bonding, it's with Bond and HQ office girl Strawberry Fields which was a bit short of a short trist.
And when M restricts James Bond's credit cards and privileges, you think if he's going to go the Jason Bourne route or even show some urgency or emotion of what HQ is trying to do to limit his access. You don't feel any of that. If anything, James Bond's demeanor is the same, cold and stoic.
And because this film is a sequel, before watching "Quantum of Solace", you may want to rewatch "Casino Royale" again to catchup on certain characters and what transpired because "Quantum of Solace" references quite a bit to "Casino Royale".
With that being said, I still enjoyed the film. As mentioned, Forster and Schaeffer are an excellent duo, so I expected beautiful imagery, awesome locations and the crew went all out in making sure the action sequences and the locations looked great on film.
As for the Blu-ray disc, "Quantum of Solace" scores nearly perfect on picture quality and audio quality. Although, the special features seems aplenty, many are only two minutes long but still, you get the "Crew Files" that were video blogs from the Website and more. This is going to be a release that High Definition fans are going to go crazy for.
Overall, "Quantum of Solace" is what one comes to expect from High Definition and like it's predecessor, technically "Quantum of Solace" Blu-ray achieves perfection. |
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