From there the plot moves fast and changes global locations swiftly, from Italy to London to Haiti to Austria and finally to Bolivia. The movements show high energy for a Bond-calibre adventure and look to be a promising flow for another great Bond movie... until and unless we think of its soul as not just another full action, spy movie, but a small part of legendary superspy-code-name-007 adventures. This is where it trails far behind its predecessors.So it's no wonder to find people coming out from the cinema comparing James Bond with Jason Bourne. It doesn't help and is unavoidable that they now share the same editors in Richard Pearson and Dan Bradley. It would have been great if these guys had worked on Casino Royale earlier than Bourne series -- that would have made Bond a trendsetter instead of, uncharacteristically, a follower. But that's a huge if...
Thus to enjoy this movie we simply have to get rid of our high expectations after waiting a couple of years for a quality sequel to Casino Royale -- which now proves to be a tough act to follow.
It doesn't mean that this latest Bond installment is a total failure. It is far away from a bad movie at all. There is nothing awkward acting-wise or in the actions and dialogues. Daniel Craig is as convincing as the new Bond as in the prequel -- cold, smileless, humorless, brutal, emotional, and human... farewell to the old calm, cool, calculated Bond as displayed by Connery, Moore, and Brosnan. I am getting used to it and have no objection thanks to Craig's brilliant performance.
Judi Dench needs no introduction; she even plays a bigger part as M here and better than in Casino Royale. Olga Kurylenko is impressive as Bolivian agent Camille. French actor Mathieu Amalric qualifies as a good Bond nemesis, the billionaire environmentalist and Quantum mastermind Dominic Greene, who uses his campaigns to conceal his evil plan to control the world's natural resources and at the click of his finger is able to ruthlessly overthrow governments of developing countries for his organization's benefits.
Two characters from Casino Royale are probably wasted and could have been used more effectively: Jeffrey Wright as CIA agent Felix Leiter and Giancarlo Giannini as retired Italian police René Mathis. However, a nice glimpse from old Bond flicks is shown by Gemma Arterton as MI6 agent Fields, who is sent by M to pick up Bond in Haiti after his license is revoked for his killing spree. The short fling provides the only light spark in the movie; all other parts are simply dark and brutal -- unfortunately this includes how Ms Fields' life ends up at the hand of sadistic Greene.
The actions on the global exotic locations are not disappointing: tire-screeching Aston Martin and Alfa Romeos car chase on the cliff-top of Italian mountain, rooftop bruising action at the same
time with a huge Palio horse race event, boat chase in Haitian water, airplane dogfight in South America, shoot-outs and blow-outs in Bolivian desert... just name it, this movie has it all... it doesn't let us down...There is no special gadgets from Q needed by Craig to survive, so I guess it removes a big burden for the director not to have to think of something new like ridiculously fantasized invisible car in one of Brosnan's Bond, for example. At least in Casino Royale Bond still relied on his Aston Martin to save his life when he was badly poisoned. But not in Quantum... all depend on Bond's skills and instincts. Which is better in one aspect -- there is (almost) no obvious product placements... I can't even remember if there is any...
The story line is however which makes me wondering if this movie is worthy of its own separate screening. Why not integrating it at the end of Casino? The idea of Bond sequel is in itself new one. Isn't it similar to Bourne 1-2-3?
Judge yourself if the plotline is engaging enough. Right after Bond successfully tracks and hunts down Mr White and bring him to M, they must deal with an MI6 traitor which leads them to a bank account in Haiti. There Bond meets Camille on a mistaken identity coincidence. Both later find out that they have common mission: vengeance. Bond is a very angry man losing his love of life to blackmail by Quantum. Camille is on track to retaliate against a Bolivian general on exile who murdered, raped, and burned her family during her childhood. Both leads to new, another mysterious mastermind, cruel Dominic Greene.
Bond mixes revenge and duty in this saga. He even manages to track down Vesper's old boyfriend who blackmailed her to betray Bond. But until the end of the story, when he left Dominic alone in the middle of Bolivian desert for his own organization to settle its score with another failed top man, just like when Mr White finished off Le Chiffre in Casino Royale, we are left with the fact that Quantum will remain exist. Bond only spoils a chapter on its many missions to topple governments in the world and control their resources. It's also unclear if Bond comes out of the saga as a man satisfied with his paid-off vengeance. He's probably convinced himself that for a woman to have serious relationship with 007 is bad for her own health. And so Vesper is no exception.
And not to ruin this story of Bond's lost love, vengeance and rage, the relationship between Bond and Camille is kept to professional side.
It doesn't develop any further to create a special chemistry between both as Camille is shown initially as a tough woman who finally breaks down as a bit of cry baby upon her act of revenge and wonders what she desires after she completes her vendetta. They say goodbye to each other as Camille embarks on a train to nowhere and Bond is on to his next pursuit.A sad, dark, brutal saga of lonely spies. Does it in any way remind us of characteristic ending of Bond stories?
In conclusion, it is a must-see spy action flick, but it is Bond going far too personal and I won't put it in the same league with past 007 movies. Oh, by the way, the theme song by Alicia Keys and Jack White, Another Way to Die, doesn't help either. Unlike previous Bond tunes, it lacks of soul, a Bond soul -- just like the disappearance of Bond's trademark intro: "Name's Bond, James Bond."