After the hype of Casino Royale, the best bond film since the Connery years, it was almost inevitable that the second helping of the rebooted franchise wouldn’t be as satisfying. This is true, but for me, it didn’t ruin my enjoyment at all. Picking up just an hour after Casino Royale left us hanging, we see Bond (Daniel Craig) in a metal-scraping car chase that throws the viewer into the action from the start.
While searching, brooding and bleeding, Bond gets himself tangled up with Quantum, a shadowy organisation led by Dominic Green, an eco-campaigner. Through many plot turns and action sequences, Bond and new girl Camille (Olga Kurylenko) both have revenge at heart, wanting to avenge a loved one’s death, which leads them into a dangerous desert landscape and difficult situations. The browny-orange colours of the desert bathe the film in a dusty atmosphere that is pleasingly different to the silvery-glossy feel of Casino Royale. Gemma Arterton (one of the best young English actresses around) gets slightly sidelined as Agent Fields (indeed, her main purposes in the film seems to be sleeping with bond and dying spectacularly), but this is a minor glitch in such an enjoyable and visually impressive follow up to the rebrand of Bond in 2006.
Quantum of Solace (2008), directed by Marc Forster, is released on blu-ray and DVD by Twentieth Century Fox, Certificate 12.
Skyfall is released in cinemas today. The Edge’s review of the film will be published very soon.
