Bond Films: Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace is a direct sequel to Casino Royale. This was a little difficult to follow when it came out, because by the time it was released nearly three years had passed since its predecessor. Because of that, and because of being hampered by a writer's strike in the interim, Quantum gets short shrift among the modern Bond films. However, watched in sequence with Casino Royale, it is a nice little chestnut, a satisfying coda to one of the better Bond films.

The basic plot of Quantum of Solace is: Having stalked Vesper Lynd's killer at the end of Casino Royale, Bond has brought Mr. White in for questioning. However, the interrogation is interrupted by a sleeper agent whom Bond chases. Following clues, Bond learns a little more about the mysterious Quantum organization, including an elaborate virtual meeting they will be holding at an outdoor opera. Bond takes photos and disrupts their meeting, ultimately resulting in a shootout wherein he kills another British agent (apparently one undercover). His documents revoked, Bond goes rogue, making his way to the South American country where Quantum has backed a military coup in exchange for land rights - ultimately, water rights, rather than the oil rights everyone has assumed. Bond meets up with the girl, who is the villain's ex-girlfriend, and daughter of the previous regime's leader. She and Bond crash a fundraiser; Bond's buddy from Casino Royale is killed, and he and the girl go to Quantum's secret facility in the middle of the desert. There, they assault and kill the villain and his pawns; Bond chases him into the desert, giving him the choice of death by dehydration or drinking antifreeze.

On its own, Quantum of Solace is a choppy pretty choppy film; there are purposefully rapid cuts to emphasize the action, effective at first but jarring over time. Even more jarring are some of the story jumps; I could barely follow the plot the first time I saw it. It's a kinetic film, like a bullet that shatters and leaves multiple fragments embedded as it penetrates its target. It's the action counterpart to Casino Royale's lover story.

However, watching the two films back to back, Quantum makes more sense than I remember it making, and really, the ideal way to treat the two is as Part 1 and Part 2 of one long movie, similar to what Quentin Tarantino did with his Kill Bill movies, or with what happens with some other franchises. Casino Royale ran long and Quantum of Solace runs short, but together, they tell a tale of a man who takes on a touch new job, falls in love with a woman who is then killed after she is forced to betray him, and then he avenges her death in a South American desert. The girl in this film is less a femme fatale than a fellow avenger, aiming for the coup leader's head as much as Bond seeks to kill his backer. Together, their story is an old standby: a tale of vengeance.

Bond has been in this territory before: in Licence to Kill, and Thunderball. Quantum is as topical as Licence to Kill (which stood against a backdrop of the America's War on Drugs) and, in aspiration at least, right up there with Thunderball in terms of the romantic pairing of vengeance. What is a little ridiculous is how often M is personally threatened when played by Judi Dench - once before in Die Another Day, now in this film, and - in an effective way at least - later in Skyfall. What Quantum gets right is how pointless revenge can be, and here the girl is the proxy for Bond gone too far - he manages to keep it about the mission, wherease for her, she has not purpose other than to grieve once she kills the villain.

Quantum of Solace deserves a better place in the cosmos of Bond films - but should always be preceded immediately by Casino Royale.