A Quantum of Awesome

by Teresa Jusino

I know, I know. Everyone went to the movies the weekend before last to see the new Star Trek trailer. If you stayed a little longer, though, you might have noticed that there was a movie attached to that trailer. It was the latest installment in the story of another character that made his first filmed appearance in the 1960s – James Bond.

Quantum of Solace, directed by Marc Forster, is the direct sequel to 2006’s Casino Royale. In this latest installment, Bond (played by the ridiculously sexy Daniel Craig) battles Dominic Greene, a member of the Quantum organization posing as an environmentalist, who intends to stage a coup d’etat in Bolivia to take control of its water supply. Bond seeks revenge for the death of Vesper Lynd, his one true love, and is assisted by Camille Montes, who has vengeance issues of her own.

While the plot of this film had the potential to be interesting – a political domination plot with an environmental twist? The idea that controlling the world’s water is more powerful than controlling the world’s oil? Intriguing – it wasn’t executed in an interesting way. It was confusing in places, and the film had a “written by committee” feel. But we who go see Bond films don’t really care about silly things like plot, do we? We care about Bond being slick and badass and hot. We care about awesome fight scenes, witty one-liners, shiny gadgets, and couplings between beautiful people.

Here’s what didn’t work:

**Quantum of Solace is divided in two parts: the sucky first half, and the redeeming second half. The first half seems to be the winning entry in a “Cram As Many Fights/Explosions/Car Chases Into An Hour” contest. I watched it sitting back in my chair thinking woah. Woah. WOAH. TOO MUCH GOING ON!

**Another qualm? NOT ENOUGH NAKED DANIEL CRAIG. For Heaven’s sake, he only has sex ONCE. And we don’t get to see much! There’s certainly nothing coming close to the majesty that is the Casino Royale torture scene (start it at 1:55).

However, this film contains a quantum of awesome. Here’s why it’s worth a viewing:

**The second half of the film delves into Bond’s inner turmoil, and this is interesting. I really enjoy Daniel Craig as Bond, not just because he’s insanely attractive, but also because I think he’s the most competent actor since Sean Connery to play the role. I enjoyed watching Bond wrestle with Vesper’s death and his feelings for M, as they are the two most important women in his life,

**Camille Montes is the most intriguing Bond Girl in the history of Bond Girls. Moreso even than Pussy Galore. Why? BOND DOESN’T SLEEP WITH HER! In fact, other than a brief kiss Bond lays on her more out of pain than lust, Camille is more of a protégée than anything else, and this film finds him guiding her through her first revenge killing as he sorts through his own vengeance issues. It’s a remarkable relationship that develops, and one that is completely – and interestingly – non-sexual. Olga Kurylenko is an actress to watch.

**“Another Way to Die” by Jack White and Alicia Keys is the best Bond theme since Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die.” I was nodding my head to the beat during the opening credits, and I realized “Bond is officially in the 21st century. And I LIKE it!”

While not as solid as Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace is by no means horrible. I think it’s certainly worthy of the James Bond mantle. Hey, it’s better than Moonraker. Then again, that’s not a difficult thing to achieve.

Never miss an update. Subscribe to Pink Raygun by Email or subscribe via RSS

TERESA JUSINO was born on the same day that Skylab fell. Coincidence? She doesn’t think so. As a writer, her work has appeared in Elmont Life newspaper, and on the sadly defunct website, CentralBooking.com. She is currently at work on a collection of short stories. As a geek, Teresa loves Star Trek, Lost, comics, and anything Joss Whedon ever touched. She has a fangirl *squee-ing* crush on Brian K. Vaughan, which beat up her Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man crush in a fight proving once again that writing skill trumps gadget skill even when that gadget skill is attached to bulging biceps. Teresa is also an aspiring fangbanger. Visit her in The Red Room.