Director:Marc Forster
Year of Release: 2008
Should you watch it? Fucking yes.
Why?
Quantum has the unmistakable signs of being a rushed-out sequel to capitalize on the buzz from Casino (and during a writers’ strike no less), but that should not color our feelings on the actual film. This is a kick-ass chase movie where James Bond has to go rogue to save Latin America from Elon Musk and the CIA. It is an immediate follow-up on Casino Royale in a way no James Bond film had been previously. Given the results here and in the films to come (and given the wildly inconsistent results from the previous forty years of Bond films), I think it is safe to say that was a good direction to go in.
How is the Bond?
After losing Vesper the way he did in Casino, Daniel Craig’s Bond now he has to double down on forcing himself to not care about people. This is a perfect spot for Craig, as he is just not believable as a total scumbag. There is too much natural empathy in his eyes; it is unnatural for him to be so uncaring. Craig does not have a TON to do here, but he does it perfectly.
How is the Bond Woman?
I am really not sure why they cast an Eastern European as a South American. There is a comment in passing about Olga Kurylenko’s mother being Russian to try to cover it, but it is still such a weird decision. Anyway, here character is a young Bolivian spy trying to get revenge on a Bolivian general who killed her family and wants to depose the government. This is a great premise for a character though. But she is undeniably the biggest casualty of the short run-time. She is under-cooked and feels obligatory. She also suffers in harsh comparison coming on the heels of Eva Green in Casino.
How is the Bond Villain?
Mathieu Amalric is playing Elon Musk. He is posing as an environmental corporate hero that is going to save the planet. Instead he is working with the CIA and traitorous white Latino South American military generations to depose reformist/revolutionary Latin America governments in order to privatize their water supplies (and other natural resources). This is one of the very best villains they have ever had.
Does the film irresponsibly present the West as the hero of the world and thus promote imperialism and colonialism as inherently positive?
Obviously, yes….but this is certainly the closest they came to NOT doing that.
The Reel World 