Review Detail

Quantum of Solace is a bit of a thorny issue when it comes to Bond. It was rushed, there was a writers strike and therefore the plot was extremely thin. The action scenes were done with shaky cam and very fast editing that left the viewer a little confused at times. Still, for a Bond fan it had many great moments, but it needed more of plot to hold the film together.

I didn't know how one could improve on this film without access to the original footage and deleted scenes to make something more cohesive. But then, if there wasn't much in the script in the first place...

This edit opens with the gun-barrell inserted into the beginning rather than the end which is a good thing as it really jars at the end, coming as it does after an emotional pay-off scene. Bizarrely the gun-barrell opens into a flash forward of Bond and Camille in the desert before cutting to the aerial shot over the water that leads to the car chase opening, which didn't really work for me. The car chase is intercut with flash backs from Casino Royale, which is a good idea to re-establish Bond's motivation and anger, but doesn't quite come off. The slowed down shots of the action is most welcome as in the original it's nigh on impossible to follow what's happening. We then have the interrogation scene followed by the roof-top chase BEFORE the opening titles which works so much better - good move!

Not sure about the Pink tune as the title music, I would have gone with Shirley Bassey's theme that was rejected when they heard they could get Jack White (bad move) - hear it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCX4SxhpPwE

I like that the place name titles have been replaced with a sensible font, but I did miss Bond's final scene with Greene, and the slowed down fight scene felt like a bit of an anti-climax.

Good job though - I still enjoyed myself, but I'd probably still reach for the original.