So I finally saw Quantum of Solace today. I heard mixed reviews ranging from “It was OK” to “Not even worth downloading.” My personal feelings are somewhere in between, but lean towards the former category. (Unlike Transporter 3, which was firmly in the latter.)
I have to admit, though… the revamped Bond series is pretty “with-it.” Casino Royale had the parkour scene, and now in Quantum, the villain was an environmentalist, or at least disguised as such. (I had also heard him described as an eco-terrorist, but that’s the right label, either, since he wasn’t working to protect the environment, but to profit from it. I always think of Poison Ivy as the quintessential eco-terrorist.) But getting back to my point, the idea of global warming leading to a new kind of dictator who hoards water is very interesting, and very relevant. “Water is the new oil” is a mantra you’ll be hearing more and more as fresh water frozen in our ice caps and glaciers melt and becomes unusable seawater. Of course, the relevancy is downplayed in the movie, becoming a mere business tactic of the villain to pillage an area’s natural resources for financial gain before moving on. You could have easily substituted any other natural resource, even the oil he pretends to have found, and the movie would have been exactly the same.
There are some other flaws in the movie, but perhaps the biggest one of all is Bond’s temper. Yes, I know the revamped series is supposed to show a both kinder and more hardcore Bond at the same time, but he’s still supposed to be smart. Killing all leads before questioning them seems incredibly short-sighted for someone who is supposed to be blindly committed to uncovering his lover’s killers. The whole plot hinges on his lucky break that his lead chose not to pick up a briefcase from the hotel desk earlier, and the even luckier break that the two people who knew about the briefcase didn’t know he wasn’t the right guy.
Dinhternet, fresh, Law, Work