A Blu-ray Review: QUANTUM OF SOLACE (Columbia/MGM)

Mike LoManaco

Studio Name: MGM/Columbia/20th Century Fox
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Disc Information: 50GB Dual Layer
Video Codec: AVC@28MBPS; Widescreen 2.40:1
Main English Audio Track: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Director: Marc Forster
Starring Cast: Daniel Craig, Giancarlo Gianni, Jeffrey Wright

SYNOPSIS:

The "organization" 007 has been looking for since the last half or so of 2006's Casino Royale -- the "Quantum" consortium -- attempts to reveal itself and wrap the final web of deceit in this action-packed follow up (a rarity in the 007 franchise)...but all is not as it seems. Amidst initially confusing plot trappings and wild, bordering-on-typical Bond formulas of the past, Quantum takes a few viewings on Blu-ray at home to get a better grasp as to what's going on with these somewhat complex characters. Daniel Craig returns as 007, and while there is polarizing opinion generated in copious amounts whenever discussion of this new fair-haired/blue eyed agent rolls off fans' lips comparing Craig to classic Bonds of the past -- such as the original Sean Connery -- the majority of enthusiasts feel he's bringing a much-needed injection of adrenaline to the character.

If you thought Craig played a scarred, haunted Bond in Royale, wait until you see him in this -- pushed to his physical and emotional limits, this is a Bond for this generation and Craig plays it stylistically. I didn't care for Quantum theatrically, but after obtaining the Blu-ray, I found a place in my heart for it. It's still not Martin Campbell's Casino Royale, but it, like Terminator 3, stands alone as an edge-of-your-seat action thriller. The opening credit sequence -- so vital in a Bond film -- isn't nearly as effective as Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name" in the previous film, instead replaced by "Another Way To Die" by (namely) the delicious Alicia Keys...and still nothing will replace the opening sequence in Die Another Day, with the title track being done by Madonna.

Quantum starts things off with a bang; Bond is immediately introduced in a staggering, wild car chase on a cliff in Italy. In a connection to the events closing Royale, 007 sheds his attackers, who traded machine gun fire with him during the chase, and takes "Mr. White" out of his Aston Martin's trunk -- the man British Intelligence believes is behind the whole "Vesper" caper from the previous film. This sets off a series of events that takes Bond all over the world, finally culminating with a villain known as Dominic Greene. But the film kind of goes awry after the White interrogation sequence; fans were expecting a more linear approach I think to the whole White connection -- but when he escapes and one of M's security agents proves he works for White by making an assassination attempt on her life, we're in the middle of one of those typical, thick Bond plot roller coasters again where villains, angles and motives are mixed like a Grey Goose Martini.

Where Marc Forster and Quantum show their best side is the rage-driven Bond, now even more heightened with anger because M was nearly murdered right in front of him. British Intelligence tracks the turncoat agent who tried to kill M to a geologist of some kind in Port Au Prince, Haiti -- Bond is immediately dispatched and another hand to hand fight ensues much like in the opening sequence of Royale. While entertaining and really showing off the character's special skills, his involvement with the next character in this ongoing connection, a sultry woman who arrives to pick up Bond after he eliminates the geologist, makes matters a bit confusing, as she leads him to a corrupt General and this Dominic Greene character. Seems Greene is using a front as an environmentalist concern group while secretly sucking the deserts and terrains in certain parts of the world of their water supplies. The girl also has a connection to this General, and a secret mission to get to him by posing as the girlfriend of the Greene character.

If this seems daunting and head-scratching already, it gets worse. Perhaps the saving grace here is that Quantum is not nearly as long as Royale was, clocking in at one hour and 40 or so minutes. Bond tracks Greene to different locales all over the planet, but the plot just gets thicker and thicker, eventually involving the CIA and Jeffrey Wright's character, Felix, once again; seems the Americans are in bed with Greene too, and eventually British Intelligence and the CIA both want to neutralize Bond for getting too out of control. In an exciting mid-portion of the film, M strips Bond of his weaponry and status after a sexy redhead ("Strawberry Fields, an agent sent to bring Bond home) he had a fling with (yes, there are two Bond girls in this one) is found covered in motor oil and bathed to death in it -- but this drives Bond even further into reckloose-land, taking matters into his own hands and doing whatever it takes to find Greene and bust this Quantum organization open for the last time.

However, while the final closing sequence was supposed to tie all connections to the "Vesper boyfriend" thing and finalize the entire workings of this organization, it really didn't to me. Are we to believe the Quantum organization was behind the money that was stolen by Vesper in Casino Royale from the pot of winnings? Could the trail go that far back and deep? I didn't buy it. You'll have to watch the film yourself and make your own assessments.

Action setpieces double the excitement over Royale here, with an electrifying car chase and shootout sequence, a death-defying airplane mid-air battle and a nail-biting hand to hand combat sequence between Bond and Greene amidst an exploding "hotel" in the middle of the desert. Still, with all this, Royale was just a better film; hard to say what it was.

I do admit I am looking forward to seeing Craig in action again if another piece to this franchise gets green-lit.

VIDEO QUALITY:

For the most part, this 2.40:1 transfer looked nice -- there's a nice sense of depth and clarity to especially the outdoor sequences. The scenes in Haiti in particular are splendid to look at, with seemingly flawless images. The ocean is sparkling...skin tones are clean...rocks and dirt show immense detail. The opening sequence, as the camera pans across an ocean into Bond's car chase, exhibited a veil and sheen of a noisy grain of some kind, and didn't set the stage for a great transfer. There was a wispy kind of grit to this scene, and I didn't like it; other scenes showcase film grain running in the background of images that sometimes distract from the viewing, but this "gritty intention" was probably due to Forster's desired look.

Black levels were so deep and rich on my rear projection display that at times the image collapsed into black crush; one scene in particular looked pretty crummy -- the sequence where Bond is listening in on the other Quantum members who are speaking to each other in ear pieces at an opera in Europe showed excessive noise and grain in the blacks and dark areas. But this was one of the better video transfers to come out in recent releases.

AUDIO QUALITY:

For some reason, this English DTS-HD Master Audio mix on my system, dropped to a core DTS signal, just didn't wow me -- in my opinion, this soundtrack didn't have the unbridled power of recent releases with MA soundtracks such as The Incredible Hulk or Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. I watched the disc for the sixth or so time since owning it again and got the same results; there seems to be many missed opportunities in the surround channels during directional cues -- the plane fighting sequence, for example, didn't have much going on in the rears where you'd think there'd be plenty. The opening car chase as well didn't seem to feed any information into my rear soundstage; the machine gun fire and breaking of glass happened across the front three channels. There was some minor rear activity to accompany certain scenes, but I expected more from this title.

Subwoofer rumble was another area of concern; while LFE was present, it didn't shake my walls like The Incredible Hulk or Mummy did -- and those SHOOK my walls. In my opinion only, based on MY particular system values, Quantum was not a standout audio title.

SUMMARY:

With multiple viewings, it plays better than it did in theaters, although it's still no Casino Royale. It does make for an entertaining rewatch each time you take it off the shelf, though.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Worth having in your collection, I suppose, if you can find a good deal on it, or if it's on sale somewhere.

mantis

I've been wanting to see this, not to mention they selected a killer Bond girl.

Dan

Mike LoManaco

mantis wrote: »

I've been wanting to see this, not to mention they selected a killer Bond girl.

Dan

Hey Dan,

Thanks for the reply; I think they had some hotter Bond chicks in past flicks, but this one will grow on ya...