So what’s all this talk about wanting to “old Bond” back? A lot of talk about the latest Bond movie, “Quantum Of Solace,” is that they miss the Bond who had all the gadgets, knew all the best wines, had his shaken not stirred martinis, and always bedded the most beautiful of women. Wait a second, isn’t that what we were all getting sick of after “Die Another Day?” Didn’t we want to see the Bond series revitalized? Isn’t that why “Casino Royale” was so damn good? That it didn’t give us the same old Bond and gave us a tough new one who you could for once say honestly was the best one since Sean Connery. Roger Ebert in his review of this movie said that he wanted the producers that James Bond is not an action hero. Not an action hero? Is that what you see here Roger? Because that’s not what I see here at all. Instead, I see a man who is devastated by loss and betrayal, and who is trying to keep his head on straight to his duty while trying to get his revenge. Maybe when we get the next Bond movie, we can get the Bond we know back, but this one has issues to sort through, and we cannot just see him throw those to the wind just because many of us expect the same old thing even after being sick of it for so long.
“Quantum of Solace,” as I’m sure you all know by now, is not the equal of “Casino Royale.” That previous Bond film was easily the best one in ages, and it did set the bar higher than we had ever expected for the next Bond movie. The early reviews for Daniel Craig’s second go around as 007 had me curbing my expectations before going to the theater, but I probably should stay in the habit of curtailing my expectations in general. It is a flawed Bond movie that has several problems that might derail any other movie, but what keeps it afloat is Daniel Craig’s great work as Bond, and how he gives an MI6 agent who is not just going through the motions. That, and his great interplay with M, played by the always great Dame Judy Dench.
“Quantum Of Solace” is a first in the Bond series in that it is the first direct sequel to the previous Bond movie, starting off just mere moments after Bond nearly shot off Mr. White’s leg in “Casino Royale.” The movie literally starts off with a bang as James Bond is in a high speed chase with minions of Mr. White right on his tail. This brings me to one of my criticisms which I kind of see as a double edged sword. A lot of the action scenes are filmed with a lot of the same shaky camera work we expect from movies like “The Bourne Ultimatum.” Seeing a James Bond movie instantly remind you of a Jason Bourne movie is not a good sign. At the same time, it gives the action sequences here a visceral urgency to where you feel those car crashes instead of just passively watching them. I love that!
The QUANTUM of the main title of the movie refers to the new evil organization that is the SPECTRE of the new millennium. Their goal is (of course) world domination and control over everything they can sell at a high price. As a result, the Bond villain of this movie is a man who wants control the world’s last natural resource, but it’s not the one that you would think. As played by Mathieu Amalric (“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”), Dominic Greene speaks to the public of saving the planet from global warming, but then we see him talk to an Army general about how they managed to talk some sense into the local government about not raising the minimum wage for workers since it would cut into his profits. Basically, he’s like the head of Wal Mart and someone we want to see get a huge bitch slap on a regular basis, perfect for today’s James Bond movie.
As Bond villains go, Dominic Greene is far from being one of the most threatening of the bunch, and he will not go down as one of the most memorable. Still, I love that glint of anger and overconfidence that Mathieu gets in his eyes, and he brilliantly shows to be the mirror to his ever so greedy soul. His work is more great proof of how some of the best screen acting can be done without saying a word. Seeing him getting pissed when Bond spoils his well laid plans is a kick.
The Bond girl this time around is Camille, and she is played by Olga Kurylenko. As Bond girls go, she will also not go down as one of the most memorable, but she is far from being one of the worst. Her performance during the first part of the movie is a little too stiff, and her character is a little underwritten. As the movie goes on though, she does get better when you get at her real motives which involve revenge against those who took her family away from her. The parallel between Camille and Bond are that they are both going after the same thing, vengeance. It makes their relationship towards the end of the movie all the more interesting. Olga may not hold a candle to Eva Green’s Vesper Lynd, but not many could anyway, so holding that against her is not entirely fair.
But the real key relationship of the movie is between Bond and M. The scenes between Craig and Dench are some of the best in the movie, and it is no love affair between these two. It’s a mother and son kind of relationship if you can picture as both being estranged from one another, and then trying to get back on track with each other. M wants to trust Bond but feels as though she cannot, and Bond wants to go after the one who almost had M killed. Talk about tough love.
Dame Judy Dench has been playing M since Pierce Brosnan debuted as Bond in “Goldeneye,” and it should be more than clear now that she has been a huge asset to this series. She has continued to be a strong presence in the long running franchise, and she has gotten even better since Daniel Craig took over the role. M is the kind of person who is not about take any bullshit from anybody no matter what country they come from or what government agency they represent. Dench is a real pleasure to watch in just about anything she does, and I love how she easily intimidates her male assistants who tremble in her presence. Her interplay with Craig is great, and they make for a great couple (albeit an unmarried one) in these films.
The movie also features some other strong performances that need to be noted. Jeffrey Wright returns again as Felix Leiter, the first actor to play the role consecutively in close to 20 years. His cool approach to the role is great, and hopefully we will see him playing Felix again in the next one. Giancarlo Giannini also returns from “Casino Royale” as Mathis. His role here could have been problematic as his character had betrayed Bond in the last film, and having him be the only person Bond can trust at the middle of this one could have been far fetched to say the least. But thanks to Giannini’s performance, the character’s presence is believable and welcome as his sadness over the death of Vesper gets him to team up with Bond. His final moment with Bond is actually quite touching as he encourages Bond to forgive Vesper and himself. These character moments in Bond films never get quite as much credit as the stunts, and “Quantum Of Solace” has them even while it could have used more of them to give us a rest from the action scenes.
Marc Forster, best known for movies like “Monster’s Ball” and “Finding Neverland,” takes on the directing chores this time around. He almost seems as unlikely a choice to direct a Bond movie as was Michael Apted when he came in to direct “The World Is Not Enough.” His handling of the action sequences gets frustratingly confusing at times as the editing is done in a very rapid fire kind of way, but they are still thrilling sequences if you can get past that. Marc doesn’t really bring anything new to the franchise, but he does keep things going at a steady pace. At under 2 hours long, this is the shortest James Bond movie ever made (although it did feel longer than that). Given how stringent the Broccoli family is about keeping the Bond movies confined to a certain formula, I’m not sure how much breathing room Forster was given with this one.
Screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade are back along with Paul Haggis who is doing his usual polish here on the script. Their work here is not as strong as it was on “Casino Royale,” and the characters in that one are what really made the movie so good as it benefited all the other elements of the film like the action sequences. “Quantum Of Solace” seems to exist more for the action sequences than the story which is a little frustrating, but they do still keep the central character of Bond very interesting and complex. They deal with the different layers of Bond and keep him from being simply one-dimensional. There is some good character work here, but a lot of minor characters suffer because of it, and not everything is as fleshed out as it could have been.
I also want to point out that David Arnold has been composing the scores for the Bond movies since “Tomorrow Never Dies.” I love his work in this franchise and how his scores really complement the action scenes in their ferocity. I also admire how he was able to move over seamlessly from the Brosnan Bonds to the Craig Bond movies in that he didn’t simply repeat the same musical themes over and over again. I ended up buying the soundtrack a couple of days before the movie was released, and it is a great listen for my money.
Speaking of music, I should bring up the title song to movie called “Another Way To Die” which is performed by Jack White and Alicia Keys. Everybody is trashing it, but it’s actually not bad. I like the fact that it actually sticks in the mind as opposed to other theme songs that go in one ear and out the other. Can you remember Sheryl Crow’s theme song for “Tomorrow Never Dies?” Off the top of my head, I sure can’t. I can barely remember Tina Turner’s theme for “Goldeneye,” and that was written by Bono and the edge for Christ’s sake!
In the end, “Quantum Of Solace” is not one of the best Bond movies, but it is not one of the worst. It has problems with the script and some of the characters could have been better developed, but the things that did work won me over for the most part. The one element that really made the movie work was Daniel Craig who continues to do great work as Bond. Craig gives the iconic character a rough edge and dimensions that were not as present in the character before. No, he is not the old Bond that we grew up with, but I am fine with that because this one is far more interesting. Stop whining about wanting the old Bond back. He may come back with the next movie now that Bond has moved on from his revenge cycle, but at the same time, I hope Craig doesn’t lose any of the edge he brings to the role.
Whatever happens here will be very interesting even if we have to wait another few years. All the same, JAMES BOND WILL RETURN…
*** out of ****
“Quantum of Solace,” as I’m sure you all know by now, is not the equal of “Casino Royale.” That previous Bond film was easily the best one in ages, and it did set the bar higher than we had ever expected for the next Bond movie. The early reviews for Daniel Craig’s second go around as 007 had me curbing my expectations before going to the theater, but I probably should stay in the habit of curtailing my expectations in general. It is a flawed Bond movie that has several problems that might derail any other movie, but what keeps it afloat is Daniel Craig’s great work as Bond, and how he gives an MI6 agent who is not just going through the motions. That, and his great interplay with M, played by the always great Dame Judy Dench.
“Quantum Of Solace” is a first in the Bond series in that it is the first direct sequel to the previous Bond movie, starting off just mere moments after Bond nearly shot off Mr. White’s leg in “Casino Royale.” The movie literally starts off with a bang as James Bond is in a high speed chase with minions of Mr. White right on his tail. This brings me to one of my criticisms which I kind of see as a double edged sword. A lot of the action scenes are filmed with a lot of the same shaky camera work we expect from movies like “The Bourne Ultimatum.” Seeing a James Bond movie instantly remind you of a Jason Bourne movie is not a good sign. At the same time, it gives the action sequences here a visceral urgency to where you feel those car crashes instead of just passively watching them. I love that!
The QUANTUM of the main title of the movie refers to the new evil organization that is the SPECTRE of the new millennium. Their goal is (of course) world domination and control over everything they can sell at a high price. As a result, the Bond villain of this movie is a man who wants control the world’s last natural resource, but it’s not the one that you would think. As played by Mathieu Amalric (“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”), Dominic Greene speaks to the public of saving the planet from global warming, but then we see him talk to an Army general about how they managed to talk some sense into the local government about not raising the minimum wage for workers since it would cut into his profits. Basically, he’s like the head of Wal Mart and someone we want to see get a huge bitch slap on a regular basis, perfect for today’s James Bond movie.
As Bond villains go, Dominic Greene is far from being one of the most threatening of the bunch, and he will not go down as one of the most memorable. Still, I love that glint of anger and overconfidence that Mathieu gets in his eyes, and he brilliantly shows to be the mirror to his ever so greedy soul. His work is more great proof of how some of the best screen acting can be done without saying a word. Seeing him getting pissed when Bond spoils his well laid plans is a kick.
The Bond girl this time around is Camille, and she is played by Olga Kurylenko. As Bond girls go, she will also not go down as one of the most memorable, but she is far from being one of the worst. Her performance during the first part of the movie is a little too stiff, and her character is a little underwritten. As the movie goes on though, she does get better when you get at her real motives which involve revenge against those who took her family away from her. The parallel between Camille and Bond are that they are both going after the same thing, vengeance. It makes their relationship towards the end of the movie all the more interesting. Olga may not hold a candle to Eva Green’s Vesper Lynd, but not many could anyway, so holding that against her is not entirely fair.
But the real key relationship of the movie is between Bond and M. The scenes between Craig and Dench are some of the best in the movie, and it is no love affair between these two. It’s a mother and son kind of relationship if you can picture as both being estranged from one another, and then trying to get back on track with each other. M wants to trust Bond but feels as though she cannot, and Bond wants to go after the one who almost had M killed. Talk about tough love.
Dame Judy Dench has been playing M since Pierce Brosnan debuted as Bond in “Goldeneye,” and it should be more than clear now that she has been a huge asset to this series. She has continued to be a strong presence in the long running franchise, and she has gotten even better since Daniel Craig took over the role. M is the kind of person who is not about take any bullshit from anybody no matter what country they come from or what government agency they represent. Dench is a real pleasure to watch in just about anything she does, and I love how she easily intimidates her male assistants who tremble in her presence. Her interplay with Craig is great, and they make for a great couple (albeit an unmarried one) in these films.
The movie also features some other strong performances that need to be noted. Jeffrey Wright returns again as Felix Leiter, the first actor to play the role consecutively in close to 20 years. His cool approach to the role is great, and hopefully we will see him playing Felix again in the next one. Giancarlo Giannini also returns from “Casino Royale” as Mathis. His role here could have been problematic as his character had betrayed Bond in the last film, and having him be the only person Bond can trust at the middle of this one could have been far fetched to say the least. But thanks to Giannini’s performance, the character’s presence is believable and welcome as his sadness over the death of Vesper gets him to team up with Bond. His final moment with Bond is actually quite touching as he encourages Bond to forgive Vesper and himself. These character moments in Bond films never get quite as much credit as the stunts, and “Quantum Of Solace” has them even while it could have used more of them to give us a rest from the action scenes.
Marc Forster, best known for movies like “Monster’s Ball” and “Finding Neverland,” takes on the directing chores this time around. He almost seems as unlikely a choice to direct a Bond movie as was Michael Apted when he came in to direct “The World Is Not Enough.” His handling of the action sequences gets frustratingly confusing at times as the editing is done in a very rapid fire kind of way, but they are still thrilling sequences if you can get past that. Marc doesn’t really bring anything new to the franchise, but he does keep things going at a steady pace. At under 2 hours long, this is the shortest James Bond movie ever made (although it did feel longer than that). Given how stringent the Broccoli family is about keeping the Bond movies confined to a certain formula, I’m not sure how much breathing room Forster was given with this one.
Screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade are back along with Paul Haggis who is doing his usual polish here on the script. Their work here is not as strong as it was on “Casino Royale,” and the characters in that one are what really made the movie so good as it benefited all the other elements of the film like the action sequences. “Quantum Of Solace” seems to exist more for the action sequences than the story which is a little frustrating, but they do still keep the central character of Bond very interesting and complex. They deal with the different layers of Bond and keep him from being simply one-dimensional. There is some good character work here, but a lot of minor characters suffer because of it, and not everything is as fleshed out as it could have been.
I also want to point out that David Arnold has been composing the scores for the Bond movies since “Tomorrow Never Dies.” I love his work in this franchise and how his scores really complement the action scenes in their ferocity. I also admire how he was able to move over seamlessly from the Brosnan Bonds to the Craig Bond movies in that he didn’t simply repeat the same musical themes over and over again. I ended up buying the soundtrack a couple of days before the movie was released, and it is a great listen for my money.
Speaking of music, I should bring up the title song to movie called “Another Way To Die” which is performed by Jack White and Alicia Keys. Everybody is trashing it, but it’s actually not bad. I like the fact that it actually sticks in the mind as opposed to other theme songs that go in one ear and out the other. Can you remember Sheryl Crow’s theme song for “Tomorrow Never Dies?” Off the top of my head, I sure can’t. I can barely remember Tina Turner’s theme for “Goldeneye,” and that was written by Bono and the edge for Christ’s sake!
In the end, “Quantum Of Solace” is not one of the best Bond movies, but it is not one of the worst. It has problems with the script and some of the characters could have been better developed, but the things that did work won me over for the most part. The one element that really made the movie work was Daniel Craig who continues to do great work as Bond. Craig gives the iconic character a rough edge and dimensions that were not as present in the character before. No, he is not the old Bond that we grew up with, but I am fine with that because this one is far more interesting. Stop whining about wanting the old Bond back. He may come back with the next movie now that Bond has moved on from his revenge cycle, but at the same time, I hope Craig doesn’t lose any of the edge he brings to the role.
Whatever happens here will be very interesting even if we have to wait another few years. All the same, JAMES BOND WILL RETURN…
*** out of ****
