New Bond is sexy and suave as cardboard

Morgan McCormick

Senior Staff Writer

Before you jump down my throat, I would like to point out what a Bond freak I am. And I don’t mean like most of my peers in this generation who have seen all the Pierce Brosnan films and whatever of Connery’s and Moore’s work happened to appear on a TBS marathon. I’ve seen all of them repeatedly, including Never Say Never Again, and if you don’t know what that is, then I think I’ve already made my point.

I found Casino Royale to be one of the worst entries in the series, scoring in the same realm as the failed Timothy Dalton films, because it managed to do the impossible: it made Bond boring. Bond movies followed a simple formula: exotic locales, gadgets, complex political agendas, one-liners, action scenes and a factory line of carbon copied femme fatales.

But no, they had to reinvent it, make Bond “hip.” Fine, I say. I’m no purist, I know that films must change with the business. I can dig it.  But boring action sequences (fell asleep during one), boring card games (go watch Celebrity Texas Hold ‘Em if you need that sort of thing), a predictable betrayal by Bond’s boring love interest and a forced attempt to make Bond seem more human all reeked of pandering.

I don’t hold grudges, however, so I gave Quantum of Solace a fair chance, a clean slate.  And apparently they listened to one of my complaints. No more card games! Unfortunately, Bond is still two-dimensional and about as sexy and suave as cardboard. The action scenes, once more, are plagued by such fast editing and cutting that you don’t have time to appreciate any shots of the car chase before you’re fed shots of everything else. Seeing 12 different images in seven seconds makes for disorientation, not entertainment.

Also, Bond doesn’t seem all that broken up about losing his last love interest and quickly takes to hitting on and getting with girl-with-gun-of-the-week. This character’s role is so predictable that she is not even worthy of naming in this review. The hypocrisy in this choice is that this new series is supposed to be all about developing Bond, but making him sink right back into the habits of the original series feels out of place. Not as out of place as MI-6 freaking out when Bond ends up murdering a lot of people, which makes me wonder why you’d have a spy/assassin training program and then get clammy hands when the spies start using that training.

Speaking of things this movie ruins, M (Judi Dench) has been completely de-balled. Her only purpose now is to fret about how out of control Bond is, ruining any idea we had of her as the bossman and putting her as the one in control. If she were a smart leader, she would find a way to pull Bond back into the fold, by force or diplomacy. Over 90 minutes of M wringing her hands does a terrible movie make.

Yet another confusing rip-off from the original series that Quantum of Solace so eagerly pretends to distance itself from, the Quantum organization replaces SPECTRE as Bond’s new global terrorist foe. Which would be cool if we knew anything about them, but the film goes “LOL sequel” at you right before the end, and so something they could have developed as a new facet in the plot just turns out to be a cheap gimmick to get the movie finished.

I will, for as long as I live, buy a ticket to the next Bond movie. I’ve weathered far worse Bond films than this, and it’s the nature of the series to fluctuate in quality.  But you don’t have to be like me, you don’t have to go see this movie, even though I know you will anyway.

‘Quantum of Solace’ hits the mark

Andrew Johnson

Senior Staff Writer

It should be stated up front that I am not a James Bond fanatic. I have not seen all the films in their entirety. Neither am I familiar with the intricacies of Bond lore. All I know is that they’re usually enjoyable, and that if you’re a Bond fan, you’ll probably enjoy Quantum of Solace.  And even if you’re not, there’s enough substance amidst the explosions and car chases to separate it from the usual Bond routine.

For starters, there’s Daniel Craig. Once again, he shows why he’s the best Bond since Connery, walking the delicate line between being the “blunt instrument” of Casino Royale and the suave and sophisticated agent of the classics. This isn’t your grandma’s Bond –- this is a newer, edgier, more naïve Bond.  

The film picks up right where the last one left off, with our hero in possession of the mysterious Mr. White, whose manipulations have led to the death of his one true love. Olga Kurylenko provides support as Camille, a young woman fighting alongside Bond to get to another target. While her role is hardly as memorable as that of Eva Green in Casino Royale, she has an eerie Vesper-like quality which adds an interesting dimension to their relationship. Both are hungry for revenge, and only one of them will carry it out by the end of the movie.  

If Casino Royale was a film about finding hope and losing it, Quantum of Solace is about hitting rock bottom. This Bond won’t be dropping obvious double entendres and nursing a martini. He’s an insomniac, consumed with grief and driven by a lust for vengeance, even if he won’t admit it. If you’re looking for light-hearted quips and over-the-top gunfights, look elsewhere, because this is a Bond who doesn’t play by the rules. He’s a man on a mission, and if you stand in his way, he won’t stop to bargain. Gone are the days of camp and formula -– with the exception of a clever homage to Goldfinger, you won’t be seeing much that’s reminiscent of the Bond films of old.

This is how to reboot a series in the right way.  Director Marc Forster plays with familiar Bond character traits, and twists them to suit this new vision.  Instead of maniacal geniuses trying to take over the world, the bad guys here are more realistic and believable.  While the villain’s evil plan may feel slightly improbable, it can’t be denied that it’s more realistic than something like a killer sun ray.  The Bond action is here, but now it’s more rooted in reality over fantasy.  The characters feel more developed, the plot feels plausible, and the twists and turns make for a fun ride.

Even so, Quantum of Solace isn’t flawless. If you’re looking for a memorable villain, you probably won’t find it here. Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), though he may be wealthy and powerful, hardly seems intimidating aside from being a shade too pale. Much more menacing is the mysterious organization he and Mr. White belong to, whose full power has yet to be revealed. The film flows best in the first half as Bond frantically tries to uncover any leads on who might be a member, then falters when Greene becomes the primary antagonist. One can only hope the Quantum storyline will be given more attention in the next chapter of the series.

While this new series of Bond films has drawn comparisons to the Bourne series, I personally can’t see any similarity except for one: the action sequences. Unfortunately, like the Bourne films, Quantum of Solace has some of the most jarring editing and disjointed action sequences of the year. They may be fast and exciting, but it’s hard to be on the edge of your seat when the cuts are so fast you can’t tell who is who. The introductory car chase lacks the continuity and flow of the parkour sequence in Casino Royale, and the result is a scene only saved by a small payoff at the end that starts off the actual story. Thankfully, a well-shot boat chase and the climactic confrontation make up for a lazy start.

At the end of the day, Quantum of Solace doesn’t live up to its predecessor, but it’s certainly one of the more enjoyable Bond movies to come out in recent history. If you can handle the occasional disorienting edit and don’t need to be spoon-fed the plot, then this should be just the right dose of spy action to satisfy you until the next one.