After watching the latest Bond film, Quantam of Solace, I surfed over to IMDb, out of pure curiousity, just to figure out how many of the 22 Bond films I have seen. If I recollect correctly from all those TBS marathons back in the day, I figure I've seen 18 Bond films and a few snippets of the other ones. The reason I bring this up is because of how different this Bond movie felt compared to the older ones. Frankly, it didn't feel that much like a Bond film. Now, I realize that Hollywood is on a big "old character reboot/realisitic action star" kick right now, what with the darker Batman and Superman restarts in the last few years and especially with the Bourne films. But you know what? Just because other groups are making formally fun characters all super-serious doesn't mean you have to as well, Mr. Writers and Directors of James Bond Movies.
Before I go on a rant about character resuscitation, let's talk about this current Bond film, Quantam of Solace. This film is the first true sequel in the Bond oeuvre, basically starting where the last Bond film, Casino Royale, left off. The overall plot resolves around Bond trying to discover whether or not his lover, Vesper, betrayed him and also avenging her death. While trying to do this, Bond somehow gets mixed-up in a General's plot to overthrow the Bolivian government, a man trying to hoard the world's water supply, a Bond girl's revenge, all of this being somehow linked to a shady group known as QUANTAM . . . oh, and there's also some rogue agent, "who trusts who?" stuff thrown in there as well. If that sounds confusing, its because it was. There was some positives about this film. Once again, Daniel Craig does a great job playing Bond with more depth than should be possible. And Mathieu Amalric does a great job playing Dominic Greene, the main villain. In fact, the best part about these last two Bond reinventions (besides Daniel Craig), has been casting high-quality European actors as villains, first with Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre and now with Mathieu Amalric. I hope they keep this up. For the next film they could bring back Blofeld as played by Rolf Lassgard (look him up in After the Wedding).
Anyways, like I was mentioning earlier, my biggest beef with Quantam of Solace is that its taking itself too seriously, making it feel not like a Bond film at all. Look, I loved the serious take on Bond in Casino Royale, but even in that film you had witty banter, martinis, good car chases, and sexiness. That's what makes a good Bond film. The only recognizable "Bond Film" elements in Quantam of Solace are characters named James Bond and M and a quasi-sexist title sequence. This film is at the opposite end of the spectrum from Bond films like Moonraker and Octopussy, movies so cheesy and over-the-top as to be bordering on satire. The writers and director of the next Bond film need to find a happy medium.
Wade: 3 stars
Kinsey: 2 stars
Before I go on a rant about character resuscitation, let's talk about this current Bond film, Quantam of Solace. This film is the first true sequel in the Bond oeuvre, basically starting where the last Bond film, Casino Royale, left off. The overall plot resolves around Bond trying to discover whether or not his lover, Vesper, betrayed him and also avenging her death. While trying to do this, Bond somehow gets mixed-up in a General's plot to overthrow the Bolivian government, a man trying to hoard the world's water supply, a Bond girl's revenge, all of this being somehow linked to a shady group known as QUANTAM . . . oh, and there's also some rogue agent, "who trusts who?" stuff thrown in there as well. If that sounds confusing, its because it was. There was some positives about this film. Once again, Daniel Craig does a great job playing Bond with more depth than should be possible. And Mathieu Amalric does a great job playing Dominic Greene, the main villain. In fact, the best part about these last two Bond reinventions (besides Daniel Craig), has been casting high-quality European actors as villains, first with Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre and now with Mathieu Amalric. I hope they keep this up. For the next film they could bring back Blofeld as played by Rolf Lassgard (look him up in After the Wedding).
Anyways, like I was mentioning earlier, my biggest beef with Quantam of Solace is that its taking itself too seriously, making it feel not like a Bond film at all. Look, I loved the serious take on Bond in Casino Royale, but even in that film you had witty banter, martinis, good car chases, and sexiness. That's what makes a good Bond film. The only recognizable "Bond Film" elements in Quantam of Solace are characters named James Bond and M and a quasi-sexist title sequence. This film is at the opposite end of the spectrum from Bond films like Moonraker and Octopussy, movies so cheesy and over-the-top as to be bordering on satire. The writers and director of the next Bond film need to find a happy medium.
Wade: 3 stars
Kinsey: 2 stars
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