News
Entertainment
James Bond is back and boy is he ever ticked.
Ian Fleming is probably spinning in his grave at what has become of his beloved character. The latest in the Bond saga, “Quantum of Solace,” has Bond (Daniel Craig) in one of the most adrenaline-filled thrillers ever to be released in the franchise.
The action-packed movie at times is very reminiscent of the “Bourne” movies, which is ironic because those movies owe their existence to the Bond series. Gone is the sophisticated 007 agent made famous by such past Bond guys like Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, Roger Moore and Sean Connery. OK, I’ll include one-time Bond actor George Lazenby too. The point is Craig Daniels doesn’t care if his martini is shaken, not stirred, no. He’s more concerned about revenge and inflicting a lot of pain than he is about protocol or listening to his boss, M (the always reliable Judi Dench).
“Solace” pretty much picks up where “Casino Royale” left off, which would have made the late Fleming happy. The Bond series never had a genuine sequel to it, but the books (and short stories) did, even if they weren’t always in order. Having Craig introduced in the 2006 remake of “Casino Royale” works well because “Solace” serves as the other part of the bookend here. The rarely vulnerable Bond is betrayed by Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), his true love who is killed. We find out at the end that her death had a connection with a Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) that launches into this saga.
Rarely, though, is Bond ever on the same page with his superiors, even after Mr. White’s interrogation. It doesn’t help that our country’s CIA doesn’t find 007 to be competent either. Add to that a mole within Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and the man who once followed orders to get the job done is jet-setting across the globe in order to obtain the truth, which is good for us throughout the movie. Turns out there’s been an organization (Quantum) that not only is determined to usurp one of our planet’s natural resources, it also employs the supposed good guys too. However, unlike Timothy Dalton’s James Bond (in the 1989 movie, “License to Kill”) waging a one-man war against a drug lord to pursue a personal vendetta, Craig’s Bond hasn’t been kicked out of the double ‘O’ brotherhood to get his man. He isn’t exactly well-liked, but like I said, Bond is ticked this time.
“Quantum of Solace” is a well-paced action flick with not much fat attached, getting right into the action. Director Marc Forster (“Finding Neverland”) keeps our heads busy not just with the requisite car chases and hand-held, shaky camera action as if you too were in the vehicle, but also offers up a subplot from a non-Bond babe, Camille (played by the exotic Olga Kurylenko), who also offers up a fast-paced style in her own right.
Villains are usually the highlight in Bond flicks, and actor Mathieu Amalric does a pretty decent job filling that role as the menacing Dominic Greene. I do miss the character of Q, though, who used to pop in during the most unlikely of places with new gadgets for James — some that actually worked. There’s not much in the humor department, which was always a staple in the Bond catalogue. What is cool is that there are just as many CIA agent Felix Leiter characters as there have been James Bond characters. Felix is the American equivalent of James working for the CIA and his only true American friend in the same line of work. This time around we’re introduced to Jeffrey Wright, who I hope remains as Felix for more Bond movies to follow.
Howie gives it 3.5 bagels.
Ian Fleming is probably spinning in his grave at what has become of his beloved character. The latest in the Bond saga, “Quantum of Solace,” has Bond (Daniel Craig) in one of the most adrenaline-filled thrillers ever to be released in the franchise.
The action-packed movie at times is very reminiscent of the “Bourne” movies, which is ironic because those movies owe their existence to the Bond series. Gone is the sophisticated 007 agent made famous by such past Bond guys like Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, Roger Moore and Sean Connery. OK, I’ll include one-time Bond actor George Lazenby too. The point is Craig Daniels doesn’t care if his martini is shaken, not stirred, no. He’s more concerned about revenge and inflicting a lot of pain than he is about protocol or listening to his boss, M (the always reliable Judi Dench).
“Solace” pretty much picks up where “Casino Royale” left off, which would have made the late Fleming happy. The Bond series never had a genuine sequel to it, but the books (and short stories) did, even if they weren’t always in order. Having Craig introduced in the 2006 remake of “Casino Royale” works well because “Solace” serves as the other part of the bookend here. The rarely vulnerable Bond is betrayed by Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), his true love who is killed. We find out at the end that her death had a connection with a Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) that launches into this saga.
Rarely, though, is Bond ever on the same page with his superiors, even after Mr. White’s interrogation. It doesn’t help that our country’s CIA doesn’t find 007 to be competent either. Add to that a mole within Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and the man who once followed orders to get the job done is jet-setting across the globe in order to obtain the truth, which is good for us throughout the movie. Turns out there’s been an organization (Quantum) that not only is determined to usurp one of our planet’s natural resources, it also employs the supposed good guys too. However, unlike Timothy Dalton’s James Bond (in the 1989 movie, “License to Kill”) waging a one-man war against a drug lord to pursue a personal vendetta, Craig’s Bond hasn’t been kicked out of the double ‘O’ brotherhood to get his man. He isn’t exactly well-liked, but like I said, Bond is ticked this time.
“Quantum of Solace” is a well-paced action flick with not much fat attached, getting right into the action. Director Marc Forster (“Finding Neverland”) keeps our heads busy not just with the requisite car chases and hand-held, shaky camera action as if you too were in the vehicle, but also offers up a subplot from a non-Bond babe, Camille (played by the exotic Olga Kurylenko), who also offers up a fast-paced style in her own right.
Villains are usually the highlight in Bond flicks, and actor Mathieu Amalric does a pretty decent job filling that role as the menacing Dominic Greene. I do miss the character of Q, though, who used to pop in during the most unlikely of places with new gadgets for James — some that actually worked. There’s not much in the humor department, which was always a staple in the Bond catalogue. What is cool is that there are just as many CIA agent Felix Leiter characters as there have been James Bond characters. Felix is the American equivalent of James working for the CIA and his only true American friend in the same line of work. This time around we’re introduced to Jeffrey Wright, who I hope remains as Felix for more Bond movies to follow.
Howie gives it 3.5 bagels.
