Quantum of Solace ~~~

5th November 2008

Dear Lord. Please say it isn't so. Can it be...? 'Bourne Spawn 2'????

I don't mean it really. Or do I? It's very difficult to judge fairly any new action/thriller flick, let alone a new Bond film, in the light of the recent and pretty remarkable Bourne films'. But try I will.

I think it's easier to say what was disappointing about this film rather than what was good. Don't get me wrong, Daniel Craig is the best Bond since... (I'd rather not commit myself) I love watching him get all hot and bothered, going off on a mission to help the wonderfully played 'M'. Judy Dench is immensely watchable, as always, although here, not on screen as long as she should have been. And neither was Gemma Arterton, token Brit Bond babe. Shame.

The baddie (I can't even be bothered to go into it...) was ok. Slightly slimy and rather a lot creepy but nevertheless just a cliche bad guy. And the plot. Who cares? Just bear in mind that Bond is very pissed that his lovely Vespa (from the 'first' Bond) is dead and that he wants to kill lots of baddies and blow up as many cars as he can. What we can't decide from the off-set is whether James is on the edge or indeed just kickin' back and making the most of his no rules job?

The locations are gorgeous and the set-piece stunts are pretty amazing. There's a pretty unique, hidden in the shadows, Bond-hunts-baddies scene set in an awe inspiring opera watching theatre. I think that must have been the highlight, action-wise.

All Bond films, henceforth, have rather a lot to live up to with regards to 'Casino Royale' and aforementioned 'Bourne's. I think they need to re-focus on the script in the future. This film suffered from an appalling lack of imagination, flare or even, as often is expected, flirty, sexual tension. The main actress, Olga Kurylenko, tried her best to be a new-age feminist B-Girl but just wasn't given the script to succeed. Dench was the best Bond girl, by far. As for Craig, I hope he sticks with Bond for a while. He really injects something rather special into the films, even in this Bond outing which for me, gave no quantum of solace whatsoever. (Whatever the title means, anyway!)