Bond With Character Development

Rating: 6/10 (5 November 2008)

Do you feel the era is changing? Well in movies I do. It looks like this era that we're living now requires different habit, different way of living, different behavior, and perhaps different style of idols, compare to the past. Actually it's not even in the past yet. It's just around the corner.
That's what Hollywood recently kept doing. They feel that Bruce Wayne or Batman needs some refreshments. So they restarted the franchise with Batman Begins. It told the story of how Bruce Wayne began his life as Batman. We saw different perspective in Bruce Wayne character. It's more realistic than before. They continue their new style in The Dark Knight.
They also restarted the franchise of James Bond. Not only that they chose different actor, Daniel Craig, replacing Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. They also restarted the story with Casino Royale. James Bond with Daniel Craig at the helm showing totally different aspects of character compare to previous Bonds. Casino Royale showed us the darker and raw character of James Bond that never seen before.
I guess I can say that Daniel Craig represents James Bond that really fits in the new era. His charm is quite different compare to his predecessors. He's handsome, that's obvious. But he also has something different. He showed us how to play hard ball in a hard manner. And he's less flirty. It's now part of his unique character. It's not the thing that previous Bonds used to do or have.
Bond character setup in Casino Royale proved to be right in the next movie, Quantum of Solace. The audiences could see how the character is being developed in Quantum of Solace. Those raw and hard manner character from unexperienced Bond in Casino Royale eventually finds its lessons here. Bond learns how to get mature. How to deal with his emotional character. And the most importantly, how to walk the path to be a great and legendary 007 agent of MI6.
I'm not gonna say anything about the action sequences. Because there are too many standard action movies in the last several years sometimes it makes me wonder which one truly stands out to others. I will only say that Quantum of Solace has good action sequences. But not great. So it's not really special.
My most negative feedback about the action sequences is it seems that Hollywood use very fast editing technique too much. It's not enjoyable. Once you blink your eyes than you're gonna miss it. I believe Marc Forster, the director, better tried to approach these action sequences in more "old-fashioned" way. I'm pretty sure that the audiences love to see the "full frontal" explosions, chasing cars, and fighting sequences.
Another thing that made me bit disappointed is that the latest Bond movies tend to leave the historical known characteristic of Bond movies. In Quantum of Solace I felt like I was watching Bourne's movie instead of Bond's. I know that these 2 movies are the restart of the franchise. Different approach on the character is good. But hopefully different approach on the style of the movie will stop here in Quantum of Solace.
Still, for me Quantum of Solace is a must see movie. Not because it's a great action flick. But because it's a James Bond movie with character development in it. Bond character in Quantum of Solace is not a finished article. Not yet. Perhaps it's gonna be in the 3rd movie. But I really hope that the producers and director won't be in such a hurry to finish the "new" Bond character development in the next one.