Lames Bond

Rating: 6/10 (17 November 2008)

This just proved to be a disappointment. The entire movie appeared amateur, and completely disregarded the Bond dynamic that has been developed through the course of all these movies. The first problem is with the title. Not only does it sound inane, but it doesn't reoccur once later in the movie the way you would expect it would. It appears to me the only point of this title was so they could use the Os in "of" and "solace" to make 007, and that's a problem. To continue, the opening animations and credits are shoddily composed, both musically and visually. The desert isn't a large enough piece of the movie to warrant the entire opening cinematic, and the whole experience is rather uninteresting, unlike the brilliance we saw in Casino Royale. The music, by Jack White and Alicia Keyes, really isn't right for a Bond movie, and the song just seems stupid. The song, Another Way to Die, has utterly foolish lyrics that just seem to use the word Die for the sake of it being a Bond movie. The opening scene is rather underwhelming; we have come to expect something epic in our opening scenes, and a car chase is completely ordinary.
The rest of the movie is somewhat amusing, and entertaining, but certain problems keep it from being a truly great Bond movie. The Bond wit has completely deserted the movie. We expect Bond to deliver one liners that leave both the characters reeling, and the audience laughing, but there are next to none in "Quantum". Bond should have a tact for speaking that is constantly reappearing much to the chagrin of both enemies and allies. Craig is rough and uncouth, and so when he delivers what should be a classic line it only appears awkward, it evokes little more than a chuckle in the audience, and is forgotten in one second. Craig fails to personify the Bond dynamic several times throughout the movie. One way is that he is constantly beat up. In probably half the scenes he is cut and bleeding, something we have not seen from the other Bonds. Bond should appear invulnerable; although that robs him of his humanity it is something we expect in Bond. He should be able to emerge from a gun fight or a car crash without a scratch on him, and then deliver some classic line. We are not going to get that with Daniel Craig, instead we are going to get Rambo. Along this line, our past Bonds have had a certain control of their trigger fingers, something Craig abandons. Other Bonds have been able to fire one bullet, and leave ten men dead by hitting a gas tank or something of the like. Craig, on the other hand, fires ten bullets and leaves one man dead. The way he handles his weapons, you would think MI6 won free ammunition for a year. Either we are seeing Bond taken in a new direction, or Craig does not possess enough of Bond to play Bond. Either way I'm disappointed.
The Bond girl is also rather unimpressive. Although I hate to lower the evaluation to looks alone, that is what have become the criteria for Bond girls over the years. To me her hair was just too short, and the bangs made her somewhat unattractive. Her character was also just as weak and colorless as her eyes. It evident the writers tried to pull an Eva Green, by giving the character both good looks and personality, but that failed. For only five seconds did Olga have a character, and the character was born out of revenge. Revenge can only last for so long, and when every character is motivated by revenge it loses all meaning, and becomes clichéd. Bond being out for revenge can work very well, but when that is conflicting with another mission, as well as his supporting actresses desire for revenge, everything falls to pieces. If we want to start giving Bond girls character, which we should, we need to give them more than five seconds to develop character, and give them a character that is not being borrowed from Bond. Everything just seems to conflict, instead of run together which gives the movie a rather unharmonious feel. Just one other small thing, where is Moneypenny, was a decision made to eliminate her completely?
The movie wasn't all bad though. The fight scenes, and the chase scenes will leave you captivated, and at the edge of your seat. I also enjoyed the humorous satire of the oil-hungry Americans. The movie was enjoyable to follow, and the two hours really flew by. Craig was just a bad Bond, not a bad actor. He is not unbearable to watch, instead he is rather tolerable, it's just to see the Bond we all love dissolve away that really makes me upset. Judi Dench is also great as M with her strictness and rigidness that will have you laughing with ease. All I hope is that this movie will prove that Bond needs to get back on track. I hate to say this, but it has only been two movies, and I'm ready to replace Craig.Prove your worth, and I'll accept you as Bond. I was impressed after Casino Royale, but now that feeling is as absent as the Bond wit, Moneypenny, and a Bond girl with character. Whatever though, this series has been going for decades and one bad movie won't end it. I'm young, and I've got plenty more Bond movies ahead of me, and I'm sure there will be a few masterpieces in there, along with a few duds. I guess I'm just gonna wait, and hope for a better movie.