Bond is reBourne

Rating: 7/10 (6 November 2008)

This is a very good action film. But it isn't Bond as you know it. Let me explain. Firstly a lot of the traditional Bond themes are no where to be seen. No Gadgets. No Q. No Cheesy one liners. No Moneypenny. And this is no bad thing for the most part. What you get is a darker more realistic Bond. Like the rejuvenated Batman films Bond has gone darker, grittier and in my opinion better. Central to this is Daniel Craig's portrayal of 007, he is brooding, blunt, brilliant and exciting to watch. He exudes an aura of a man trying to punish those who are responsible for his lost love from Casino Royale. It goes some way to explain why Bond is so cold and distrustful towards his many women conquests, who would want to go through that again? One of the reasons Craig is so exciting to watch is that most of the action and fight sequences feel like they have been lifted straight from the Bourne trilogy. Again this is no bad thing as it was about time the flagging Bond franchise was injected with a bit more realism and some adrenaline. Quantum of Solace follows directly on from Casino Royale with everyone's favourite British agent out for revenge or fulfilling his duty depending on who you want to believe. You should definitely watch Casino Royale prior to watching Quantum of Solace as this film starts fast and rarely slows down, and at well under two hours is a good length for an action flick. Because it dovetails so well with the first of the Daniel Craig's excursions as Bond it feels more like a sequel or continuation of a trilogy than it does a stand alone movie- it is because of this it again feels more like Bourne than 'classic' Bond. If you are a fan of classic Bond you may not like this newer take on the series as you probably don't like Bourne either. Trust me though Bond is better for being like Bourne and moving away from the blandness and boredom of last few under Brosnan's stewardship. Bond is back, but Bourne is still better- however I expect the gap to close again and Bond to start having more fun and maybe one cool gadget in the next instalment, which I am eagerly anticipating on the back of this film.