Quantum of Solace

Director: Marc Forster
Starring: Daniel Craig, Olga Kuryenko, Mathieu Amalric, Gemma Arterton, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini
Running Time: 106 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★ 1/2 (out of ★★★★)

Quantum of Solace, the 22nd entry in the 007 franchise and the first direct sequel of the series officially marks the arrival of a leaner, meaner James Bond film. Trimming the excess story fat and winking tone of previous installments and clocking in at a mere 106 minutes, it's a rather obvious attempt to (d)evolve the franchise into a Bourne-style thrill ride. Not a bad idea in theory, but the results are wildly mixed with a few flashes of greatness here and there, especially when it comes to the action. I wouldn't be so quick to flat-out dismiss the film as a disappointment, but that's only because it's impossible for me to be "disappointed" by a Bond film. I'm just not really a fan of the franchise to begin with. So that even I felt somewhat let down by this can't be a good sign.

It's no easy task to follow-up 2006's Casino Royale, one of the stronger (arguably the strongest) entry in the entire series. It had something for everyone and even those who aren't fans could lose themselves in the story and appreciate it. In Solace, director Marc Forster (taking over for Martin Campbell) adapts competently to the material but this movie is for the diehards and that's it. No one else will enjoy it because the story is just basically a retread of any other-by-the-numbers action flick thus making its enjoyment entirely dependent on the audience's relationship with the hero. I appreciated the effort to tighten things up but the major drawback is that the film felt like a series of exciting action scenes strung together and by the end I didn't care about the story, or most importantly, any of its characters. As far as Bond films go, it's well-made but forgettable.

Picking up only minutes after the events in Casino Royale conclude as Bond (Daniel Craig) is out for revenge after being betrayed by Vesper Lynd. After an exhausting car chase he zeroes in on the shadowy Quantum group who have "people everywhere," one of which is businessman Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric). Under a creepy guise of eco-friendliness, he's cozying up to exiled General Madrano (Joaquin Cosio) in order to take control of Bolivia's water supply. To stop them Bond hooks up with the exotic and dangerous Camille (Olga Kurylenko), a Russian-Bolivian agent who has her own axe to grind with the General.

Usually I really look forward to the opening credits of a Bond film but this is the first instance I can remember where I had to cover my ears and couldn't wait for it to end. The idea of teaming Jack White with Alicia Keys to record to record the newest Bond theme ("Another Way To Die") must have looked very enticing on paper but the result is so muddled you'll actually want to consider giving Madonna a call again. Anything would have paled next to Cornell's song for Casino Royale but this reeks of a stunt rather than an honest attempt to create a piece of music that reflects the tone of the film, whatever that even is. Always a welcome presence (especially in this installment) Judi Dench returns as M and seems more pissed off at Bond than ever, which adds some welcome tension. Jeffrey Wright is back as Felix Leiter but has significantly less to do this time around which is almost a given considering how short the film is.

Many unfair criticisms have been leveled against model-turned-actress Olga Kurylenko, but she oozes sexiness and danger and handles herself like a pro opposite Craig. The real problem has less to do with her performance than how the character is written. Since the Brosnan films it seems there's been more of an effort to have the Bond girl become more physically involved than she did in the Connery and Moore eras. This was originally a welcome change but now its reach a point here where the Bond girl is starting to become almost TOO INVOLVED. They could be considered a glorified sidekick, kind of like Shia LeBouf in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. That helps make this feel more like your typical popcorn movie than a Bond film.

Eva Green's Vesper was Bond's equal in every way and her performance reflected that. We cared about her and her betrayal and subsequent death in Casino Royale hit the audience as hard as it hit him. Kurylenko isn't given anything to work with except a weak backstory cribbed from just about any other action flick. In her brief moment of screen time, Gemma Arterton's "Strawberry Fields" feels more like our textbook definition of the quintessential Bond girl and I found myself wishing she was in the movie more. Mathieu Amalric (best known for his brilliant work as a paraplegic in 2007's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) wisely avoids hammy cliches as the baddie but he's kind of a bore. You won't care about him or his plan and he seems rather conventional for a Bond villain. This reflects a larger issue within the entire film in that there's a lot going on, but not much incentive to see how it turns out.

After the success of Casino Royale it was almost inevitable that the Bond film settle back into a groove of sorts and generally the franchise is going in the right direction, with no need for drastic changes. I've actually heard some suggest that after this film's underwhelming performance Craig should be replaced as Bond. That's absurd. If anything, he's the reason why this installment even comes remotely close to working. He's by far the best choice of actor available right now who can project the necessary amount of confidence, suaveness and danger that are prerequisites to playing 007. Get rid of him and this franchise is dead in the water.

What surprised me most about Quantum of Solace was my attitude going in. I actually wasn't dreading it, which could indicate my stance on the series and character is softening. Casino Royale likely played a big role in that and after watching this I'm starting to wonder whether that film was slightly better than I originally gave it credit for. This isn't in that league at all but far from the disaster it's been made out to be. It even almost comes together in the third act, with a highlight being a clever body art tribute to Goldfinger. The title isn't the problem nor are Forster's shaky cam shenanigans. It all comes down to the story and in that regard Quantum of Solace doesn't give us anything different or special that sets it apart from not just the other Bond entries, but any other empty Hollywood action spectacle.

Casino Royale

Director: Martin Campbell
Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikellsen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Caterino Murino Running Time: 144 min.
Rating: PG-13

*** (out of ****)

I have a confession to make: I've never been a Bond fan. From the silly opening credits, to the stupid theme music, to the silly gadgets, the campy one-liners and the women named after female body parts. The only actor I ever liked in the role was Sean Connery and I actually felt a great deal of sympathy for him having been saddled with it. The latest incarnation of Bond asks us to forget all of that. In fact, it asks us to flat-out pretend it never happened.

We're back at the beginning and this Casino Royale is a faithful adaptation of Ian Fleming's source material, not to be confused at all with the 1977 Bond spoof of the same name starring Peter Sellers. I always thought it was ironic that they made a parody of the Bond films since they were really just parodies of themselves anyway. This isn't. In an effort that likely made the Bond producers' heads explode, they actually managed to greenlight a 007 movie with a shred of intelligence that actually takes itself seriously. That's a reason to see the film, but not THE reason. The whole thing works because of Daniel Craig's performance. I would say he's born to play James Bond, but that would be an insult because he's capable of so much more than that as an actor and here creates a Bond completely unlike any of his predecessors. In other words, he's a complete bad ass.

The movie starts off with Bond being assigned 00 status even though M (a returning Judi Dench) doesn't think he's anywhere close to being ready and lets him know it. From there the movie actually has us worried that it will follow the traditional James Bond non-stop action and no plot formula it's mastered for years. There's a spectacular sequence involving a scaffold chase and later an attempt by Bond to stop a bombing at the Miami Aiport. Where the movie goes next though, is surprising and ends up setting it apart from every single Bond movie before it. There's actually an attempt (and a largely successful one at that) to bring depth to the story and characters. To build suspense. To make James Bond an actual person, instead of the wisecracking cartoon character we've been tortured with for the last three decades.

Like most of the Bond films he must bring down a world renowned terrorist (a baddie named Le Chiffre played by Mads Mikkelsen) but now things are a little more interesting. To do it he must enter a poker game at the Casino Royale in Montenegro. Oh and he can't lose because if he does he's basically funding terrorism. No pressure. Along for the ride, watching his back and the money is Vesper Lynd (Eva Green). Fans of Bond will be surprised just how little action there is as a lot of this movie takes place at the poker table.

Much effort is put into building not only tension, but developing the relationship between Bond and Vesper. For once I got the impression the Bond girl was actually an important part of the story and not just there for decoration. The romance develops between the two happens in a way that's believable and subtle, two words I never thought I'd use in a review of a James Bond film. It helps that Green gives probably the best performance ever from a Bond girl (although I'm not too sure how high a compliment that is). It was almost as if the filmmakers finally woke up and realized that it was okay to finally make a Bond movie that was gritty and realistic with characters who have actual feelings and motivation.

At times though, they almost got too carried away as there were long stretches during the film where absolutely nothing was happening. At almost two and a half hours the film goes on for about a half hour to forty minutes too long. Also, you're likely to spot a plot twist toward the end of the film coming from miles away. Those are minor complaints in the broad scheme of things and a small price to pay for watching the best Bond outing in decades.

Casino Royale was directed by Martin Campbell and Paul Haggis has a writing credit on it, which isn't a surprise since he seems to write everything we see these days. It's beautifully shot in exotic locations, has a great feel to it and technically the most well made of all the Bond pictures. The film just drips in cool from it's lead character to the atmosphere surrounding him, and takes the best elements from the 60's era Connery Bond films, while wisely removing the campy qualities. The opening credit sequence (which in previous Bond movies have been unbearably cheesy) is visually amazing and Chris Cornell should have been giving an acceptance speech on Oscar night for his original song, "You Know My Name."

After viewing the special features on this 2 disc special edition release (which includes a documentary on all the actresses to play Bond girls) I was reminded just how awful some of those Bond movies have been. Worse than I remembered them, if that's even possible. This movie didn't have much competition, but still it's quite good. Like those other films it's mindless entertainment, but with much better writing and a performance from Daniel Craig that elevates the material. He has the ability and the opportunity that other actors playing Bond didn't to show vulnerability. How many other Bonds can you remember actually falling in love and being brutally tortured?

This is a change the series needed desperately and it boggles my mind it wasn't done sooner. Maybe it's because they couldn't find the right guy who could pull it off. It took a while but they finally found him in Craig. He's the reason to see this movie. No one else can do the role justice and every second he's on the screen he proves it. He's now stuck (for better or worse) playing Bond. I say for better or worse because he's undeniably incredible at it, but we all know someone with his talent should playing roles with more depth to them than this. I hope he chooses to do other things because he's too good to be locked into this his whole career, despite the fact that for now it's a blast seeing him try. But at least the series is finally, for the first time in a while, heading in the right direction.