Quagmire of Solace

Okay, so I go to see the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. In a nutshell, I don't think it's anywhere near as bad as some of Roger Moore's worst efforts, but after the greatness that was Casino Royale, it's more than a little disappointing.

First up, why the hell can't the producers come up with a decent title song anymore? "Another Way to Die" by Alicia Keys and Jack White has got to be the most atonal, atrocious trainwreck ever to plague a Bond film. And yes, I'm including the disastrous "Die Another Day" techno misstep by Madonna. Bond themes used to be uniformly great, or if not great, then at least gloriously schmaltzy. What happened?

The movie itself I'd have liked better if I could've told what was happening during the action sequences. The endless quick cuts and shaky cam were so baffling I actually found myself looking forward to the talky interludes so I could have the actors explain what just happened. Not a fan of hyperkinetic chaos, I.

I also had a big problem with the big wrapup of the Dominic Greene/Quantum storyline. Bond's chasing Greene to learn about this mysterious Quantum (aka S.P.E.C.T.R.E.) group. When Bond finally wins said information, it happens off-screen, so the audience remains in the dark! Now, you might says "The movie was a character study--the Quantum information was irrelevant." Well, hell. Even in The Maltese Falcon they at least let you see the mcguffin, rather than keep it hidden. If Quantum is going to be the modern equivalent to S.P.E.C.T.R.E. (because of legal entanglements preventing use of that organization, Blofeld and the like) then the filmmakers better by-god deliver on the promise that this is a modern-day S.P.E.C.T.R.E! This, they did not.

I did like the character arc Bond went through on this film, although I don't think it entirely necessary. Had they ended Casino Royale the way the book ended, the arc there is complete--Bond has become Bond. However, they didn't so they need this movie, filler as it were, for him to reach that point. Bond's driven by revenge the whole movie, leaving a significant bodycount in his wake, but when he finally reaches his goal, he doesn't kill his target, but instead hand him over to M. he's reined himself in and finally become the agent we know. Following up with the iconic gun barrel sequence was a nice touch at that point, and punctuated the movie in a way that made a lot of sense for me. Until that point, it really, really didn't feel like a James Bond movie--except for the brief run with Agent Strawberry Fields. When she was on-screen, it felt very much like the heyday of Connery's Bond films, with snippets of Brosnan's Bond as well. But once she was out of the picture, it went back to being a generic action flick.

Interestingly enough, it reminds me of two previous Bond films: On Her Majesty's Secret Service and The Man With the Golden Gun. The former, although a very different film, had a Bond that was motivated by emotion much of the time, rather than duty. Quantum shares that element. OHMSS also shares abysmal fight scenes, with footage sped up in a misguided attempt to increase the excitement--the 1960s equivalent of relentless quick-cuts, I suppose. The Golden Gun comparisons come strictly through the gratuitous and nonsensical introduction of an exploding secret villain HQ in the finale of both movies. Both were utterly pointless and contrived, and didn't fit in with the story that had gone before. They'd simply come to the point where "it's time to blow stuff up" in a Bond film, and so they did so.

After the excellent job the filmmakers had done on adapting Casino Royale I suppose I'd hoped they'd go back and make faithful adaptations of Fleming's work, or, if not Fleming's, then at least John Gardner's. That's not to be, apparently. Quantum of Solace isn't a bad film. It's merely an okay action flick, but misguided as a Bond movie. I'd hope they realize this and bring the next film back closer to the course set out by Casino Royale.

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