Only So-solace

Quantum of Solace
Directed by: Marc Forster

Starring: Daniel Craig, Mathieu Amalric, Olga Kurylenko, Judi Dench

It was 1979’s “Moonraker” that took Bond out of the hyper real world of Volcano lairs and lethal headwear and shot the series straight into the orbit of the absurd. That movie, which features everyone’s favourite secret agent in a credibility stretching sci-fi extravaganza showed the excess possible when dealing with the universe of Bond. Subsequent movies have tried to play down the ridiculous. Roger Moore’s tenure (the longest any actor has played Bond incidentally) limped to a close with the Christopher Walken starring, “A View to A Kill”, before Timothy Dalton brought some much needed angst and mild grit to the role in “The Living Daylights”. His two movie stint gave way to the smooth (and surely shaken) martini of Pierce Brosnan as Goldeneye reintroduced 007 to a modern world. It had action galore but just about grounded its plot in a post cold war setting. The problem with the Brosnan series of movies was that they swiftly became a parody of themselves. Having seen how the series could falter those films settled into a comfortable groove which with hindsight short-changed the character in favour of its backdrop. Who needs examination of Bonds character when one has Denise Richards in skimpy clothing against the now pre requisite exotic locale?

A rethink was sorely needed. Bonds world was entirely overhauled (Judi Dench as “M” accepted) and with “Casino Royale” we got a Bond that was in as much pain as he could inflict. For the first time the series had consequences. When Bond was hit, Bond bled. When Bond loved, he suffered. When Bond was betrayed, he got angry. No quips, no gadgets. This was a whole new take and it worked wonderfully, that first time.
“Quantum of Solace” the first direct Bond sequel takes place less than an hour after “Casino Royale” but it lacks the depth of the previous film. Here we have a straight revenge flick in which our hero has never been less charming or less interesting for that matter. It finds him on the trail of those that killed his one time love Vesper Lynd but which leads to the discovery of a major secret syndicate working within various Governments to further its own ends. While the movie wants to be a personal quest, it in fact neglects to give us a single person throughout. This is a film populated by ciphers, plot devices to get from one set piece to the next, logic or coherency be damned.

Now one might say, you don’t go to a Bond movie for plot. It’s barely more than functional and that’s true. But at least in the past the set dressing was more fun. Here we have a dour world of bureaucracy and ineffectual villainy. Mathieu Amalric barely registers in his role as Dominic Greene, the so called bad guy of the piece while the wonderful Gemma Arterton is wasted on a minor cameo, her Diana Rigg inspired Bond girl relegated to a footnote. Olga Kurylenko fairs better in the meatier role of Camille, an agent with her own agenda for hunting down the members of the “Quantum” organisation. She doesn’t stray too far from the mould of feisty Bond girls who can break limbs while breaking hearts but at least one gets a sense of a character trying to emerge. Her relationship with Bond is a bit more sub-textual than usual, which gives it a fresh angle also. Even the series raison d’etre, the action, is badly serviced here, the editing so hyperactive and unfocused it leaves the viewer puzzled as to whets going on. I asked myself a number of times who had just punched whom? It does have hallmarks of the Bourne series but

not to the point that people would have you believe. And it's certainly not something to begrudge the movie over.

Craig is still an excellent Bond. I won’t point a (gold)finger at him for the movies failure. He is driven, intense and wryly amusing (without too much campness) when required and I still believe he can take this character somewhere new in the future. However this half baked entry is not the vehicle for that development but now that it lives as part of the series we should let it die and move onto fresher pastures. After all tomorrow never dies and I can take solace in hoping that the next movie won’t be such a quantum leap in the wrong direction.