Quantum of Solace (Movie Review)

Releasing 14th November 2008
Cast: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko,
Gemma Arterton, Mathieu Amalric
Direction: Marc Foster

THERE'S one big problem with this 22nd Bond film. It has been severely depleted of the quantum of Bondness that made this franchise so special, so irresistible, so debonair. No gee-whiz gadgets, no smart-ass quirps, no sardonic humour, no shaken-stirred vodka martini, no signature tune, no signature `name is Bond, James Bond' intro and no larger-than-life villain to stand up to the machismo of our invincible hero. End product? A string of hard-hitting chases and fights, where Bond gets to fly in a shaky plane, a crumbling speedboat, a sleek Aston Martin DB5, or simply on his feet. But hey, if we need a hand-to-hand fighter who excels in hard-balled physical bouts, we'd settle for Jason Bourne rather than James Bond! For us, bred and spoiled on the Broccoli, Connery, Moore and Brosnan cult, Mr Bond is the universal soldier who saves the world without getting his tuxedo soiled, his nose hit, his shirt bloodied. Here, Mr Craig doesn't don the tuxedo, never flashes his wry humour, is on overboil and gets all grimy in a battle that is both personal and professional. He does want to save the world's most important natural resource — water — but he also wants to avenge the death of the only woman he ever loved, Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale. If Casino Royale was a prequel to the Bond series, then Quantum of Solace is a sequel to the film that marked the debut of Daniel Craig in the Bond series. Seething with rage after the murder of his beloved, Bond bursts on the screen in a thrilling car chase in Italy, madly pursuing a lead that would lead him to the killers. And even before you can sit back, he explodes in a hand-to-hand combat which defies all the laws of gravity. Still waiting for a story? Impossible to understand if you haven't seen Casino Royale — you end up feeling somewhat cheated, as the secret agent sets off on some more run-ons, this time with a bronzed Olga Kurylenko as arm candy. From Italy to Austria, Britain, Haiti, Bolivia, an unsmiling renegade Bond, with a capture-or-kill tag on his head, tries to kills two birds with a stone. He tries to stop a shady organisation, headed by Mathieu Amalric, from buying off the water source of a Bolivian township and avenge the death of Vesper too. Arm candy, Olga too has her own scores to settle with the Bolivian general who is selling off his country's resources for personal gain. Craig's still balsy and beefcake; only a shade too embittered. The Bondettes, Olga and Gemma, are unimpressive, especially after Halle Berry had reinvented the Bond Girl with her feisty interpretation. Yet, despite the fire and brimstone, this hardly seems like a Bond film. Bring back the formula, please!