Daniel Craig is by far my favorite James Bond. I was very excited to hear that he would be playing the part in Quantum of Solace, and also the next Bond film. I know that many people do not like this new Bond and prefer a more “old school” Bond actor, but for me Craig is great. I really feel that he brings a lot to the world of James Bond. Now that Craig has become James Bond, I haven’t been able to accept him in any other films, I think some of you may agree with me.
However, one thing that is not fine with me is how much they have screwed around with the new generation of James Bond. Changing the actor is one thing, but taking away the gadgets, taglines, and high-tech cars is not cool. I understand that times are changing, and I understand it has been a long time since the first James Bond, but you just can’t screw with an epic series. This is bigger than just screwing with the Star Wars trilogy (Which was also wrong).
Let me ask you this, what is the most memorable part of James Bond? Perhaps it is his introduction, “Bond, James Bond.” Well guess what, it is nowhere to be found in Quantum of Solace. Another memorable line is of course “Shaken, not stirred.” This is included in the film but spoken by a bartender, and not James Bond.
How could this happen? Quite possibly the two most memorable movie lines of all time were cut. I am not talking about some tagline from a crappy sequel that is going to bomb, we are talking James bond. If you ask someone on the street what film character says “Shaken, not stirred” I will guarantee that 9 out of 10 people will know the answer is James Bond, even people who are not Bond fans will know the answer. This was a huge disappointment for me. I for one am a huge Bond fan, and I just feel like those are elements that have to be worked into the film, no matter what. Cutting those two lines was like having Christmas without a Christmas tree. Sure, it is still Christmas, but it just isn’t the same.
The other two problems I have with the Quantum of Solace is the fact that James Bond doesn’t use any high tech gadgets, or have a luxury car packed to the max with weapons. Yeah, I know there is no more Q, but there has to be some way for Bond to aquire an awesome gadget, or at least an Ashton Martin with enough firepow to eliminate a small town. Yeah, I know Bond had a pretty cool cell phone, and MI6 did have an amazing computer system, but it just isn’t a Bond gadget.
Now that I have gotten past my gripes about Quantum of Solace, maybe we can look at the positives.
The story was excellent. It was action packed but what not really a typical Bond story. The story picked up right where Casino Royale left off and hit the ground running. Towards the begining of the film I felt things were moving a bit slow, but once it got rolling, there was no stopping it.
The action flowed with the story very nice, but like I said it was very quick moving. Be sure to pay attention or you may miss something. This may be one of those films you need to watch twice to really “get it.” Personally I am going to see it again anyways, but not everyone is in love with movies like I am.
As I previously stated it really wasn’t a typical Bond film. There were many things I didn’t like, but it really wasn’t all bad. This Bond film really focused on Bond’s revenge. I thought this wouldn’t make a good Bond story, but man was I wrong. Not only was the story excellent, but I loved seeing what made Bond, Bond. I feel that this was a very important film for the franchise.
To be entirely honest this was the hardest review I have ever written. I wanted to write this lastnight after the screening but I just couldn’t. It was hard for me to decide if the omission of key Bond elements was enough to ruin the film for me. I did like the film, and I am glad it happened. As I said before I feel it was a very important step, and has really given some insight to Bond. It is still dissapointing though to sit and watch, and wait for the tagline “Bond, James Bond.”
So what is the final verdict? Quantum of Solace was a good James Bond film that I recommend everyone to see. But be prepared to be a little dissapointed. It isn;t the best Bond film, but I think it really set’s things up for another great film. Hey, you can’t win them all.