I've already posted a treatise on The Dark Knight -- I promise this one won't be as long -- and there's more where that came from (expect Lost, 24, Watchmen, Star Trek and the still-untitled Superman Returns sequel to all get their time before next May).
Right now, however, I'm going to focus on James Bond. When it comes to franchises, nobody does it better.
More than 55 years since the first publication of "Casino Royale" and 46 years after the first official film, James Bond returns to theaters November 14 in Quantum of Solace. And if that's news to you, you're not alone.
EON Productions doesn't seem to be unleashing its hype machine on the public like it did with Casino Royale two years ago. Heck, even the internet boards are relatively quiet. I was actually two days late seeing the Quantum of Solace teaser, and if you know me, that's a horrifying concept.
The first two trailers look good, though. Real good (especially the second one). Still, for a movie that's coming out in a month and a half, we still don't know a whole lot about it. I have my hunches with regard to the lack of information, but we'll get to that later.
Let's kick around some of the big points of Bond's 22nd adventure.
This ain't Casino Royale
We all need to get this through our heads. Casino Royale was a near-perfect reboot, restoring Bond to his roots while putting an ingenious spin on things (I'm still speechless over the reinvention of the gun barrel sequence), and the strings of Chris Cornell's instant-classic "You Know My Name" propelled the movie with brute force. I don't like being so definitive, but there's no way Quantum of Solace will be as good as Casino Royale. There, I said it. Now let's accept and appreciate the new movie on its own terms.
Daniel Craig gets to bite into some meat
Pathos is rare for Bond films, but the writing team of Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis gave 007 plenty of it in Casino Royale, and they promise more for Quantum of Solace. Hordes of dipshits wrote off Craig before they saw a single frame of his performance, but all it took was one outing to prove that his take on James Bond is the most grounded and closest to Ian Fleming's depiction. He's suave, smart, gritty, dispassionate, and committed, perfect traits to set against a new film whose ultimate theme is revenge. Quantum of Solace literally starts where we left off, with Bond torturing the mysterious Mr. White to find out who he works for, and thus, who is behind Vesper's corruption. By the looks of it, those responsible are as sinister as they come.
A rogue for all seasons
It's unfair to say that Bond movies are only as good as their villains (if that were true, then more people would think On Her Majesty's Secret Service totally sucked). But a formidable foe never hurts, and Quantum of Solace could have one for the books. French actor Mathieu Amalric plays Dominic Greene, the ruthless chairman of a front company for Quantum, the criminal organization behind this whole mess. Amalric stands a diminutive 5-foot-6, but he brings spades of intense charisma and intelligent ferocity. The filmmakers scored a direct hit by casting Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre in Casino Royale, and they're taking a similar approach with Amalric, who isn't big states side but is revered in Europe, and portrays a character too busy with practical agendas to worry about world domination. I'm not sure if the writers have any intention of turning Quantum into a SPECTRE-like entity, but I guess we'll see how it plays in the new movie first. Bringing down such a corrupt cabal is going to take help, and as usual, Bond comes across the right centerfold for the job.
Chicks dig the scar
Although they're one of the franchise's biggest staples, Bond girls need to be much more than eye candy. They need to be able to hold their own, and true to themselves. Give me Honey Rider over Holly Goodhead, Daniela Bianchi over Denise Richards. Ukrainian actress Olga Kurylenko appears to have the stuff to strut alongside Daniel Craig's 007. Her character, Camille, is very similar to Bond. She's on a mission of revenge, although her motives are mysterious. It's as if a separate audience watched a movie about Camille and now encounters Bond the same way we're encountering her. Kurylenko doesn't have the acting rep of Eva Green, but her sturdy, scorned demeanor likely stood out among the 400 women who auditioned. Oh, and if she resembles Agent XXX from The Spy Who Loved Me, I suspect there's good reason.
How about some all-time highs
Nothing sells like nostalgia, and few franchises can offer the kind of nostalgia that James Bond can. Quantum of Solace appears to be incorporating -- but not outright copying -- specific elements from Bond films past. When you see Bond and Camille marching around the desert, you can't help but think of Roger Moore and Agent XXX in The Spy Who Loved Me. One look at Dominic Greene immediately calls to mind another short, pale, beady-eyed criminal mastermind named Ernst Stavro Blofeld. And although the trailers showcase plenty of action, there seems to be an air of Connery-era simplicity about this film. I think it has a lot to do with the new director.
...but first I'd like to take a quick detour and trash the new theme song.
You Know My Lame
Quantum of Solace's theme song is a collaboration between Alicia Keyes and Jack White, and it's exactly what you'd expect from a Jack White and Alicia Keyes collaboration. It's a jackrabbit garage rock tune called "Another Way to Die" with Bond riffs in the background and little sign of arrangement. I know we can't have Shirley Bassey sing every theme song, but if Quantum of Solace turns out to be great, it deserves better than this. Come to think of it, if the new movie makes Moonraker look like Goldfinger, it still deserves better than this. Now, where were we?
Seeing the Forster for the trees
Daniel Craig hand-picked Marc Forster to helm Casino Royale's follow-up, and Forster's solid resume includes Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland and Stranger Than Fiction. He's more than capable of handling a lavish film, but this is also his first foray into action. As with all directors, you can pinpoint certain characteristics of their work, so expect milky cinematography, injected humor, and an overall ethereal feel to Quantum of Solace. Forster is an interesting choice, to be sure, considering the serrated storytelling of the script. But one of his drawbacks -- his films often don't know when to quit -- seems unlikely given Quantum of Solace's relatively brief 106-minute running time. That's about as much time as you need to tell a good story, which is what I believe Quantum of Solace will turn out to be.
Double-O heaven
As great as Casino Royale's substance was, its style had more in common with the Pierce Brosnan era than Sean Connery. With GoldenEye vet Martin Campbell directing, it's not hard to see why, although the large-scale action and full-scale destruction didn't hinder the proceedings much. Quantum of Solace, however, appears to be taking a less-is-more approach in that regard, despite a budget up almost $75 million from the last film. It's a simpler story, and simpler doesn't always mean less complex or interesting. Revenge is a fairly worn-out theme, but it gets a fresh perspective when lumped on James Bond, whose screen persona has largely been too busy pulling gags and playing with gadgets to actually bear the emotional brunt of his profession.
It seems that Bond's psyche is objective No. 1 with these new movies, and all else is subservient. That's why we're only six weeks away from Quantum of Solace's premiere and we don't know much more than the plot synopsis. It's not because the filmmakers are doing a Jack's-flashback-is-a-flashforward job of concealing the twists, it's because Quantum of Solace may just be a simple tale that examines revenge amid the trappings of a Bond movie. That way, the series appeals to a mass audience while not trying to go bigger than Casino Royale, which would set an increasingly grandiose precedent that would eventually lead us back to the silliness of Roger Moore.
As a Bond fan, I may be overly optimistic about the chances of Quantum of Solace. Or I may still be selling it short. Who knows?
All I know is that one of my favorite characters has been rejuvenated -- and it's because he's less character and more human being.
1 comment:
Now that...was excellent. Bra-vo.
(Slow clap)
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