Sunday, November 16, 2008
A+E, In this Issue..., Movies, Reviews

License revoked

New Bond film takes ‘Quantum’ leap backward in quality

BY STEVE WARREN

“Casino Royale” proved the naysayers were wrong about the casting of Daniel Craig as 007 hurting the James Bond series. “Quantum of Solace” proves that the rebooted franchise is indeed in trouble, but it’s not Craig’s scrappy, sensitive, less suave Bond that’s the problem—it’s almost everything else. With 007 pursued more than he pursues, making him more reactive than proactive, people chase each other on foot and in cars, boats and planes. Shots are fired, glass is broken and stuff blows up; but it’s not always clear who’s doing what to whom, or why.

For some of the whys, you should rewatch “Casino Royale” before seeing “Quantum of Solace.” Starting where the other left off, it ought to begin like series television: “Previously on ‘The Adventures of James Bond’...”

Eventually, a standalone plot develops: Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) is the latest to try to rule the world. He’s a kingmaker who can put anyone in control of any country—in return for that country’s oil rights, which he shares with the U.S. and U.K. in exchange for their support of his dictator du jour.

It’s not a bad concept, but it’s just put out there, without ever being developed in an interesting way. Greene’s latest client is General Medrano (Joaquin Cosio), a deposed dictator who wants to regain control of Bolivia.

Bond hooks up with Greene's mistress Camille (Olga Kurylenko), who's been using him to get to Medrano, who killed her family. She and Bond spend all their time together on the run, too busy to consummate their alliance. The only Bond girl who does enjoy his carnal attentions (offscreen, as discreetly as in a 1950s movie) is Agent Fields (Gemma Arterton), who is sent by M to bring him home.

Bond, you see, is a maverick. M is upset that he’s been killing people who should have been kept alive for interrogation. Thinking it’s his way of avenging the death of Vesper Lynd (again, see “Casino Royale”), M declares he’s gone too far. She cancels his credit, sends Fields to reel him in and officially suspends him and makes him turn in his guns. But at the end, she indicates that she never lost faith in her agent. So why did she make things so difficult for him?

Also returning are the closest thing Bond had to friends in the last movie, Rene Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini) and the CIA’s Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), the latter sorely underused.

The humor in the old Bond films was corny, but it’s missed here, especially since much of it was associated with sex, and “Quantum of Solace” is the least sexy Bond film ever. It’s also probably the cheapest-looking in its effort to appear gritty, despite having been filmed in six countries.

On the plus side, Judi Dench’s role as M, Bond’s boss at MI6, has been beefed up, making her a character, not a cameo; and the action is better distributed throughout the film, unlike the frontloaded “Casino Royale,” which got the highlights over with in the first hour.

But however well-spaced, the action scenes in “Quantum of Solace” are the worst of any Bond film. Mostly brief and chaotic rather than extended set pieces, they look like they were directed by Michael Bay, but without his usual budget. (The movie was actually directed by Marc Forster, who shouldn’t be allowed to do another Bond.)

Perhaps the most interesting sequence, though it’s totally absurd, involves a conference of conspirators during a performance of “Tosca.” Scattered all through the audience, they speak into wireless devices, and no one around them asks them to be quiet. Sadly, today’s young moviegoers will see nothing unusual about this. 2 STARS