Great theme…

Production begins 2010…

Quntum of Solace…

Well, I finally had a chance to go and see the latest James Bond installment, Quantum of Solace, but just barely. I had planned to see it over the Thanksgiving weekend, but for many reasons those plans fell through and I never made it to the theater. This past weekend it was only showing at one theatre so I decided I had better make hast if I was ever going to catch it on the big screen. I had feverishly avoided previews, reviews, summations, etc… in the hope that I would walk in to the movie with little in the way of pre-conceptions, or influences of any sort. Several members of my family pleaded with me to see the movie, so we could discuss it, and now I have, and so I have some phone calls to make.

I had great expectations for the film, following the previous movie Casino Royale, which was one of the best of all Bond films, re-energized the franchise, which once again was falling into the formula trench, and re-defined James Bond, which was a monumental task. Another film, the Living Daylights gave a similar, though less extreme makeover to the franchise several years ago. Roger Moore was getting too long in the tooth to be a believable Bond, and the movies were becoming mockeries of themselves with bad one-liners and weak comedic relief. Timothy Dalton, who I have always felt was the closest actor to portray the Bond of the Fleming novels, ushered in a renewed hope for Bond with a younger face, a sinister smile and a cold war Bond style. Alas, this was short lived with the release of the weak, License to Kill, which seemed rushed to production regardless of story and script, just to capitalize of the success of the previous film.
It’s like de ja vu all over again with Quantum of Solace.

What the film lacks in story and character development it tries to make up for with action sequences and chases. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good chase scene, but with out a story it becomes just another car commercial. The film also missed on several essentials to the Bond film. The theme song was weak and forgettable. The bar had been set high with the previous theme, Chris Cornell’s “You Know My Name, ” but this never got off the ground. I literally cannot remember the name of the song, and I saw the film four days ago. Throughout the Bond movies it has always been tradition to use the theme song in various forms during the movie. It supports the theme of the song; it also gets the audience member invested in the “hook” of the song, and makes it more memorable, and builds the Bond experience. Quantum missed the boat here.

The opening sequence graphics were also a huge disappointment. Again, the song did little to help, but I thought I was watching a late 70’s Bond film when the sequence started. Casino Royale had broken away from naked women cleverly worked into the background, covered in text and graphics, or running in silhouette, but Quantum brought us right back. I was waiting to see Roger Moore through a champagne flute… Once again, the previous movie had re-invented the famous James Bond opening and made it better, and this one came up short.

I really like Daniel Craig’s James Bond. He is tough, smart, and the chicks dig him. He will never be the gentleman spy that Moore and Brosnen portrayed, but that is a good thing, as the notion of a celebrity spy in the globalized, technology driven world of 2009 is much less believable than it was twenty years ago. Craig’s Bond is maladjusted, reckless and disposable, something no other actor has captured in the portrayal of Bond.
I look forward to seeing Craig out from under the umbrella of betrayal and loss that played a major part in the sub-text of this film.

Overall, I felt that the story of the film was weak and lacking of real urgency or threat. The Quantum group is the new S.P.E.C.T.R.E., which is cool, but the threat of controlling the water supply of Bolivia just doesn’t seem that high on the radar of global threats. There were some great homage moments in the film, such as Agent Strawberry Fields (almost as bad as Holly Goodhead) being painted form head to toe in oil, black gold, and I am really happy that the producers have seen fit to bring back Felix Liter, and have him portrayed by the same actor.

Bond should not be reduced to a mere action hero, ala Jason Bourne or countless other action super-spies, he has so much more to offer. James Bond should be allowed to evolve with new director action techniques, graphic treatments and special effects, but the producers should never forget what has given millions of people over the last 50 years so much pleasure. His name is Bond… James Bond.

On the “Double O” scale I would give Quantum of Solace a 005.

Quantum of Solace (2008) Trailer 2

Alicia Keys to perform on ‘X Factor’

Monday, August 25 2008, 11:25 BST

By Daniel Kilkelly, Entertainment Reporter’

Alicia Keys and White Stripes frontman Jack White have been lined up to appear on a special Bond-themed X Factor live show.

The pair have agreed to give a performance of their duet ‘Another Way to Die’, which is being used as the theme for forthcoming 007 movie Quantum of Solace.

Meanwhile, the show’s finalists will be asked to belt out other Bond theme tunes, including Madonna’s ‘Die Another Day’ and Shirley Bassey’s ‘Goldfinger’.

An insider told The Sun: “It’s going to be brilliant. All the judges can wear black tie and we’ll have a live orchestra. There are some great songs for the finalists to choose from.

“Everyone is excited about it. Let’s face it, Simon would make an ideal Blofeld, Cheryl would be perfect as Pussy Galore, Dannii could be Vesper Lynd – and of course Louis would be Miss Moneypenny.”

The X Factor continues at 7.10pm on Saturday on ITV1.

Miss Moneypenny… a private diary

Moneypenny had to have a birthday, a family, a dress size, somewhere to live and someone to love; she needed memories of childhood, her first kiss and favourite holiday. [MORE]

Great Bond Stuff…

Fleming and Bond time line

To celebrate the centenary of Ian Fleming’s birth, Times Online have created an exclusive 100 year interactive Fleming and Bond timeline. Packed with articles and photography from the Times Archive and the original reviews of Bond novels and films, it shows how closely Bond’s fictional life paralleled Fleming’s

100 Years of James Bond – Timeline

In his never ending assignment to uncover all things Bond, Agent “P” has uncovered a very cool interactive time line on James Bond and Ina Fleming.  CHECK IT OUT…

I wish I was James Bond – Scouting for Girls

Quantum of Solace – Wallpaper Downloads