Dh and I had one of our semi-regular days off yesterday. It was lovely, thanks for asking. We did a spot of birthday and Christmas shopping, had lunch at Wagamama’s (when did everyone in the world apart from me learn to use chopsticks? I ended up with more noodles on my lap than in my mouth) and saw the new Bond film.
Now, I’m a Bond film purist. I don’t care that the portrayals of the character by Daniel Craig and Timothy Dalton are closer to the Fleming novels. I’ve read the books and Bond is essentially a nasty little thug, which I suppose spies generally are. Which reminds me – surely the characters in Spooks are all far too good-looking to be effective spies? I prefer the Connery/Brosnan portrayal of Bond – a vodka martini for breakfast, a villain’s girlfriend for lunch and a fine Cuban cigar for dinner followed by an evening of baccarat in Monte Carlo. Witty repartee with Q, several exotic locations, a baddie with a fatal weakness, henchmen killed with a single bullet and beautiful cars. Everything neatly tied up at the end. Not too much violence.
The first half of Quantum of Solace summed up everything I hate in films: mindless, graphic violence, no storyline to speak of, an unattractive main character, no sense of purpose or direction, no light and dark and no humour. About halfway through the film, Bond goes to visit an old (retired) sparring partner. At this point the film perks up. The (thin) plot becomes more obvious. There were (tiny) attempts at humour. I even smiled once or twice. I really, really don’t get the Daniel Craig thing (not attractive at all) but I can appreciate him as a good actor and he’s doing interesting things with the Bond role. I liked the girls – the main one even had a revenge story of her own to deal with, which gave her a reason to be fighting with Bond, rather than just shrieking in the background in an inappropriate dress. The baddie was French and crap (the two don’t necessarily go together) but easily disposed of (I liked the fact we didn’t really see what Bond did to him – some things are better left to the imagination) and his story (a small water shortage? Quick! Get the rozzers!) was a bit silly.
However, QoS seems to be a transitional film. Bond had to seek closure (psych alert!) for losing Vesper in Casino Royale. The first half of the film represented his anger (inconsolable rage, as M put it) and his desire to pummel to death anyone he came into contact with. By the end of the film he had exacted revenge on those who had been responsible for Vesper’s death but had grown up enough not to kill them. The iconic Bond theme doesn’t appear until the end of the film, just before the credits. Hopefully the next film will take the direction of the second half of this one and insert a little more light and shade into the story.
Bond is Bond. It doesn’t need to be Bourne.
The theme even manages to sound better in the cinema. It’s no Goldfinger but it’s a darned sight better than Die Another Day.