The new Bond film: A missed opportunity

Written by Mark Schumann, Father of Three
Thursday, 20 November 2008 14:34

Each week, the Reel Dad looks for a film for parents to share with children. Some of the reviewed films are new; some are classics; all are selected for their “nutritional value” as part of a family’s movie experience. This week, the Reel Dad takes a look at a new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace.

I have no idea what movies Marc Forster likes to watch. I don’t know if this director of Monster’s Ball and Finding Neverland favors comedies, dramas or adventures. But one thing seems clear — this director must not like James Bond films. That would not be an issue, for most people, but for Forester it proves to be a problem. He is, after all, the director of the latest Bond film, Quantum of Solace, and, thanks to him, the new episode of this celebrated franchise has nothing to do with James Bond. Forster’s new film looks, instead, like a collection of outtakes from the latest Bourne movie. Nothing about it pays tribute to or advances the Bond franchise. And, to make things worse, it’s boring.

Now, for James Bond fans, like me and my sons, this is a problem. People who like Bond films wait, with great anticipation, for the next episode. We suffered through most of the Roger Moore films, tried to forget the Timothy Dalton attempts, and felt teased by Pierce Brosnan when he delivered one goodie followed by a few clunkers. Then, in 2006, Daniel Craig brought life back to the character in the marvelous Casino Royale. Ahh, we thought, the drought has ended. But, fellow Bond fans, we were wrong. Quantum of Solace is the weakest Bond episode since, perhaps, The World Is Not Enough. It’s a mess.

Picking up at the conclusion of Casino Royale, the new film opens with Bond needing to seek revenge against the killer of his girlfriend. But fully understanding this back story would require dialogue that someone could follow, and that never happens here. Instead we are treated, in the first 20 minutes, to one exciting but meaningless car chase as well as one exciting but meaningless foot chase, but no real character development. All we can tell is this James Bond — as opposed to all the others — doesn’t hesitate to kill, never smiles and seems to brood a lot. Gone with the wind is the sophistication of Connery, the wit of Moore or the warmth of Brosnan. This Bond is mean, real mean.

He also has quite a hunger to kill, something Bond always had too much class to show. And he seems to miss all those fun gadgets from past films, the usual element of romance, or the Cold War as a reason for the tension. Plus his sparring with M (played with reliable presence by Judi Dench) seems whinier this time around. Instead, the new Bond chases a confusing Italian villain with ties to the CIA who does a lot of evil business in a faraway desert. Leave it to Bond to escape enemy air fire while piloting an ancient DC-3, survive a massive fire explosion, walk away from any number of attempts on his life, and snuff out anyone who gets in his way. The problem is that Bond was never intended to be a super hero, just a witty one.

What a disappointment. Now all of us who love Bond films will have to wait another couple of years for another try and hope that the creators will reinvent our favorite secret agent one more time. In the meantime, let’s hope we can look forward to more screen adventures of Jason Bourne. At least his films have the fun that Bond invented more than 40 years ago.

Note to Parents: The violence is the issue with this Bond film. Our hero is on a killing spree this time around and, while there isn’t a lot of blood, there are too many intense fights for younger children. Except for one brief sequence, the romantic side of Bond is ignored, along with the character’s charm and sense of humor.

Film Nutritional Value:

* Content: Medium. Like the worst of franchise, Quantum of Solace simply ignores what made the films so much fun in the first place. The film is a mess.
* Entertainment: Medium. There are, to be fair, some fun sequences, but they are overwhelmed by the poorly developed script and shallow characters.
* Message: Low. It’s not a message picture. Bond is never a message picture. The only message here is to the creators: Bring back Bond.
* Relevance: Low. With films this weak, Bond is again in danger of extinction, a stunning observations after Casino Royale seemed to reinvent the franchise in 2006.
* Opportunity for Dialogue: Low. The only thing to discuss is which of the good Bond films to watch instead of this one. I vote for Thunderball.

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