Quantum of Solace (2008)

Quantum of Solace. Even if I've seen most of the James Bond series thus far, I'm not and won't considered myself as an avid fan of the double-oh agent. Thus, I was totally indifferent when the news about Pierce Borsnan being replaced by David Craig starts to surface. Alas, as I've seen Mr.Craig in Layer Cake, I was known as seemingly the supporter of Craig as Bond. Well, it's merely because I hate it when people gave a presumptuous assumption on one's capability BEFORE they even see or experienced the said capability themselves. And guess who had the last laugh?

I dare to say that most viewers, casual or serious would agreed about the undeniable Craig factor when talking/discussing about Quantum of Solace. Again, portraying James Bond in his early career, Daniel Craig launches the suave agent into a more physical stretching tasks that required him to once again leap over buildings, avoid explosions, taming a speed-demon roadster, and not to mention, save the damsel in distress. Quantum of Solace is a direct sequel to Casino Royale, is the shortest James Bond film ever, and although the knowledge of previous film that precedes this film is minimum, it is at least recommended for a skim through to familiarize yourself with names and faces throughout this film.

Written by Paul Haggis, who wrote Crash, it was to be expected that this film is at least consists of couple layers of story as once again our agent is pitted against the very same yet un-named secret organization (before SPECTRE?) from the first film. This film's "official" Bond-girl, Camille (Olga Kurylenko) involved herself with this organization on a personal agenda that doesn't really deal with the organization itself directly. James Bond's employer is also testing their (her) trust on Bond's "unique" methods, some old names returns, and some familiar recurring character re-shapes themselves to a level we're all familiar, the villains are also has kinks and quirks of arrogance that makes me actually wonder why does the "good" guys didn't see that they were up to no good from the first sight. All in all, the violent and angry James Bond is return yet again, and even though it's different than the elegant spy he used to be known for through the decades of the franchise, I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever of Daniel Craig's imminent increasing popularity as James Bond. Especially for the younger generation.

The film opens with beautiful car-chase sequence, and it's rarely stop from here on unless in a few moments required in order to advance the plot. In terms of action, it has everything I could think of. Bare-hand fights, check. Close-quarter combat, check. Boat-chase sequence, check. Plane-chase sequence, check. Increasingly popular but threateningly close to become a staple of boredom rooftop chase parkour-style sequence, check and I haven't mentioned everything, yet. All that, crammed into a film that barely touches the two hour mark, plus a maddening attention to details and the palpable level of dangerousness, would surely please even the least attentive casual viewer.

But, once you get passed the innuendo action sequences, there's Bond. This Bond is angry, and fueled by the need to revenge, that even his Boss threatened to let him go. He kills seemingly without hesitation or hints of regret. But well hidden beneath that calm, passive outward presence, he is troubled, boiled with rage, mourned with loss, torn between duty and revenge. On one single heartbreaking scene, I had a suggestion that Bond is actually shed a tear. And guess what, from this scene, I hereby proclaimed that Daniel Craig is now my favorite James Bond.

My only complaints? Probably Olga Kurylenko. But she doesn't get much of attention anyway, so no biggie. And oh, Alicia Keys should never ever sings in a duet again.

My rating: *** / **** - This film's overall theme is "personal" This is where we see James Bond finally abandon his personal grit and shove aside his feelings that turns him into an effective, flamboyant, and confident spy agent he was so famously known for decades. Either that, or this is simply an above average, um, make that WELL above average action film. Your choice. If you love Casino Royale, you should SEE this film. Period.

Dr. No (1962)

Dr.No. Before Q, before gadgetry, before box-office, before "gimmicky" questions such as "Who's going to be the next Bond girl?" there's "Dr. No" a display of early James Bond, a gritty, violent, sometimes a cold-blooded agent, who relies more on his muscle and wit i.e physical assets as an agent than the gadgets. This Bond is susceptible to fear (as he admits to Honey Ryder, this film's Bond girl, so to speak), and panic which actually makes him a little more human than what he would portrays in his next films.

I've read that it was due to a limited budget at the time (this is after all, before an accepted agreement that any 007 films would costs many and expected to earns more) that made this films felt so raw. Granted, the first Daniel Craig's Bond film is also portrayed the raw Bond but money doesn't lie, and it shows.

The film opens in Jamaica (in fact, the film took place almost entirely there), where an agent and his liaison were killed for investigating a nearby island called Carb Key. Our favorite double-oh agent was soon sent to the ground-zero where he met with Felix Leiter (a recurring character), a CIA agent, and with help from locals, including probably the first ever Bond girl, Honey Ryder (whose first scene is quite legendary, or so I heard, and infamously reenacted by Heather Graham in one of the Austin Powers' film - can't remember which) was soon face-to-face with Dr.No, a member of an evil organization, SPECTRE, a recurring nemesis in James Bond films, who controls the illicit and up-to-no-good operations in Carb Key island.

In my opinion, you can't be more formulaic with 007 films. Give some plot to the antagonists to disturb the order of peace with one way or another, thrown our vodka-martini-stirred-not-shaken-lover agent into the scene, mix it with some hottie, preferably buxom and exposing as many skin as possible, and pit him against the arch-nemesis in some archetypal pyrotechnics work in the end. So, you asked, what's the appeal then? To be quite honest, I really have no idea. I'm not considering myself as a Bond's fan anyway. Not by a mile.

I thought, that James Bond films, especially the early releases are more valuable in its historical aspect than anything. We're talking about forty years and twenty films of franchise, after all. However, it should be noted that statistically, films that were released in the 60's are on average longer than films released nowadays, Dr.No may seems slow for many casual viewers. I was guilty as well, I played Final Fantasy Tactics A2 on my NDS while watching the film for the whole time, only occasionally rewind the DVD when I felt like I missed something important. Just for a couple of times, if I remembered correctly.

P.S: This is an attempt to see ALL of James Bond films prior and in an anticipation of the release of "Quantum of Solace" later this year (part 1 of 21 - or 22, whichever version suits you, planned)