Bond is Back...

There’s a new Bond movie that is out now. It hits the theaters with a big bang. More characters, more action, plenty of rough-around-the-edge looks for Bond.

"Quantum of Solace" picks up where the first film leaves off. This is the first for the Bond series that follows quickly the previous film. His abduction of mister White, the ruthless banker from the first film, carries the momentum forward into this movie. It starts a little crazily.

There’s frantic jumps in the action, a lot of gunfire, and Bond is further motivated by the death of his loved girlfriend rather than the importance of politics played by the shadow organization known as the Quantum.

It’s a bold move. And many may consider this to be the early, more refined version of the Specter group that made their appearance during the 1960s. Such a thing wouldn’t work nowadays as it sounds a little too campy. So film's tone goes for a more underground side government type ruled by many people with money, power and greed. They are like a legion of chess players hiding in the public.

When Bond moves in on this world-wide network, through their communications system, you’ll see exactly how many people there are in the Puccini’s opera house. It’s amazing as how many people there were, getting up, leaving so they could maintain their anonymity. Isn’t that how it always is? They were trying to keep their identity a secret. The gods behind the myth. The masters who pull the strings. With the effortless support of this organization. They are like the folks from Enron.

Basically Bond infiltrates a plot to buy a large amount of desert as a way of getting all the needed water. And water would be an expensive commodity once the greenhouse effect would kick in. Mr. Greene owns his corporation associated with Quantum to usher this idea into the new world. A world where poverty grows as people begin to kneel under a different kind of rule. The kind where money says all.

The Quantum group isn’t a very nice bunch of people. They are calculating, cruel and do anything for the sake of money. And that is all what matters in the end. Everything else is expendable.

Much of the action is forthgoing as directed by Marc Forster. At times he tries too much with the action with no room to breathe. With plenty of whirlwind scenes filled with fists and fury. The action is never ending. With some nice set pieces including a fight scene involving glass windows falling apart when crashing from great heights. And another classic Bond with the building exploding at the end, with all the blasts going in sequence, and Bond is stuck inside exchanging punches with Green.

I felt some of the action is too jumpy, losing me in some of the confusion. Especially with the first car chases, with some of the scenes flashing here and there, and some of the fluency of action getting lost in the craziness.

I know the homage of the Goldfinger movie is there with the girl being covered in oil. That’s a kind of nod to the old series and saying that they haven’t forgotten the earlier entries to the Bond saga. But it’s much too well known of a scene that I felt it should not have been included. It’s nice. But the homage might have been misplaced here due to the over-familiarity of the content.

But there are some really great stuff in there too. I was slightly taken back by the killing off the rather decent character Rene Mathis. In a sort of very ironic way, he would turn out to be the only person Bond trusted. And of all the people, he is the one to be gunned down. That really helped to project the film forward with his rather sad death. But Bond gets back in a great scene when he jumps down on the killer’s car, lifts his eyes to meet the killer, and shouts, “Hey, we got a mutual friend!”

And Bond just shoots the guy point blank through the windshield. It’s a knockout scene. And there were a couple of scenes where you think Bond is getting to be a real rogue, a maverick, pointing to his direction of reckless behavior. But one believes that he is doing this for his Majesty’s service. But he always has that ulterior motive as well.

The main villain of Greene is well realized. Slightly handsome, mostly sleazy, he wades through a ton of money like a snake. And he is constantly reeling in deals for the Tierra Project, like a rat.

But, most importantly, is the fact that Bond does learn his humanity a bit. That he hasn’t lost his soul under his cold blooded exterior. Maybe someday some lucky punk will get to make a hit on him. But not today, not tomorrow. Bond is at the top of his game here, running through like a catapult. Daniel Craig makes a strong performance as the conflicted man.

Not conflicted enough that Bond does let his deceased girlfriend’s killer live… so Bond doesn’t have to kill everyone on sight and can allow for someone to live for questioning. Which was what his government wanted in the first place. Being too hell-bent on revenge may loosen the mind, become too reckless.

I also love the bit with the CIA agent Felix coming into the middle of the film to give Bond some good dialogue. He’s a trusted agent also to Bond’s side. And one only hope that the next film would give this character a real backstory and some good action scenes. When he looks at you, there’s a solid menace in his eyes that says, “Yeah, I cant take you anytime, buddy.”

I do admit to still like the previous outing “Casino Royale” slightly more. It’s a good set up with some great characters in it. But it is still worth seeing Quantum for some fine action scenes that doesn’t focus on a love story. Instead, it does propel the story ahead, knowing very well that it is leaning at full tilt. And there is still the matter of mister White, the banker, who may have a bigger part in the third film as Bond gets into the heart of the Quantum organization. Perhaps Bond is saving this guy for last yet. There’s always that possibility.

But there is mister White’s chilling line, “We are everywhere.”

A good flick that bodes well for the series, and you really have to look at it as one big story. And it hasn’t hurt the continuing franchise at all. Daniel Craig will come around for the third film to settle old scores. And hopefully tie up loose ends in the most savage, brutal way possible. This guy isn’t kidding around.