I am not a Bond fan. Well, not since grade school, at least. Perhaps that’s because I came of age during the Brosnan Era. His four entries into the Bond canon were silly, insipid, and misogynistic; when Daniel Craig was named his successor, I could have cared less. A tuxedoed man who runs around killing extras, sleeping with anonymous women, and defeating caricaturized villains bores me to death.
I caught Casino Royale on DVD, with obviously low expectations, and was pleasantly surprised by the depth Daniel Craig brought to the role; the intelligence and grace of Eva Green, who wasn’t just another expendable Bond girl; the grittiness and realism that Paul Haggis brought to the script. Casino Royale did for Bond what Batman Begins did for the superhero, what The Bourne Identity did for the espionage thriller. It modernized, hardened, and rebooted the genre for a more cynical, intelligent audience.
Unfortunately, Casino Royale was undone by its tedious running time. Not so for Quantum, which clocks in at just over 100 minutes, the perfect length for a movie, in my opinion (I’m looking in your direction, Peter).
Craig is a wonder to behold here. His looks, lines, and hits are sharper than broken glass. You trust Bond’s competence, believe in his physical abilities and mental resourcefulness, and at the same time you see a glimpse of vulnerability in the way he hunches his shoulders, in his silences. Just with a look, Craig is capable of conveying grief, anger, resolve, intelligence, and a sprig of British wit.
The great thing about the new Bond is the continuity between films. That being said, the plot of Quantum is virtually impossible to follow if you haven’t seen Casino Royale (a quick refresher during the credits would have been nice, or at least more useful than the usual Bond special-effects Laser and Babe Show), but Quantum is in essence a revenge film. Bond goes after the mysterious, powerful organization responsible for the death of his true love (Yes, this Bond feels!), Vesper Lynd. What he uncovers is a conveniently topical plan to use environmental conservation as a cover for the trafficking of natural resources, in this case Bolivia’s water supply. The spy trail leads Bond through Italy, Haiti, and South America, in some brilliantly-shot locales.
Marc Foster’s direction is almost flawless; the settings pulse with atmosphere, the scenes with tension. His only problem? The action. It looks like the producers told him to “do the Bourne thing and shake the camera around.” The editing alone makes the action impossible to follow. There are a couple nice exceptions, but the big four action sequences (which the screenwriters based on the elements earth, water, air, and fire, in that order) are pure noise.
The other problem is the lack of a compelling supporting cast. Craig is cinematic gold, and Judi Dench finally makes M a believable, likeable character, but the rest of the characters are props. The Bond girl, Camille, while genuinely beautiful and wonderfully tough, is ultimately forgettable and one-dimensional. I just never believed she’d ever been in the Bolivian secret service, or cared about her stock sob story. Ditto for the villain, Dominic Greene, a greedy corporate type who exploits the instability of third-world government. He’s a disposable creep with an accent, nothing more.
Now that we’ve got a brilliant Bond, and some talented writers and directors, let’s give him a few people to interact with. Characters instead of plot devices. Actors instead of models. Jeffrey Wright makes another delightful appearance here as CIA agent Felix Lieter, but only for a few scenes. Use him next time! And let’s get a three-dimensional villain and heroine while we’re at it.
Conclusion: Craig is a perfect Bond, but this is not a perfect Bond movie. You’ll be entertained, though, by the exotic settings, the chases and shootings, the dashes of humor, and the sheer magnetism of Daniel Craig.
Rating: 7 (out of 10)
