They will, however, be collaborating this time with Frost/Nixon writer, Peter Morgan, and I hope he will add something to the mix because I was not overly impressed with Solace.  I found the plot overly complicated and Bond was completely without of his usual quirky personality and witty quips.  Granted, he was mourning the loss of his lover, Vesper Lynd, but it just felt all wrong.  It almost seemed like they were trying too hard to make Bond an action hero instead of a MI6 agent.  The reviews were mixed too with Rotten Tomatoes giving it just a 65% and Roger Ebert handing out just two stars.

I wonder if the fact that this movie will be the first to return as a full MGM release will make a difference.  The first 20 Bond films were distributed by MGM but Royale and Solace were put out in conjunction with Sony.  Whatever the case, I am optimistic that this third Bond film in the Craig era will recapture some of the former magic (not counting the ones starring Timothy Dalton – those were awful).

There is no word on the title or release date but I’m going to guess that it will come out sometime in late 2010 since the last two were about two years apart.

image: MGM/Sony Pictures

Post from: EveryJoe

image: Wikimedia Commons

A recent Bond novel, Devil May Care, is set in the 1960s which Craig feels would be a perfect fit for the Mad Men star.  He told Australia’s Herald Sun: “Have you seen that terrific series Mad Men? It’s great and I look at that guy [Hamm] and he’s got such a great look.  If you’re doing the film of [Devil May Care] that look would be perfect. If you were doing a one-off film I would say that’s the way you would go.”

I don’t think a film adaptation of that particular novel is in the works so I doubt this will really be relevant in the end.  Besides, aren’t Bond actors supposed to be British-born?  Hamm was born in St. Louis, Missouri.

Then again… I never thought I’d see a blond James Bond so stranger things have happened.  What do you think?  Would you embrace an American Bond?

Post from: EveryJoe

image: imdb.com

The thing that stands out most to me is the absence of awe-inspiring technology.  As much as I like seeing our favorite spy make his way in and out of dangerous situations (and women) I am just as interested in seeing what new phone, gadgets and car he’ll be using.  Instead of making me wonder how they could make something so cool for Bond to use in his quest to fight bad guys, I ended up thinking “oh, I saw that phone on sale at Best Buy.”  For much of the film, I was disappointed but I guess it’s tough to impress audiences after Iron Man (2008).

Another problem I noticed was that the film was really devoid of those classic tongue-in-cheek quips.  Daniel Craig does a fine job in his second venture as the title character and, yes, I understand that this is a darker movie since Bond is seeking to avenge the death of his love, Vesper Lynd.  The comments don’t always have to be funny to be clever so, in this film, I found Bond to be dull and less likable.

I also found the plot to be a bit all over the place – not exactly complicated but a little disjointed in its presentation.  I’m not even going to attempt to explain it (either watch the movie or read about it on IMDb).

I did like the casting of Olga Kurylenko as Camille Montes.  Her character was like a sidekick to Bond and I really enjoyed that dynamic.  They were both wounded and revenge-seeking which led them to take risks that sane people would never take.

You can rent or buy Quantum of Solace as of today.  In the meantime, check out the trailer:

Post from: EveryJoe