oo7: QUANTUM OF SOLACE

I FELL ASLEEP IN THE MIDDLE. I'm ashamed, but it's the truth. It was a very long day for me, and I really had no business sitting in a dark room in a comfy chair with room to put my feet up. Really no business there at all. But how could I say no to this man? His name is Bond. James Bond. And he is supafly.

I know exactly what made me space, though, and it wasn't Daniel Craig driving an Aston Martin while rocking a custom-fit Tom Ford suit (that, my friends, brought me back). It was the lack of dialogue. Now, Q OF SOLACE, despite the huh?-able title, is actually an easy to understand flick, at the core: Good fights Evil; Good wins. But in watching this film, I found I almost--just a bit--got bored during the fighting. I almost found myself longing for the gotta-keep-up-with-the-jokes Pierce Brosnan days, invisible car and all. Where Craig is brooding, Brosnan was charming. Where Craig raises his eyebrows, Brosnan pursed his lips, raised his eyebrows and cracked a joke. Brosnan had a certain, gentlemanly sexual je-ne-sais-quoi that forgave him his lack of fighting skills. And though Craig has je-ne-sais-do-me in spades, it's the rugged side of him that gets him in the door, not the talking. And to be honest, I miss the talking. Call me a romantic.

But I guess, in casting Craig, the Bond demographic has changed a bit. We obviously want men who watch video games to like this movie most. Dialogue kills the "This Could Be Me" fantasy, so perhaps that's the reason for the silence. But silence aside, Bond and his leading lady, the mysterious Olga Kurylenko, do have some chemistry. Sometimes, between her Russian-cum-Latin accent, I had trouble understanding her, but it was all in the eyes anyway. Interestingly, though the entire audience definitely was waiting for Olga and Bond to hook it up, je-ne-sais-do-me style, the double-oh-sexy romp never happened. You'd think the video gamers would at least want that. Guess they'll have to wait for the sequel.

plot: 007 gets his sweet revenge
thought: letop5 gets a little sleepy
in five: 3.5/5

he's gone rogue: http://www.007.com/
and there's already a video game: http://007thevideogame.com/