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December 7, 2008
I saw the new James Bond movie this weekend. And I can quite honestly say I don't remember a single thing about it.
Oh -- other than the theme music, that is.
Now, I don't usually make a habit of caring about the theme music for the latest James Bond flick.
But "Another Way to Die" had me at the get go.
From the very first opening bars I was prompted to sit up a little straighter in my seat. "Who’s this?" I thought. And, "What’s going on here?" The song has the requisite Bond sound: orchestral and menacing. But suddenly, right before your very ears, it's tackled head-on and wrestled to the ground by towering White Stripes power chords, all the while being wooed and severely compromised (but in the most delightful way) by hip hop vocal stylings.
It's all wrong. But somehow, so right -- a monstrous slab of genre-busting awesomeness.
Too bad the movie itself couldn't live up to that heady opening.
And it is a shame, because I loved Casino Royale (not having been much of a Bond fan before that). Daniel Craig is a very physical actor. Or, to put it another way: he is intensely physically present as an actor. He lends his Bond an explosive, feral quality that is really quite -- how shall I say? -- beguiling.
This latest Bond vehicle unfortunately manages to entirely squander his brilliance. The film has been edited to within an inch of its life, leaving us stranded in a morass of confusingly murky, choppy fight scenes, car chases and explosions. And, just to add insult to injury, there is nary an emotional payoff -- nor flashy gadget -- in sight. Quelle horreur.
[James Bond - Quantum of Solace official website] [Jack White and Alicia Keys - MySpace Video]
