Quantum Of Solace
Having successfully given the 007 franchise a much needed revival with the adaptation of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, The producers of the Bond series gave themselves a tough act to follow.
So has Quantum Of Solace lived up to the expectations of countless Bond fanatics?
I have to say I really enjoyed this movie. The plot continues on from the end of Casino Royale, With all the staple requirements needed to make an entertaining story: car chases; incredible stunts; exotic locations and the obligatory sexy Bond girls.
Daniel Craig shines as 007, and although the script doesn’t have wall to wall witty quips as in the days of Roger Moore there are still humorous moments. The trend set in the previous film of not relying as heavily on outrageous gadgets has continued, and it takes the jeopardy up a notch when Bond gets into life threatening situations.
Bond begins the story a short time after the events of the last film. After capturing Mr White, Bond and M interrogate him about the mysterious organisation responsible for blackmailing Vesper, and they soon begin to realise that they are up against a deadlier threat than they could ever have imagined. Whilst on a mission which takes him across Europe and South America Bond discovers a plot by unscrupulous businessman Dominic Greene to secretly gain control of one of the world’s most important natural resources.
The supporting cast are of a high calibre, Olga Kurylenko & Gemma Arterton are more than just mere eye candy. Mathieu Amalric’s turn as Dominic Greene is entertainingly repulsive, and although there isn’t a great deal for Judi Dench to do as M she still manages to light up every scene she’s in.
All in all this is fantastic entertainment and bodes well for the future of the series, let’s hope Daniel Craig doesn’t want to revoke his licence to kill anytime soon.
Double Bond treat from BBC Audiobooks
With excitement growing about the imminent release of Bond film Quantum of Solace, BBC Audiobooks is serving up a treat for 007 fans with recordings of both Roger Moore’s autobiography and Ian Fleming’s original short story from which the film takes its name.
Due for release on October 6th, My Word is My Bond is Moore’s first ever autobiography which covers the the actor’s seven decade career from early television to the golden age of Hollywood and on to international stardom.
Sir Roger recounts his story with his trademark charm and feeling, leading us through his family life, his marriages, and his later battle with cancer and interweaving his personal history with wonderful stories from the heyday of Hollywood and seven block-buster Bond films.
Here he is uniquely positioned to give an affectionate insight into the Bond family, the close relationships and all the fun on set filming iconic scenes including the ski-chase opening to The Spy Who Loved Me and exploding Scaramanga’s Lair in Live and Let Die.
The book also covers Moore’s work for UNICEF and is peppered with personal anecdotes about Sir Roger’s work with such icons as Elizabeth Taylor, Lana Turner (who taught him how to kiss), David Niven and Michael Caine with whom he became great friends.
Listen to a clip of My Word is My Bond:
Pre-order My Word is My Bond from the seenit.co.uk store.
November sees the release of a 5 minute recording of Fleming’s Quantum of Solace short story, read by David Rintoul.
James Bond is bored in the Bahamas. It had been a dull dinner party with dreary guests, yet a chance remark leads the Governor to tell 007 a true story about a civil servant and his scandalous wife.
Over drinks, Bond hears a tale about raw human passions that contains more cruelty and suffering than any experienced by him - and which makes him question the violence in his own life.
Listen to a clip of My Word is My Bond:
Pre-order Quantum of Solace from the seenit.co.uk store.
Quantam of Solace UK trailer released
It’s the trailer we’ve all been waiting for, for the movie event of the year - Daniel Craig’s second outing as James Bond in Quantum Of Solace.
Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M (JUDI DENCH) interrogate Mr White (JESPER CHRISTENSEN) who reveals the organisation which blackmailed Vesper is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined.
Forensic intelligence links an Mi6 traitor to a bank account in Haiti where a case of mistaken identity introduces Bond to the beautiful but feisty Camille (OLGA KURYLENKO), a woman who has her own vendetta. Camille leads Bond straight to Dominic Greene (MATHIEU AMALRIC), a ruthless business man and major force within the mysterious organisation.
On a mission that leads him to Austria, Italy and South America, Bond discovers that Greene, conspiring to take total control of one of the world’s most important natural resources, is forging a deal with the exiled General Medrano (JOAQUIN COSIO). Using his associates in the organisation, and manipulating his powerful contacts within the CIA and the British government, Greene promises to overthrow the existing regime in a Latin American country, giving the General control of the country in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of land.
In a minefield of treachery, murder and deceit, Bond allies with old friends in a battle to uncover the truth. As he gets closer to finding the man responsible for the betrayal of Vesper, 007 must keep one step ahead of the CIA, the terrorists and even M, to unravel Greene’s sinister plan and stop his organisation.
Quantum Of Solace is released across the UK on October 31st
Sony Ericsson to market James Bond’s new phone
Sony Ericsson will launch a limited edition Titanium silver C902 Cyber-shot™phone to tie-in with the latest James Bond movie Quantum of Solace in which Daniel Craig is seen using the phone.
The new mobile promises to make sure users are ready for any challenge, immersing them into the world of a secret agent with interactive 007 content and a spy-style game including screensavers, James Bond theme and Quantum of Solace trailer.
The bundled memory stick will also include 3 behind the scenes interviews and footage from the movie, wallpapers and a Top Agent” game.
The C902 is used throughout the film by Bond to capture evidence and assist the agent on his mission. The 5MP camera, with a unique slide-out lens cover, illuminated touch icons providing quick and easy access to camera options, Face detection, Photo flash and Auto focus enables James Bond to send high resolution shots back to MI6 for quick recognition of his enemies.
The phone also offers BestPic™ which allows users to take nine pictures of a moving object simultaneously and choose the best shot to use, plus Picture blogging for uploading photos to blogsites and PictBridge for printing direct to a printer, without the need for a PC or laptop.
Lennard Hoornik, Corporate Vice President and Global Head of Marketing, Sony Ericsson comments, “We are excited to announce the continuation of our relationship with the James Bond films and unveil James Bond’s new phone for this year - the limited edition version of our C902 Cyber-shot™ phone. With the rich array of content both on the phone and preloaded on a memory card bundled with the C902 Titanium silver limited edition, fans of the secret agent will only get more James Bond with Sony Ericsson.”
The C902 Cyber-shot will be available in selected markets in Titanium Silver in late 2008 for a limited period.
James Bond Quantum of Solace - Behind The Scenes With Olga Kurylenko
Here’s a great new behind the scenes featurette focusing on new Bond girl Olga Kurylenko
For Your Eyes Only - Ian Fleming and James Bond
Imperial War Museum London
My visit took place a week after the exhibition opened and it’s clearly already a popular attraction - at times exhibits and the interactive displays had queues forming in front of them.
One of the most remarkable aspects of the exhibition is the sheer creativity of the museum in constantly finding new ways to make the First and Second World Wars relevant to generations increasingly distanced from them.
What with Flemings own range of books, several sets of authorised Bond novels by other authors, the Eon movies, countless ‘making of…’ books, documentaries and biopics one might think there was nothing new to learn about the character or his creator. The designers of this exhibition have set out to prove this assumption wrong and have overwhelmingly succeeded.
Linking the real person and fictional creation has allowed for a detailed examination of how Fleming’s wartime experiences shaped the world of James Bond.
From Fleming’s childhood Christmas stocking to a blood soaked shirt worn by Daniel Craig in Casino Royal to a copy of ‘Devil May Care’ by Sebastian Faulks (due to be published next month) the exhibition covers every aspect of Fleming’s life and the continued success of his creation.
Some of the items displayed have never been seen before including a scale version of the famous Aston Martin DB5 which was made for Prince Andrew and has been loaned by HM The Queen.
Fans of Bond’s cinema adventures will enjoy the chance to see Scaramanga’s Golden Gun and Rosa Kleb’s blade concealing shoes while for those wanting to learn more about Fleming there’s an impressive array of memos and memorabilia from his days at Reuters and Naval Intelligence plus annotated Bond manuscripts and sketches of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Interactive screens include a ‘book’ which looks at key relationships in Fleming’s life which visitors navigate through by flipping each ‘page’ - a great and entertaining step up from simply pressing ‘next’. Even more impressive is a series of display cases containing real espionage items such as hidden cameras and dead drops, visitors can touch the case above each item to bring up a fact file on it.
With Bond ever popular and always a sure money maker it would have been easy to offer a halfhearted affair which simply re-examined old ground. Instead the organisers have grasped the opportunity of Fleming’s centenary year to provide a detailed, exhaustive and well researched look at one of literature and cinema’s most iconic figures and the man who created him.
Exhibits have been drawn from a range of sources ensuring wide variety and there’s certain to be something to excite, thrill or educate everyone.
There’s an entrance fee for the exhibition but it’s undoubtedly excellent value for money and deserves to be a huge hit plus of course there’s the rest of the museum to explore when you’re finished.
PS: If you can’t get to the exhibition or are looking for a memento of a great day out Bloomsbury have published a tie-in book ‘For Your Eyes Only - Ian Fleming + James Bond’ which continues the look at the entwined lives of Fleming and Bond.
On Location With James Bond
In this featurette we take a look at the locations and sets in the upcoming Bond film which arrives in cinemas Friday, 31st October 2008 and sees Daniel Craig reprise the role of the super-sleuth.
WATCH THE FEATURE
James Bond: Behind The Scenes of Quantum of Solace
Take a sneak peak behind the scenes of the latest James Bond film: Quantum of Solace which seems Daniel Craig reprise the role of the super-sleuth.