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007's next mission... to battle bad reviews
Sri Carmichael31.10.08
THE new James Bond film faces its most serious test when it opens to the public.
Tens of millions of pounds are being spent to promote Quantum Of Solace, the 22nd Bond film, in 40 countries worldwide.
But after a glittering premiere and one of the most hyped releases in a decade, the makers are facing major questions over the film's success.
Critics have attacked the production as "tosh", with reviewer Cosmo Landesman saying: "Bond is dead."
In The Sunday Times, Landesman said: "You almost feel a kind of patriotic duty to go out and see it. Don't bother. James Bond is dead. This is a back-to-basics Bond. It has been stripped of exotic locations, extravagant gadgetry, bikinied beauties and larger-than-life villains. So what's left? Not much."
The Daily Telegraph's Mark Monahan said: "The expository dialogue scenes can be dull, and cram in so many machinations and double-crossings that it's easy to lose track of who's duping whom."
The Independent also dismissed the film, saying it "didn't seem like a major entry into the Bond canon".
Promoters will now be relying on a $100 million (£60.3 million) advertising campaign to coax people into the cinema, as well as tie-ins with Virgin Atlantic, Sony, Smirnoff, Ford Motors, Heineken, Omega watches and Ericsson cell phones.
Olga Kurylenko, who plays Bond girl Camille, is promoting Heineken as well as Ford's new Ka.
The multi-media campaign includes TV, print, radio and online advertisements in 40 countries.
The concept for the film, which cost a reputed £140 million to make, comes from an Ian Fleming short story, but the plot was created on the hoof by producer Michael G. Wilson while he filmed its predecessor Casino Royale.
In it, Bond is seeking revenge for the death of his great love, Vesper Lynd.
Reader views (9)
Wow, i am glad i am not the only person who thought this a poor cousin (more like a bankrupt uncle, which is where the franchise is heading if Barbara continues with the current theme). I had been looking forward to this outing as i was hoping it would explaine the last offering. So i booked premier seats at my local cinima and even invested in a vodka martini only to discover that it did not explaine anything and only left me more confused. My husband (poor soul) who is not a bond fan suffered this with me and fell asleep during one of the most gratuitous excuses for Daniel Graig to preen and prance a cross the worst locations for a bond movie (any movie), what is the point of having the resourse to make a wonderful escape and turning it into a dirge only fit for straight to DVD. Please Please get rid of Mr Craig and let someone who can take us to all these wonderful places that most of us will never see with our own eyes, to give us the escape, to wish we were the bond girl, to make us laugh and say wow at the gadgetry have ago. I have no suggestions as to who but can you please give the person who picked Mr Craig the day off on the day you have the interviews for the next one.
- Diana Gathercole, Stourbridge. West Midlands
And the Alicia Keyes Jake White theme tune is not a patch on the Duffy song RAIN ON YOUR PARADE which she wrote for the film. In fact I bet it doesn't get in the top 10 here or in the USA.
- Keith Price, Luton, England
But it's full of non-stop cgi assisted action sequences!
Harry Broccoli would turn in his grave, Ian Fleming would light up his fortieth cigarette of the day, and Roger Moore - and the rest of us - heave a sigh of regret.
- John Problem, Hackney Wick, London, UK
Daniel Craig may have been needed to tell the pre bond story in the last film and the immediate follow on in this film but I doubt if this formula will keep Bond going as successfully on the world stage as the formula used by previous Bond actors.
Perhaps David Tennent should become the next Bond with Catherine Tate as a bond girl at least she wont be boverred!
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex
Odd that they invariably make a lot of money from them, if they are so "tired and boring".....
- Rogan, Irving
The plot, the story and everything else is weakened by the over emphasis on product placement and straightforward advertising. An advertising showcase with some action sequences to make you want to watch the commercial until the end.
- Ian, Reading, England
I like the new Bond; better than the wisecracking himbos of former years. More gritty and steely than before.
- Dhanraj, Basildon
From what I hear "plot" and "story" virtually do NOT feature in this film so all that's left is "action" . . . Not really what Bond is really all about, is it?
No doubt Sir Sean Connery will be exceedingly glad he's not the current "James Bond" if the film is really so lightweight!
- Fraser, Telford Park
Exotic locations, extravagant gadgetry, bikinied beauties and larger-than-life villains aren't what necessarily make a good movie. Plot, dialogue and interaction between the players are more important, otherwise stage presentations wouldn't work. Virtually all Bond movies are ultimately boring as they all follow a similar tired old format with stuff we've all seen before in a hundred films- even the recent Brosnan films.
- Martin Kostyrka, Stratford Upon Avon United Kingdom
