Rant of a Bond fanatic

Quantum of Solace rocks. I watched it twice. Craig haters go jump into a pool of shit and lie face down.

Ok. That was my review of Quantum of Solace. Ever since the first poster hit the net, I started counting days to November 2008. The wait ended last to last week. And I gladly declare that Quantum of Solace was worth the wait. Beautiful babes, breathtaking locations, stunning action and all things Bond. And of course, it has Daniel Craig. This guy alone has multiplied my Bond fetish manifold.


For the second time in last 1 and a 1/2 years, I arrived at the theatre long before showtime (first time being The Dark Knight). After the wham-bam car chase, I held my breath as the Title Sequence started rolling. There was something(and the only thing) I didn't like about Casino Royale. I kept my fingers crossed so that they don't repeat the sacrilege. And Yippee!! Scores of naked women started emerging across the screen. Bond Title minus silhouettes of nude women? Blasphemous!

Let me rant about Craig a little bit. Do you remember the Opera scene? Having 'compromised' the discussion of Quantum cronies, James Bond comes face to face with Greene & co. There, both of them stand still for a while, eye-to-eye, the opera's high pitch music rendering a dramatic feel. Not a single word spoken, not even any notable expression . But the menace that Bond is, is unambigously conveyed by the chilling stare and the relaxed arrogance of Craig's posture. What a confrontation! '

Or take for instance the scene of Mathis' death. Bond tosses Mathis' corpse into a Garbage Vat. Camille asks "Is that how you treat your friends?"
Bond "He wouldn't mind."
Heartless? Coldblooded? I'm seriously at loss of words.

Now, some fun facts. After Die Another Day, here comes another Bond loaded with classic odes to the earlier 007 outings. While the obvious Goldfinger tribute is awing the audience, one can note one more loose reference. Bond and Camille's stroll across the Bolivian desert is very much identical to the scene in Roger Mootre starrer The Spy Who Loved Me(1977), where 007 and fellow Russian spy Agent XXX(Barbara Bach aka Mrs. Ringo Starr), criscrosses through Egyptian deserts. This is purely a fan observation, as the director has gone on the record revealing his lack of knowledge of any Bond movie where 007 gets lost in a desert. Bad homework.

My only complaint about the movie is about the villains. Mathau Almaric is the most incompetent Bond villain ever. This guy doesn't want the world to burn, doesn't have a bleeding eye or 3rd nipple, doesn't look dangerous, does not do anything exotic (no cigar, no yacht) - in software lingo - does not add value to the story. The sidekick is even more pathetic, a clown with a bowl-cut, this guy can't hold a candle to the legendary Jaws , Oddjob or even Tee Hee.

But good villain or no good villain, the hero takes the cake. And Craig is exceptionally good in that. And that's why Bond fanatics like me are celebrating. Once this movie goes off the theatre (gonna take some time, if box office reports are to be believed), EON Productions should waste no time in launching the next 007 installment. We want more Bond, more Craig. And make the Bond girls sultrier next time, and bring back Q, and also the Aston Martin, and ...

Ok. Just bring back Craig.

Connected!

Finally I got myself a net connection. A fast, steady one. First thing I downloaded was GTalk. GTalk - used to be the chief medium of communication between me and my friends, and I missed it badly throughout last year.

Imagine sitting in some stuffy, hot cybercafe of Trivandrum, pathetic speed, guy next to you watching titillating clips from some B-grade Malayali movie and Creative speakers airing 'Mukunda Mukunda' with full bass and treble.

Not my idea of a comfort zone, where you can relax and have a nice chat with your schoolfriend in Adelaide, or maybe discuss The Dark Knight with another movie buff buddy.

These apparently trifle yearnings meant a lot to me, and I so much wanted to see that white list populated with some favourite names - green and red dots beside them. Last Friday, it happened at last. I ran the 1.53 mb setup file and up popped the familiar GTalk Window.

I checked it. Yeah, it looked the same. Those names were there. The lights were on. I knocked on each name, and the names responded happily. New camera in the market, new books to be read, whether Bond should show more skin and all things under the sky were talked about. Bing-bong sounds all the night, IM windows appearing allover screen, writing wrong message in wrong window - life suddenly became so familiar.

Late that night, one deviant glance at the clock reminded me that I had to be in office 7 hours from then. So there ended my first day of surfing. I was more than satiated. People whom I chat with in GTalk are my real-life buddies as well. They always were just a phone call away. Still, something was amiss.

Now, with the GTalk and YM icons on bottom right corner of my desktop, everything seemed to be in place. You know, an unexpected lump of happiness which can't be explained. It never felt so good to be connected.