Quantum of Blogging

Those who read our blog regularly have probably figured out by now that when something new is coming out that I am looking forward to, I feel compelled to blog about it like crazy to hype myself up (i.e. Indiana Jones, Batman). Well, the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, is about to arrive in theaters. Not to worry, there will be no live blog for all 21 previous Bond films, or 007 Cinema series analyzing each one in great depth, just the requisite poll (coming Monday), and the following "brief" retrospective.

My introduction to James Bond was GoldenEye, which came out when I was a sophomore in high school. As with Batman Forever, here was a movie that was tailor made for my oh-so-refined 15 year old sensibilities (plus having the classic N64 game paired with it didn't hurt). After rewatching GoldenEye on video with my friend Marc, he started to talk about all the older 007 movies, and we hatched a crazy idea: we should watch every Bond movie ever made.


It was the summer of '96 when we started on this ambitious goal. Whenever we were bored and needed something to do, we'd cruise down to 3-D Video and rent another one. We plowed through all the Sean Connery films in no time, but once we got through a few of the Roger Moore outings, our pace slowed considerably. The months gradually turned into years, but we continued to press on. By the time we were leaving on our missions, we had seen all but the few with the worst reputations.

When we returned home, we caught up with the disappointing The World is Not Enough (Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist? Puh-lease). We also forced ourselves to finish off the remaining films on our list, however mediocre they might be, in time for the arrival of Die Another Day in 2002. Six years later, we finally completed our goal, and it felt like the end of an era. When we witnessed the over-the-top hokiness that was Die Another Day, I was once again let down. I wondered if perhaps I had outgrown James Bond entirely.

Luckily, the Bond producers also recognized the end of another Bond cycle, and saw fit to refresh the series once again. Influenced greatly by Batman Begins and the Jason Bourne films, Casino Royale was the best Bond in ages (okay, pretty much ever). Plus something I thought impossible happened. Kristen, a notorious hater of all things 007, actually liked it (she even watches it when I'm not around). Casino Royale also set up the intriguing prospect of a direct sequel, something no other Bond movie has done before.

So to make a long story short, my flagging interest in 007 has been renewed, and my expectations for Quantum of Solace are great, hence my compulsion to blog about it. Well I feel better now. I am so ready for this movie.