James Bond movies usually get away with having the best titles, because come on, it’s James Bond: this is the series that brought the phrase “Octopussy” to the world. So while Casino Royale was a little bland, it exuded cool, and GoldenEye and Die Another Day were vague enough but also exciting enough to be pure titles. But now this recent trend of good-but-not-amazing titles has taken a serious downturn, now that the next Bond movie has a title… and it makes no sense whatsoever.
Variety tells us that the movie’s official title is Quantum of Solace, as announced by the producers today. The title comes from a story that was part of a collection written by Ian Fleming back in 1960. All we really know about the plot is that it takes place pretty much right after the last one left off, with Bond seeking revenge after his betrayal at the hands of the gone-too-soon Vesper Lynd. Mathieu Amalric and Dominic Greene are the baddies, Olga Kurylenko is the Bond girl, and Gemma Arterton is a fellow agent.
I may be risking sounding stupid here, but does this title mean anything at all? Let’s break it down: “quantum” means, basically, amount. It’s a chemistry-sounding kind of word, and I guess it sounds better than “amount” or “number.” “Solace,” then, means “comfort in solace, misfortune, or trouble.” So the title of the new James Bond movie, one of the most anticipated movies of 2008 is… amount of solace in the face of trouble?
This is James Bond, people! He doesn’t need solace! He needs a martini and a gun, and preferably an awesome car and a woman with an unidentifiable accent. Remember how in Superman Returns, Superman spent the whole time being sad about Lois and not doing much, and it was boring? Paul Haggis, I’ve asked you already not to ruin this movie with your turned-in-at-the-last-minute script, but this title is really not giving me any more faith. The only solace I want James Bond to find is in some gadgets, a tuxedo, preferably a tiny bathing suit again, and maybe a chat with M. Follow my rules, Haggis, or like an ill-fated Bond villain, you won’t even live to regret it.
