Quantum of Solace : Bond vs Bourne

The latest Bond film, Quantum of Solace is shaking up town, and stirring much speculation around the new direction it's taking our favourite spy : it continues the art-house, dark atmosphere began in Casino Royale, reveals more of Bond's vulnerable side but also his ruthless charisma: he is part spy, but part assasin. Could this be because of the success of another flawed hero .. Jason Bourne and the Bourne trilogy? Joseph Ewens looks at how Bond has been re-Bourne...

Picture the scene: Dusk on the coast of North Korea. Out to sea three small figures wink into view, a trio of surfers, clad in space age wetsuits. Scampering to shore our hero reveals himself; Bond, James Bond. Later, while posing as a diamond smuggler, his true identity is uncovered and enemy gunfighters swarm around him. He thumbs at his watch, twisting its face; the light show begins.

Amid explosions he leaps aboard a nearby hovercraft and let's rip with a volley of gunfire, single handedly destroying cars, military jeeps and even an entire building. Now hot on the trail of a dastardly evildoer he zips through the undergrowth, avoiding rocket launchers, machine guns and flamethrowers as he goes. As his quarry plummets over the edge of a raging waterfall he passes a wry comment about his enemies unfortunate demise. All in a day's work.

Cut to Prague, some years later. Bond sits in a darkened office, conversing with a man who has betrayed Queen and Country. This edgy tête à tête is interspersed with scenes of our hero grappling with an assailant in a dingy public toilet. Eventually Bond gains the upper hand, plunging his foes face deep into a leaky sink filled with water. Back in the office he wastes no time pulling the trigger, passing a wry comment about his enemies unfortunate demise. All in another day's work.

The contrast between those two scenes, the pre-credit sequences from Die Another Day (2002) and Casino Royale (2006) respectively, could not be greater - yet they are both famous episodes from the adventures of the worlds favourite English spy. So what happened in that four year gap to cause such a dramatic shift in tone and mood?

The answer lies with another J.B., Jason Bourne. The adventures of an amnesiac government agent (Matt Damon), brainwashed into compliance and trained to perfection, and his one man quest to discover the truth behind his mysterious past rewrote the manual for action cinema. The three Bourne films, from 2002 to 2007, are everything James Bond was not. Shot through with an earthy realism, from the kinetic fight scenes to the emotional angst, this was the superspy in the real world - not the bombastic fantasy land in which Bond plied his trade.

The team behind Bond knew that they needed to up their game, to move away from the slick effects- driven films of the past, towards the gritty, authentic present. Bourne Identity's second unit director Alexander Witt was brought in, and the results were immediate. Multiplex audiences flocked to see Bond strut his stuff in Casino Royale. Daniel Craig, the previously controversial choice, was hailed as the figurehead of this new dawn; Bond re-bourne.

Key to the success of this revamp was to make Bond seem physically vulnerable. Where Pierce Brosnan deftly leapt from one hovercraft to another, Daniel Craig ungracefully hurls himself at a crane, his heavy landing causing him to waver and wobble. Beneath the surface, however, there was a deeper revolution taking place. In response to Damon's jibe that "Bond is an imperialist and a misogynist who kills people and laughs about it and drinks Martinis and cracks jokes," Casino Royale sees Bond fall in love and then lose it all. He may still act like the impassionate killer, but beneath the icy exterior a warm heart beats.

That is not to say, however, that Bond has left behind all that makes him Bond. Incoming Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster is at pains to make the distinction clear: "I feel there's a huge difference - it's like apples and oranges. Stylistically alone, Bond should never be in the Bourne vein." Exotic locations, exotic cars and exotic women are still central to the Bond thesis, and he can still crack wise no matter the situation.

Since we last saw Mr. Bond on the big screen, The Bourne Ultimatum has shown that the amnesiac upstart is still at the top of his game. Whether the old guard can keep pace with him should become clear when Quantam of Solace is released on October 31st. However, with a new Bourne film reportedly in the works, you can rest assured that it won't be too long before the bar is raised once again.