"Solace" needs bigger quantum of fashionable Bond Girls

Some of us watch James Bond movies for the action and drama; some of us watch for the one-liners and, most of all, to see what the Bond Girls are wearing. (I mean, who ever thought of accessorizing a bikini with a wide white belt — until both Ursula Andress and Halle Berry did it in their Bond stints? As the song goes, nobody does it better.)

So that's why my colleague Mr. Rahner is doing the reviewing honors for "Quantum of Solace," and I'm just here to register some mild disapproval. After the excellent Bond Girl content of "Casino Royale" — remember how Vesper tragically wrecked a fabulous purple evening gown by wearing it in the shower? — the new movie's a bit, well, serious.

This keeps the Bond Girl wardrobe action to a disappointing minimum. Camille (and, really, what kind of Bond Girl name is that? Where's Plenty O'Toole when you need her?), played by Olga Kurylenko, spends part of the movie in a cute little black cocktail dress, but this hardly counts, as she's wearing it on the movie poster.

She's upstaged by Bond (Daniel Craig), who pulls off the ultra-smooth move of swiping a tuxedo from an opera-wardrobe department. (Of course, it fits perfectly. He's Bond.) Camille drives in and out of a lot of scenes, in cars Bond wouldn't be caught dead driving (was that a Ford?), and wears the kind of bulky gold jewelry that might come in handy in a fight. And yes, she fights tough — but not as tough as Bond.

The film's second-string Bond Girl is named Strawberry Fields (now that's more like it), played by British actress Gemma Arterton, and her existence is necessary only to make possible an homage to a classic Bond Girl moment early in the series. (I won't name the movie; you'll guess it.) Otherwise she wears trench coats and says breezy, clippy things and has Bond sex in a fancy hotel room, because that's what she's supposed to do.

This brings us to the character who has quickly become, to my mind, the most interesting creature in the Bond universe: Judi Dench, who as Bond's dignified, perpetually exasperated boss M is the series' sole Bond Woman. She gets the best line in the film — "If you could avoid killing every possible lead, it would be deeply appreciated," she tells Bond, in a crisp-as-a-breadstick tone — and she looks smashing in her dark tailored suits, with white shirt collars flipped up like a sail against the wind.

In a brief scene, we see her at home in her dressing gown, running herself a nice hot bath in between taking calls and dealing with world catastrophe. Yes, it's fun watching Daniel Craig flip over a moped (which he does, quite awesomely, early in "Quantum of Solace"), but I'm ready for an all-M movie.

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com