IO Interactive and Amazon MGM Studios released a new trailer for 007 First Light at the IGN Fan Fest, which Lenny Kravitz as antagonist Bawma into the spotlight. After the character only briefly appeared at the Game Awards, we now know: This guy is going to make Bond's life extremely uncomfortable.
Bawma is not your average Bond villain.
Bawma presents himself as the ruler of Aleph – a city he describes as an “extension of himself.” His words sound less like classic megalomania than like total, almost surgical control:Aleph springs from my will, my blood.“Anyone who speaks of greed here is treated by him like a sick person who needs to be “cured” (or rather cut out).
Kravitz plays this boss with a calmness that is almost unsettling. Bawma isn't a loud despot, but someone who knows full well that his influence permeates every corner of Aleph. The meeting between him, Bond, and mentor John Greenway makes one thing clear: IO wants to move away from pure special effects spectacle and towards personal psychological games. The icy condemnation of the traitor Barkhad Ali, in particular, demonstrates that loyalty has a damn short shelf life in this world.
When the system becomes a trap
You can feel the influence of the Hitman creators in every second. IO Interactive proved with Agent 47 that they understand antagonists as systems, not mere targets at the end of a level. If Bawma embodies this principle, he becomes a threat to Bond that can't simply be dealt with by a gun.
Lenny Kravitz as Bawma is a brilliant casting coup and far more than just a marketing gimmick, but ultimately, the substance has to be right. The big question remains: Are we getting a genuine 007 adventure here, or just a hitman in a tuxedo?
The atmosphere is right, but for a true Bond feel, it needs more drive and less waiting around in the shadows. If IO combines its system strength with gripping dramaturgy, it will be a treat – if not, all that will remain is a pretty facade without soul.
