Movie Watch: Quantum Of Solace

So I'm something of a Bond nut. Seen every movie at least once, can usually remember George Lazenby was that middle Bond guy, try to see the openings in the theater, etc.

One of the things that I love about the Bond franchise is that it has changed and mutated over the years. Craig's Bond is a far cry from the Roger Moore days, Dalton and Brosnan were different takes on the character than Connery, etc. Craig makes for an impressive bond and the whole "who was the best Bond" question gets more complicated with every outing.

Casino Royale introduced not just Craig, but a new angle on the franchse. Less gadgets, less over the top spy stuff and more upfront action movie action. Quantum Of Solace moves farther in the same direction with slightly less success, although it does still make for an entertaining film. Parts of the plot never quite connect with neither other parts of the plot nor the audience in general. It's not bad B-movie writing, but if the writers want to make a more realistic and gritty Bond, they'll need to make sure they have realistic and gritty stories to tell.

Part of me wonders why some of the people behind MI-6 (Spooks) haven't been previously tapped.

While Solace isn't great, it is still a lot of fun. I don't think it's as good as Casino Royale in general, it does keep a sharp character focus on Bond himself and the ties back to Royale (much of plot gravitates around Vesper) and there's enough artistry in the action scenes that we're still above the cheap jokes of say, The World Is Not Enough.

In short: a good, though not great, Bond flick which values action scenes over nearly everything other than Bond himself.