Quantum of Solace

It has been awhile since I have gotten to see a movie in the theater, so I was really excited to see the next installment of Daniel Craig's Bond. I absolutely loved Casino Royale, but I think that was due in part to having low expectations going in. As far as Bond films go, From Russia With Love was my favorite until Casino Royale, which meant that I had to really keep my expectations in check last Saturday night, because having high expectations can kill a movie. But Quantum lived up to my expectations. There is no way that it could be better than Casino Royale, but I was not expecting it to be. I loved it anyway. I like our modern Bond, who actually opperates in the real world, where the bad guys have a shade of gray, and you actually have some continuity between the films and the action scene at the beginning and the rest of the movie. That last sentence will make more sense if you are a Bond fan. Action was real and brutal, the relationship between Bond and M worked very well, and the sexual aspect which is so heavy in other Bond films was almost absent from this one, which is a welcom change of pace. Craig makes a perfect Bond because he is his own, not trying to re-create Connery, which is what all the others were trying to do, or have done to them. I also liked the nod to Goldfinger. My only complaint was the exploding hotel at the end, which had the whole "evil lair self destructing" feel to it. I would also say that I can't understand most of the negative reviews. As a friend pointed out to me, everything that Roger Ebert loved about Casino Royale, he did not like about Quantum. I for one don't get it. But this is one I'll be getting come DVD time.

Quantum of Solace gets a 9/10
Casino Royale got a 10/10