"What's the expression? Damaged Goods?" (snicker)

Rating: 7/10 (18 November 2008)

A couple of years ago when I saw Casino Royale, I thought it was the best Bond movie ever. It had this tough, brooding beefcake guy whoopin ass, betting $10,000,000 like he's got nothing to lose, getting the hot chicks and spouting off the best things to say when you're being tortured. This man was Danel Craig as THE James Bond. He didn't give a damn if his martini was shaken or stirred and used his other OO7 signature line in the most hella cool way. And so I waited for two years to find out what happened next.
I heard a lot of bad things about QoS but, regardless, I was more excited going into the theater than I care to admit. Two years of waiting consummated, finally! I was put off by lack of a gun barrel again but I was rockin' out to the opening chase; I have ADD so the quick cuts were right up my alley. I greatly enjoyed the rest of the action scenes, save for the boat chase which was lame and just dragged the bit in Haiti too long. The part where they jump out of the plane and the finale gave me goosebumps.
I've heard complaints about the style but I think the style represents Bond's anguish. He's hurt and trying not to show weakness, I know I do that by being tough. James has no problem hurting people to hide the shame of being weakened by Vesper's betrayal. At the end he learns the truth about what happened to Vesper and her boyfriend. He's finally able to forgive her and shows he's the bigger man and lets the boyfriend live, even though he was every reason to cap him.
The reason i refer to it as damaged goods is simply that it has some problems as well. For my money it's far too short. The plot, though if you think about makes sense, is thin. In it's defense, when Bond left Greene out in the desert, he in a sense made him drink oil, the same thing Greene did to Fields, for whom Bond obviously had tender feelings toward. Also I'm of the opinion M got a little too much screen time in James' movie. This is OO7's Quantum of Solace, not M's bitching James out. And how does James keep getting out of trouble when he kills so many people he's not supposed to? In short, a solid action flick, provides closure for the emotional upheaval in Casino Royale (if you think about it), though full of logic gaps and not enough of Dan.