QOS - Middle of the Trilogy Syndrome

Rating: 7/10 (17 October 2015)

This movie suffers from "middle movie of a trilogy" syndrome. QOS is actually a pretty good James Bond film but it tries really hard to build on themes/story lines that were established in CASINO ROYALE and leaves MANY story lines open that will not get tied up until SKYFALL (or further down the road), so, ultimately NOT a satisfying experience.
True, Daniel Craig comes into his own as Bond in this movie. His piercing blue eyes and dangerous look fit perfectly with this character, while Dame Judy Dench really gives him someone strong to play against - which is good - because the villain in this movie, Mathieu Amalric's Dominic Greene, is one of the more forgettable villains in recent Bond history. He is a lower level middle man for something bigger and he wasn't really up to the challenge. The same could be said for Olga Kurylenko's femme fatale - Camille. She wasn't much of a presence (if you want to see her as a presence, check her out in the Tom Cruise vehicle, OBLIVION, she is quite good in that).
Special notice should be made of returning players Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter and Italian movie legend Giancarlo Giannini as Mathis, I would have loved to have had both of them in this movie much, much more.
All in all, an entertaining movie - it is a BOND film after all - just not up to the usual standards.
7 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (of Marquis)