Misunderstood Entry to the Eon Canon

Rating: 7/10 (23 April 2015)

It's surprising to me that this film is widely panned by Bond fans and critics as 'meandering' and 'aimless,' while Skyfall is heralded as 'quintessential.' Marc Forster's film is a dense, emotionally dark follow up to the straight-forward Casino Royale. Picking up exactly where the previous film left off, it takes on all the consequences and furthers the character's evolution, while slowly uncovering a shadowy conspiracy. The action sequences are stylish, from the opening car chase, to the poetic shootout at the opera; and the "Finding Neverland" director manages to mirror a character's shattered psyche like few films have.
Casino Royale was presented as a reboot to the franchise, and took us back to Bond's roots and first assignment. He only recently achieved 00 status, is raw and unseasoned, growing into his new license to kill. We see him struggling as this new level of operative, and each death affects him... since 20 films of emotional baggage are readily set aside (see: Tracy). After falling in love with Vesper, James has learned his final lesson of betrayal. Forced to divorce himself from emotions, he is now Bond, James Bond.
But he isn't. The film's 'meandering' feel reflects Bond's emotional journey, as he now is SO far removed that his superiors question his efficacy. James distances himself from others, and struggles aimlessly to find meaning to his work. He must deal with feelings of revenge while earning M's trust. He is listless. All that remains is 'the job.' Quantum of Solace (a play on a SPECTRE-like shadow organization name, as well as finding small comfort after great loss), is about Bond STILL evolving as a new 00 agent. Bond is unable to acknowledge his loss, because he doesn't know whether to blame Vesper or himself.
And the film takes us on that journey, replete with exotic locales and entertaining set-pieces. There are major political themes at play with the CIA's dealings with Greene, the West's questionable involvement with government upheaval and the convoluted nature of geo-politics. These issues mirror the inner turmoil of M as MI6 issues a capture or kill order on Bond. While trying to unravel the secret criminal network QUANTUM, following one clue at a time, he finds a kindred spirit in Camille (Olga Kurylenko) who mirrors his desire for vengeance against a Bolivian General. Bond can see the path she is destined toward and learns to deal with his issues to avoid it.
I think a lot of the displeasure with Quantum comes from the weird climax in a remote desert hotel, overuse of chase scenes (it's the only Bond film to have chases on car, foot, boat and plane), and the shallow character development including a vanilla villain. It feels like a conclusion to Casino Royale... not introducing new themes but expanding previous ones without deepening them. These shortcomings can likely be blamed on the writer's strike, which left the film feeling slightly hollow without the standard on-set re-writes.
All in all, its a two hour ride through the psyche of James-Bond-in-limbo with plenty of emotional and stylish moments. Admittedly it may not be for everyone, but if you can dial into the psychology, it may give you a slightly deeper understanding of Ian Fleming's iconic character. He is now Bond, James Bond, and ready for the far-simpler Skyfall. Sam Mendes says thank you, Marc Forster. We all do.