Shaky, not stirring

Rating: 1/10 (5 April 2009)

Like others who loved Casino Royale, I had high hopes for this one. The CR parkour sequence was stunning, the Origin story of Bond's first 00 mission fitted the genre wonderfully, the glib comment "Quite..." on his 2nd kill, and an explanation/origin for the gun-barrel sequence.
But this isn't a review of CR, sadly. I wanted to like QoS, but the shaky-cam stuff made me seasick. The point of shaky was, I thought, to fake a bunch of action because you haven't the budget for the stunt men to do it properly, like the swan dive off the dam at the start of Goldeneye.
I saw QoS from the back row of the cinema, and it wasn't far enough back. If ever a movie was made for watching on the back of an airplane seat, this is it.
Craig does a good 007, I think. Dench does a good M. Some of the plot was interesting, the idea that while the US could be fooled into running with the bad guys, the Brits (M in particular) wanted at least a second opinion, is a departure from the Bond franchise in which the CIA is always there with the cavalry when it's needed.
I really did want to like this movie, and I hope Craig returns as 007 with a different director and editor. And a budget big enough to include a steadicam and someone who knows how to use it.