Quantum Of Solace

Rating: 6/10 (20 November 2008)

The new James Bond has it's pros and cons. On the pros side, Bond has never been so down to earth as in "Quantum Of Solace". This is the most political Bond yet, and dangerously political at that, what with the CIA co-operating with third-world dictators, criminal rings disguised as non-governmental organizations, profoundly cynical (almost nihilist) bureaus and so on.
On the cons side, this is the less charming Bond yet. Is this even really Bond? There's no humour, no larger-than-life attitude, no exoticism, no goofy megalomaniac villains with zany plots to take over the world, no gadgets, no post-modern retro-futuristic settings etc.
In other words, this is a complete departure from all Bond trademarks.
But what kind of departure? Judged purely on it's filmic qualities, this is just a generic 00's action flick, set hot on the heels of "Mission Impossible" and "The Bourne Identity". Daniel Craig is OK and rather a return to the style of Sean Connery (whereas Pierce Brosnan was a dead-ringer for Roger Moore) but the new direction for Bond seems wrong. What is needed is a revamp similar to the one that went on in the 70's when Moore took over.
James Bond was always about style and "Quantum Of Solace" has very little, if any, style.