It must be tough presenting an outdated superhero.

Rating: 5/10 (30 May 2009)

This is a beautiful film, well produced, directed and shot all the acting is as it should be. I am a fan of Daniel Craig, I think he makes a great Bond.
All that said though, the film is lackluster, the plot is simply a throwback to a simpler world.
When Bond shot into existence the world was simpler, there was good and bad, you had a job for life and technology would change the world for the better.
Sure Bond is now both good and bad but everyone else is singular in their disposition this still includes a super-baddie. We don't believe in superheroes anymore, so why would we believe in super-baddies? I have no idea how the producers attend to this, the larger than life baddies are so core to the cold war birth of the Bond franchise.
The idea of a bad and greedy corporation may have been shocking in Eisenhower's reign but none of us hold such illusions now and this makes disillusionment impossible and the attempt not at all interesting. Even if the front is suspiciously eco-friendly.
Lastly, the 21st century in the 50s was going to be a futurama paradise where technology would enable mankind to live a care free life. In the 50s, juxtaposing technology as some grand scheme that would rob us of our prosperity, may have been disturbing then but now it is cliché and about as unbelievable to us as the initial premise that technology would set us free.
Where does all this leave Bond? Well with a Quantum of Solace. A fast paced action, extruded through a tired plodding story line. A movie held together by supporting character development who usually come to a wordy death, only given screen time to support Bond's delicate emotional state (which will no doubt push him through the next installment).
I have no idea how the producers bring the franchise to a modern audience, I suspect Quantum of Solace is it and it worries me. You can't throw away the essence of Bond, it simply wouldn't be Bond but I don't think it works anymore either.