Been there, done that.

Rating: 3/10 (3 November 2008)

After Casino Royale the Bond franchise seemed to be getting back on track but after watching QOS one wonders if it hasn't tripped and broken it's leg.
All I kept thinking while watching was how better they do it in the Bourne movies and how Marc Forester cannot direct action. In fact it was a combination of the direction and editing of the action scenes that was the first thing to start annoying me as I watched (or a least tried to watch) the opening car chase and roof top chase. It's shot and cut in such a way that it's impossible to engage with it in any emotional or visceral way. You have no idea of the geography, how close one guy is from the other, what's at stake etc. There are no pauses as the character considers his next move. It's just shake, shake, cut, cut, cut, and then when things settle we see who won. Same with the hanging on the ropes scene and the boat chase.
Sometimes people complain about the overuse of shaky cam in the Bourne films but I could always tell what was going on and was emotionally invested in Jason Bourne.
The plot was muddled and there was nothing about the film I hadn't seen before and seen before done better in countless action films. It offered nothing new. Nothing. Craig makes a good if unemotional agent and Dench makes a good M but this franchise is dead.