Quantum of Solace (2008) **1/2

Rating: 6/10 (16 November 2008)

CASINO ROYALE (2006) was a fresh shot in the arm which had successfully jump-started a rather repetitious old James Bond series. Now here is its direct sequel, QUANTUM OF SOLACE. I have seen the movie twice so far and have come to think it's a little better than I first thought when I had left the theater. At first I thought it was really a poor James Bond film and literally the least of the entire franchise; but going back to it at home recently -- and especially right after re-watching CASINO ROYALE again -- I felt it was more acceptable when viewed right after its predecessor, instead of just as a stand-alone experience.
Here, Daniel Craig attempts his second outing as a harder edged and more action-oriented James Bond, still reeling from his experience with Bond girl Vesper from back in CR.
For old die-hard Bond fanatics, QUANTUM OF SOLACE may very well be the most "un-Bondian" installment yet; its action sequences are often frantically shot and haphazardly edited to the point where it's tough to tell what is going on as we're assaulted with too-quick cutting and resulting confusion. (This problem did get easier for me on my second viewing). Bond doesn't seem like he enjoys bedding down with gorgeous women as much anymore, doesn't have a favorite drink, has no need of Q Branch to furnish him with fancy gizmos. With this chapter it's a whole new ballgame.
Much as I liked Craig last time, his now patented tough act of being his own man who breaks all the rules and does what he chooses by not giving a damn about what his boss M (Judi Dench) thinks, is getting all too familiar by now. Perhaps when viewed as a direct continuation of CASINO ROYALE, this is understandable. And Dench, whom I used to enjoy as the head commander M, is becoming such a one-trick pony with her tired routine of loathing Bond's disobedient ways one moment, but then actually admiring him the next... this has been going on since the earliest of the Pierce Brosnan films. It's probably time for her to move away from this franchise.
This isn't a "bad" movie, but it's basically just an epilogue to another film. Don't attempt to watch it without having seen CASINO ROYALE first. And preferably right before.
**1/2 out of ****