QoS, just as Another way to Die: It's still Bond, but not that good

Rating: 7/10 (11 November 2008)

Let me start by telling you that, after watching this film for the second time, I still feel like there's something missing and I still don't get the story straight. You really should have seen Casino Royale before you watch this one, if not you won't be able to make any sense of it at all.
Secondly I spent a lot of time thinking Why? during this film. Why is Bond being chased by the cars in the kick-off scene? Why is he chased by the airplanes in the, I must say, wonderful action scene in the third part of the film. Why is there so much likeness between this film and the Bourne trilogy? Why did Marc Forster decided to put the gun barrel-scene at the very end of the movie? As if this film isn't controversial enough. Why did the few attempts of humor (Every penny of it) felt like they were only put in this film to please the audience with some random Bond-jokes?
Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Drench make a wonderful appearance once again. But on the other hand, the villain of this movie (Dominic Greene) just didn't feel that evil. But I can't say that the 'missing feeling' comes from the fact that the characters weren't that interesting.
I do understand that QoS doesn't need a full two-hour plot, and that there doesn't need to be a casino visit in every Bond film. As well as the famous lines "My name is Bond, James Bond" and "Shaken, not stirred" can be skipped every ones in a while. But for heavens sake, please bring back the charming, humorous and intelligent Bond that Craig proved to be capable of being in CR. Maybe it had to be this way to make this plot to a good ending. As Bond would say: "The bitch is dead" please stop the vengeance part and get back to how things used to be. Make a fresh start with a whole new story and I'm sure QoS will get it's respect in time.
Verdict: Action 7 (A lot of pointless action, and very short shots) Plot 6 (Complicated, confusing, not all that interesting) Acting 8 (Wonderful)
I give QoS 7/10 stars and I am going to watch it again to see if it deserves more credits then it gets now. I advise you to do the same.
Peace