Just too much.

Rating: 7/10 (12 February 2012)

Quantum of Solace is a good movie. I really do enjoy watching it, especially the first 15 minutes or so, but after that, it really just goes downhill.
I am a huge Bond fan, and I have to say I was pleased with the turn that Casino Royale took. I do hope to see more gadgets in the future movies, but the grit of Casino Royale was perfect. It was a great reboot. Although far from classic 007 films (no gadgets; few loose women, which is better in my opinion) we were starting over. We got to see how it all began, and changes were made. The last line of the movie was the famous, "The names Bond, James Bond." BOOM. We're back! We saw how Bond was born, and it was exciting! ...But wait...here we go again. Quantum of Solace moves even further from Bond, going backwards from where Casino Royale was heading. At times, I forgot I was watch James Bond. He became more of an assassin than a super spy. I guess they were trying to branch from the success of the Bourne movies.
As I said, I did enjoy it, but not necessarily as a 007 movie. Casino Royale was so successful that the filmmakers thought they had to go BIGGER, with more action! But that's not necessarily what we wanted. If we cared so much about action, we wouldn't have sat to watch 007 play cards for so long. They tried so hard to fit so much into this movie: a car chase, a foot chase, a boat chase, a plane chase...sounds good I guess. But fitting so much into one movie is difficult. Each action scene seemed to end almost immediately after it began. I like action sequences that last, but these had to be cut short to make room for the next action sequence. It just didn't flow very well.
I promise, I didn't hate this movie. The cinematography is beautiful, easily one of the best of the Bond films. ...Um...well I suppose that's my favorite part. But it certainly is watchable, and I think that if Casino Royale hadn't created so much hype, people would have enjoyed it more.
Overall, it's good. The villain isn't great, more like a little weasel than a real Bond bad guy. I loved the music in Casino Royale, but not so much in this one. It just felt weird. At times, scenes were a tad awkward. I've always thought Wright's portrayal of Felix was a bit annoying, even more so in this movie.
It's certainly not the best Bond movie, but not the worst either. Give it a try, if you haven't already.