Much better than expected.

Rating: 8/10 (28 December 2008)

After reading some of the reviews, I was extremely skeptical of this movie. I hate the kind that lazily relies on explosions and car chases to fill space and to trigger the automatic adrenaline rush that mindless viewers seem to crave. However, I thought this movie was a lot more interesting than the stereotypical action flick.
First of all, I agree with those who say the action scenes are jumbled and hard to follow. There is, though, a visceral feel of what a participant might experience in a deadly fight or wild chase. I think the director was trying to subjectively convey a realistic topsy-turvy Bond perspective. Thankfully there are plenty of interesting, quiet, cloak and dagger elements that nicely pace the story along with decently developed connections between the characters.
Secondly, I also agree with those that say that the movie is confusing, but only at first glance. It will be more coherent on DVD where you can replay scenes so nothing is missed. Important events go by fast and the foreign accents make vital pieces of the puzzle difficult to follow. After seeing Quantum a second time I began to appreciate the subtle elements and the parts fell into place.
Thirdly, a strong point of these Daniel Craig Bond movies is that Bond is realistically portrayed as a menacing spy. He's a ruthless, competent killer that would scare the sh$t out of an enemy. When Bond battles he gets beat up and cut up although of course he always wins. The escapes are implausible, but are on the safe side of barely believable. And while he does get the obligatory bedroom scene, he doesn't get to sex everyone with a bra and a line.
Finally, I categorize this primarily as a mystery movie with action elements. When you get to the end you realize that there is a lot more unanswered questions than you thought. Bond seems on the edge of cracking an deadly important and deeply secretive plot that affects the entire world. This is a mystery that befits our favorite "licensed to kill" spy and is worthy of our attention.
Everyone should go and rent the DVD when it comes out. Try to understand all the elements and then see if the movie makes sense. I think Quantum was a worthy successor to the first "new" Bond movie and can't wait to see the next one.