B.A.

I like this film even more as I think back on it.

Superman07

I hadn't seen this mentioned anywhere: http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/feat...eap.4643021.jp

PopcornTreeCt

Yikes. I hope Forster has his flame suit on for a comment like that. The poker game had one of the most suspenseful sequences in any of the Bond films.

Son of Odin

even the booze i snuck into the theater couldn't make this movie enjoyable. for all the brosnan haters, die another day was better than this pos. besides having not an ounce of charisma, charm, or incapable of being suave, craig feels more like a hitman than a MI:6 operative. the plot, a whole movie dedicated to finding out vesper's killer. yawn. craig killing everyone is so not believable. I thought the reboot of this franchise was supposed to bring more realism to the bond franchise. seriously, bond being able to out-manuever a fighter plane with a cargo plane. taking on an army by himself? bond is about sneaking his way to the main villain not about being rambo. the ending was ridiculous, mr. green walks into the desert to flee when he was capable to jump into a vehicle ala bond and get away. for someone to say this was the best bond film since license to kill. no. goldeneye got it right and imo is the best bond film to date or top three. I'm still in disbelief that bond actually took out a fighter pilot. laughable. I agree what most critics had to say about this movie being a ripoff of a bourne movie. the apartment fight was almost an exact replica of one of the bourne fight sequences.

Ranger

I like the story more when I think about it. I might consider getting the dvd but what's the way to go about the openng credits: fast-foward or mute?

The opera house was good. Did anyone not enjoy that part?

Giantrobo

Yeah! And they should be demanding 1 Million dollars.

FinkPish

I agree with him actually; I thought the poker game was ridiculous in its final execution. There was no skill involved in the final hand, just the luckiest draw of cards anyone has ever seen for 4 players. In fact, there was no skill involved in nearly all of the poker game, yet they set up Bond as the best poker player in MI:6, able to read players and bluff his way through any situation, and then never used any of that setup. That and the stalled plot at the end of the movie were the weakest parts of Casino Royale. But as a reboot, it was effective otherwise.

PopcornTreeCt

Well, I was referring to the poisoning scene.

FinkPish

No problem, but my complaint still stands.

Supermallet

If that's true, than this film didn't do what it should have done. The second act of a five act story is rising action. This felt like falling action. What did we really get from this movie? The name Quantum. That's it. We already knew there was an organization. We already knew MI6 knew nothing about them. At the end, Bond alludes to getting a bunch of info from Greene. Do we hear any of that info? No. Quantum of Solace is a footnote to Casino Royale. It almost feels like an ancillary product that the studio cooks up to bridge the events of the first film to the events of the second. Honestly, couldn't you see this being a novel or a video game that takes place between Casino Royale and the unnamed third Craig film? I can.

Does that mean I hated it? No. For the most part, I enjoyed it. But after Casino Royale, which dealt with both the epic (worldwide terrorism) and the personal (Vesper), it feels like things have been scaled back for Quantum of Solace. And that can't help but feel disappointing. On the other hand, there are a lot of things to like in the movie. But when you take the threadbare plot, and combine it with the spotty action (I liked the escape from the bar in South America, the plane sequence, and the final fight, but the action between the opening and the Opera was awful), you get a less than satisfying all around Bond film. Especially coming off of Casino Royale. And saying it's part of a larger story doesn't excuse it from being not as good as the last movie. The problem, in my mind, is with Forster. A better action director could have turned this into an above average Bond movie into a great Bond movie.

RagingBull80

I think that everyone pretty much agrees that the opera scene was pretty awesome.

I just got done watching Casino Royale for the 4th or 5th time and I'm ready to see Quantum again.

Grubert

Or a Heroes online comic-book.

Superman07

I agree as well. I really felt the opera scene was one of the best parts of the film.

devilshalo

What's wrong with this being the Matrix Reloaded of the series? This is a film that establishes more personal growth in Bond. You really get this when he's talking with Camille in the sink hole. He crosses paths with someone very similar to himself and realizes how reckless both of them have been thus far. It also helped to further his relationships with Felix and M. It exposed how vulnerable MI6 is and how far up the chain Quantum is connected. In Casino, it was just Vesper, but now we see it's deep inside MI6 as well as being in bed with top government officials. That's why M is on edge. And as for Greene's interrogation, I would assume that he gave up what Bond already uncovered about their water operation, he can always debrief Camille. Greene and Le Chiffre are not necessarily small fish, but they are only small parts of what Quantum's organization is.. I would think the next step is to find Mr. White, who I don't believe is the head of Quantum, but he's a larger facilitator that's overseeing the small fish.

Brack

I think this is another case of people loving a film so much that the sequel will inevitably be trashed by many, the exception being a film like The Dark Knight. As much as I liked Casino Royale, I think it was a bit overrated. Yeah, it's the best Bond film in years, but how great can a Bond film ever really get? Maybe I shouldn't look at it from that perspective, but I think Casino Royale, while it redefined Bond, wasn't exactly earth-shattering excitement. They're fun movies, but come on.

Superman07

Two observation on M's role in this one I just thought of. While some are calling her "changed" M role as CSI-esque consider the following.

1) The initial meeting with Mr. White was a high value target that was presumedly linked to whoever just stole all of the money from the poker game (and possibly something larger). I can see how homeoffice was on her to find the money, which might compell her to investiagte the matter first hand.

2) The rest of the meetings I can also see why she'd need to go in person. Not only had she been betrayed by a mole in her organizaton, but she was getting pressure from the foreign office. "Don't worry, my people assure me..."; I think not. Not to mention it appears that Bond may too have gone rogue. I don't think she's at the point where she can trust anybody else to look into such a matter. This is all summed up by their conversation on trust after he takes out the elevator crowd.

Geofferson

That was my first comment and primary take-away after seeing this -- the opera scene was a very well-staged segment (the movie needed more of them).

I definitely plan on checking QoS out a second time -- not sure if I'll like it more or less (had a mediocre reaction after the first viewing).

joeblow69

What I really need to know is this ..... Do we get to see Bond in a speedo again?

Solid Snake

what?

Shannon Nutt

Mute it and play "You Know My Name" over it - it will make this sequel feel even more like a contiuation of CASINO ROYALE.

hapgilmore

This movie nearly defines mediocrity. The action scenes were shot and edited TERRIBLY! You couldn't tell what the hell was happening! The story was Meh and the movie as a whole was Meh. Daniel Craig is a good Bond, much better than Pierce "I suck at acting" Brosnan. 2 stars out of 4.

toddly6666

Matrix Reloaded had at least the most amazing DVD demo action scenes. Quantum is one big blurry mish-mosh. Quantum is not Empire Strikes Back, Godfather 2, Bourne 2, Two Towers...it's just a Meh film with wasted talent. Their is no growth in this film - if personal growth is sulking, barely have any dialogue, and getting pissed off, then your perception of characters being developed on film is very generous...movies that are in the middle of some trilogy should ALWAYS stand on their own. If the next one is a better film, I would watch this trilogy starting with Casino Royale, skip Quantum, and then watch the third one.

And the side Ukranian Bolivian chick actress was more developed in Xavier Gen's HITMAN (much more entertaining than QUANTUM).

devilshalo

Bond starts off on a personal vendetta. This comes right after the person he loved betrayed him and and he wants some payback on those that turned Vesper against him. His big turn in attitude was the sink hole conversation with Camille (as well as his last conversation with her when he states that "the dead don't care about revenge.") And in the end, he didn't kill Vesper's lover, which is basically his main goal. Everything else he uncovered about Quantum is just a side issue. He started out the whole movie just killing everyone without so much as an afterthought. He didn't care about himself at that point and was just as self destructive as Camille in completing their one personal goal. By the end, that view had changed.

This is what I took away from the film, sorry if it seems that people needed cut and dry, hit you over the head clues that say "LOOK, THIS IS A CHARACTER MOMENT SO PAY ATTENTION!"

Giantrobo

Great post Devilshalo.

Yeah I think you're right about Quantum/Green all being a side issue or the "MacGuffin" for the movie with Bond's growth as a human/Agent and him realizing what others had been saying about Vespa loving him being the real story.

I guess I can see where Old School Bond fans might not like this. I think down the line people will look back with an appreciation of Craig's Bond.

wm lopez

Craig is made too look to much like a bodyguard,thug, hitman.
And I think that is being done since it's the beginning of Bond. By the next movie I hope to see some more charm in his charcater. Maybe grow his hair a little longer and tone down the pics.