Good without being great.

Bond is Jason Bourne, and parkour is far superior to anything a computer can do.

Bond still seems to occupy the place he always has, cocky, womanizing killer, with no remorse, but at the same time he appears to be the heartbroken lover avenging his one true love. Trying to give us both Bonds is where the movie fails.

The connection to reality seems to be the vital ingredient in an action film transcending its genre into being something great. Quantum of Solace is not great. We know this from the very beginning…the song is awful.(Ms Winehouse should have been doped up and handed a mic, or they should have just left it to Jack or Alicia…but both? Big studio hedging their bet).

How do we know who Bond is anymore? Our relationship to Bond is being tampered with. I do not want to know him, i just want to be him. Frankly his relationship issues are of no interest because Bond is not a character i can relate to on that level and nor do i want to. Bond is what i could never be or have and this distance between the character and the audience is part of the essence that drives the violence and sex. Besides, how are we supposed to believe his grief is deep when he hops straight into bed with the first available shag? Classic case of the filmmakers showing us the old Bond in this new Bond mold. Confusing…I know…and it is something the next director must amend.

The on location shooting puts this film miles ahead of action such as Wanted, Shoot em Up, or Death Race, and the lack of CGI is it’s major blessing. Craig is solid but Dench seems to be too much annoying Mum instead of boss and their relationship barely transcends that of an aging mother and a petulant teenager.

The whole storyline, again, trying to base itself in the real world borders on political drama..which..as we know..sucks. If you are going to have fishing boats that can travel as fast as speed boats and gas canisters that when shot only blow up one side of the room, then please stop trying to convince me it is real.

The next film needs to decide what it is and stop trying to serve us this blended Bond. Bring back the swagger or loose the emotional baggage angle? Continue with the Bourne action or bring back some gadgets? Maybe it does not need to be all or one but a balance needs to be struck and it is the films failure to find this balance that holds it back from being something great.

Hat off and still off to Mr Nolan.

Let me preface this by stating I am a HUGE James Bond fan. I own every single movie on VHS and DVD, and still never miss even a cable showing of one. I’ll Tivo it if I have to. So I hope you all realize how difficult it is for me to say the following.

I really don’t know how to put this into intelligible words. This movie is SO HORRIBLE, I just can’t properly describe it. I have never (honestly) walked out on a movie before, and especially would never have even thought about walking out on a Bond movie, but I had to walk out on this one. I demanded a refund, and got it. I was told by the theatre manager that I was not even close to being the first one, either.

This is just….I mean….its…..even typing, I’m at a loss for words. I was offended by this movie. Really, really offended. Casino Royale was mediocre at best, but this movie, Bond or not, is just plain terrible!

I keep wondering if the people responsible for this abortion have ever even seen a James Bond film before. It’s too bad for words. I am upset and depressed at how …. There’s just not a strong enough word for how awful this was. I cannot stress this enough — DO NOT PAY TO SEE THIS STEAMING PILE OF CRAP! There is nothing redeeming about it whatsoever. Please, do not encourage them to make more of this. Every single person involved with this … this…. whatever you want to call it, should be fired and blacklisted from ever making ANY movie ever again!!!

P.S. — I feel sorry for “Andrew” (first commenter) — He obviously sat through the whole thing. That poor, poor masochistic SOB. Someone should send him flowers.

Well Mr. FuzzyEdges… I think you judge very harshly on a movie you didn’t even finish. I think you need to watch the movie again and at least know what’s going on. They seem to be setting up a 3-4 movie arc with one central “Super” bad guy and they haven’t done that in a very long time. Sooo… Calm down! Just Calm down! :)

The movie started exhilarating with an amazing car chase, then fizzled to nothing. Unintelligent dialog, too long over designed fighting/action scenes and not sufficient character depth. Good idea for a villain, but badly executed. The concept for the movie was great- but bad direction, bad casting and ever worse stylists spoiled a conceptually great novel.

This being the 22nd film in the series of legendary movies is excellent. HOWEVER…it is not truly a bond film.

First of all…this movie showcases knock-down, drag-out, ruthless aggression filled fights. Is it just me or was it perfectly balanced when Connery gave a badguy a few hits and he was out cold? I feel it is unnecessary to make 007 brawl, and brutaly kill his enemy. Connery did not kill anyone if he could avoid it. This new bond jumps right to stabbing a foe in the neck with his own switchblade, when the origional 007 would have given him a few judo chops and left him unconscious.

Secondly,this new bond uses NO gadgets. The only thing 007 uses in this movie gadget wise is the Bond car. WHICH may I point out was only used in the opening chase scene. (Also note that 007 did not utilize any car gadgets during the opening chase scenes.)

Thirdly, I, along with other critics feel that the plot was direly lacking. Yes, yes… there was a complicated plan by Dominic Green to control any country he entered. But this doesn’t mean the screenplay was great. I found the screenplay lacking in witty Bond humor, Bond girl naming innuendos, and overall interaction between james bond and his surroundings, not to mention the numerous and pointless location changes throughout the film.

Finally on my long list of issues with this film is the music. In previous films the music almost carried the movie experience. In my opinion, the only dramatic music was the classic Monty Norman Bond theme, which was slightly modified for this film (as it is for all movies.)

Overall I feel this was an excellent movie… but to any and all Bond fans reading this review, I am sorry to say this was not a true 007 movie. Together, the flaws listed above make for a major alteration in the Bond character. To any of the makers of James Bond out there… STOP “FIXING” WHAT IS NOT BROKEN!!!