Quantum of Solace

Though I would by no means call myself a fan of Bond films, I nonetheless have a softspot for Daniel Craig as the new, rugged (and for most of both this film and Casino Royale, considerably beat-up) James Bond. Sure, Pierce Brosnan had the debonair looks that seemed to fit the character but Craig can pull off the action sequences like no other--and then clean-up exceptionally well. Quantum of Solace is fast-paced, slick and fun--and therefore recommended by Cineblog as a good-time action flick.

There are a couple of instances with impressive and eye-catching camera work by director Marc Forster. One shot in particular takes place during an altercation between Bond and an adversary--as they are falling together down through a window, if I remember correctly, the camera initially watches them fall away and then catches up in a really interesting way. Probably took a long time to get it just right. Quantum also makes use of some fun one-liners (Bond: "He was a dead-end," M: "Oh, no, he killed him, too!") that make for a good mix of action and comic-relief.

A couple things missing, however, are the fancy cars that formerly populated the Pierce Brosnan Bond films (outside of the very first sequence, cars are mostly Fords or Bond girl Camille (Olga Kurylenko)'s VW bug, which will surely disappoint some viewers. And no fancy gadgets from Q or R (both of whom are missing from the film as well) although the computer system at MI6 is fancy and reminiscent of a certain Tom Cruise vehicle called Minority Report...

Overall, a good time and worth the money to see it explode and crash on the big screen. So what are you waiting for?!

Oh, and one last note: Guess who, to my surprise, played bad-guy Dominic Greene? None other than the man playing the pivotal main role in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Interesting choice to follow-up with...