Quantum of Solace

	Publisher: MGM	Running Time: 1 Hour 47 Minutes
	Release Date: November 14, 2008	Format: DVD

The latest James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, is now out. I went to a midnight showing and thought I would share my impressions of the movie now that it is available on DVD and Blu-Ray. After having a successful start, Daniel Craig's second Bond movie fails to live up to the hype. That said, while I was less than impressed the first time I saw it in theaters, it grew on me a bit this second time on DVD.

A few of the things that bothered me about this movie is that while there was plenty of action, the dialogue was weak and Daniel Craig as Bond is an overly cold hearted character compared to past Bonds. I never got the sense that Sean Connery or Pierce Brosnan enjoyed killing. This Bond does. Maybe the next movie should be called Rogue Agent. What happened to the guy that comforted Vesper in the shower? Not that I liked the mushy Bond much better, but Craig appears to only be one of two extremes.

The story did not piece together very well, nor was it particularly interesting once it did. You will undoubtedly expect some kind of bad ass weapon or something to appear at some point during the movie, only to be disappointed that there really is nothing more to the plot than meets the eye. Instead you have a lame attempt of a political message that the oil hungry Americans will turn an eye at the expense of the Third World. True or not (it often is true), this is a Bond movie, not a documentary.

I could go on and on with complaints about this movie. They should have cast some other Bond girls. I thought that the movie could have easily gone on for another 20-30 minutes. The ending wasn't satisfying at all. But for all of its faults, this is not the worst Bond movie. It manages to entertain you with its action sequences and car chases while still managing to take itself seriously, unlike Diamonds are Forever, which I view as the worst in the franchise.

Overall, this is a steep decline from where the series was going just a couple years ago. In the same fashion that it was hard for Pierce Brosnan to live up to his GoldenEye performance in the next three movies that he was cast in, Daniel Craig is on a downward slope as well. Except Tomorrow Never Dies was arguably a better movie than Quantum of Solace. Here's to hoping that they can come up with a coherent storyline and actually make an attempt at dialogue in time for the next movie.

Final:	6.5
Written by Kyle	Review Guide

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