
I went to see Quantum of Solace today and I have mixed feelings about it. Not in a bad way though and I guess the point that I will eventually get to is: Casino Royale is a better film. But on that note, since QoS is the first Bond film to be a direct sequel, you can easily gather that it is really one long story… In any case, you could definitely tell that it played unlike other Bond films, from the absent gun barrel sequence in the beginning to a seemingly endless, intermittent series of chase and fight scenes. I wouldn’t call it ‘dark’ but it was definitely mellow.
The ending of Casino Royale equaled: Let’s go out and kick ass right now! The ending of Quantum was more along the lines of: Okay, that’s the end of that chapter… but now I just want to know more about the Quantum organization. I think that’s what makes me even think about questioning the solid Craig-era Bond films. This movie was about Bond helping himself for once.
And that brings up my final point on this, another reason why I left the theater a bit empty-handed… In Casino Royale, Bond was obviously inexperienced and hadn’t become the solid MI6 agent we’ve come to expect. He falls in love and finds out the hard way that you can trust no one. And so, when the movie ends I was under the impression that, “Ah, in the next movie he comes into his own. Classic double-O.” Alas, in Quantum he still had some growing to do, getting over his relationship with Vesper and at the end, once again, I was thinking, “Ah, so in the NEXT movie he comes into his own.”
I think I just need to accept that the film series has changed under Craig. His Bond is his creation. However, I would like to see the next movie get back to more Casino Royale elements. Not quite as gritty and with more class and gadgetry. As I read in a review today, “James Bond is not a superhero.”
Mad props though for the homage to Goldfinger. And I did really enjoy the movie. I think a second viewing would clear the air for me.