"Quantum of Solace" Mini-Review

So I just returned home from the midnight screening of Quantum of Solace, the 22nd James Bond film and the second film to feature Daniel Craig as the iconic hero. Since it is so late and this is technically not game related, I will keep this little review brief. For anyone wondering if they should see this movie now or wait a little while... GO NOW. While I will say that the movie is definitely not quite as good as Casino Royale (for several reasons that I will touch on in a moment), the movie is one hell of a ride and is easily the best action flick since the Dark Knight.

One thing that made Casino Royale such a hit was Bond's new gritty persona. He is clearly human, which is something that I think many of the old Bond film's lacked. Bond has always been an over the top and utterly ridiculous character who can easily get out of any dangerous situation. This new Bond has evolved in order to give the movie-goers of today what they typically look for in movies, realism. One of the first complaints I hear about most action movies today is that they tend to be too over the top and hard to believe. People seem to want a hero that is mortal and fallible. "Casino Royale" was such a hit because James Bond was now grounded in reality. While there were still some intense, over the top action sequences, Bond got hurt and was almost always fighting for his life. While this remains true in "Quantum of Solace", Bond does return to some of his classic "unbelievable" methods. One scene in particular reminded me a lot of some of the most unrealistic scenes in movies like Goldeneye" and "Die Another Day" but I won't fault the movie for this too much because it doesn't rely heavily on this.
Lastly, the story seems a little more confusing than that of Casino Royale. Bond is still looking for revenge after the death of Vesper but by the time the credits role, the connection to the main villain doesn't seem as clear as it should be. Its nothing too significant but it could have been explained a bit better.

"Quantum of Solace" is an action packed thrill ride from beginning to end and is executed in much the same way as it's predecessor. Daniel Craig continues to impress with his "new age" spin on the classic character and I can't wait to see where he takes us next.

Final Score: A-

To keep this game related, I will be playing through the "Quantum of Solace" game in the coming weeks to talk about it on the show so stay tuned for that. By the by, if you would like to play some Quantum of Solace multiplayer with me in the coming weeks on the PS3, shoot me an email at: Nickhenderson@4playerpodcast.com

-Nick