BruddanChrist

The acting is fair enough. There are moments when overacting and underacting bring scenes down, but nothing is ruined. I liked the editing, for the most part. There are times when it makes the story hard to follow, but overall it's well done. The cinematography is beautiful.

My only real gripe with the movie is that the plot is a bit thin. A lot of things happen that feel ultimately irrelevant, and other things happen without much explanation. The conflict gets lost in all the random happenings, which adds to the difficulty of following the story.

I'm not sure where all the hatred for this movie comes from. It wasn't a great film, but it certainly wasn't horrible. The story felt stretched and a bit convoluted, and the title is misleading since the movie has virtually nothing to do with Cthulhu, but I feel like I have to give props to the director for making the film he made. He easily could have made a weightless horror movie with cheap scares, but he attempted something a little meatier.

Nothing that made Casino Royale so memorable is present in Quantum of Solace. QoS's plot is ludicrously thin compared to Casino Royale's. What could have been a deeply intriguing story is hardy touched upon and left unexploited. The major events in QoS are merely excuses for Bond to kick some more ass.

Quantum's action sequences are stimulating, but far less interesting than its predecessor's. Whereas Casino Royale's action scenes were dynamic and carefully detailed, QoS's are frantic and standard. While it's obvious a lot of time and energy went into them, there's not much to show for it. The cuts are quick and the shots are hard to catch.

I, like many, fell in love with Casino Royale's James Bond. He was young and authentic, capable of failing and getting hurt (both physically and emotionally). Seeing as how Casino Royale ended at what felt like the beginning of Bond's real character development, I expected Quantum of Solace to continue that development. QoS's Bond, however, is the same emotionless James Bond audiences have been watching for almost half a century. He has no believable motivation, so nothing he does feels purposeful.

Finally, the antagonist never poses a real threat to Bond. Mathieu Amalric has a creepy look that could have been put to good use, but Dominic Greene is a painfully boring and clichéd bad guy. Le Chiffre's very presence was intimidating; I wouldn't even cross the street to avoid Greene.

Casino Royale was a powerful reboot for the Bond franchise. It abandoned the old 007 formula and established a new one, gaining a lot of fans in the process (myself included). For whatever reason, Quantum of Solace dropped the ball. While it certainly serves as fun escapism, it disappoints as a continuation of the story Casino Royale began.