Quantum of Solace

FUCK everyone calling Quantum of Solace a crappy film! Can we really not differentiate expectations from experience? Imagine all of the endless flak these people have gotten, simply because this film has an older brother who excelled more.

I would threaten to call this a better Bond film than was Spectre, and probably Skyfall too. I don't need Oscar-winner-villains, not in the slightest; this film had pure government intelligence, action, a modest but effective villain--- this is real James Bond, not like the senseless one-upping of late. Skyfall and Spectre are on a substance-less and misguided mission to top everything that came before, and sacrifice a plain good film in the process. Quantum is a plain good Bond film, like Casino Royale, only the latter just had a greater villain, an awesome poker backdrop, etc etc....     The two share much, and, as I reflect more, I wonder why Casino Royale is the god and Quantum is the bastard child. I see them as two of the same sort, and it frustrates me that Quantum is so degraded. I love Casino Royale, love it to a distant end, but it is not an inherently better film than Quantum of Solace. It executes some classic Bond elements well, and has a better premise, but it was also the first in the series-- it had the whole world to work with. Quantum has to carry on the story and mood but with more limited material, and plus it has to traverse the awkward bridge to a new director... But it does it all well! It can't be better than its predecessor, but it's quite a valuable continuation of the former!

I thought that this movie gave a very solid experience. That last big scene, in the hotel in the desert... Absolutely tremendous!! If I'm not mistaken there's a moment when Bond accepts his coming death and decides to shoot his companion in the head! Are you kidding me?! This is after some spectacular fighting, some awesome environment destruction, which felt a whole lot less shallow than it does in most action films nowadays...

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I think it's probably more fulfilling than the two recent ones. It's obviously not perfect -- I didn't like how Bond had to have a fight scene in every possible mode of transportation, I didn't like the 2-second camera cuts, I didn't love the ending....  But I loved seeing classic old Bond.... And that's the core of this statement I'm trying to make, THIS is classic Bond, Skyfall and Spectre do not belong, but more importantly-- it is classic Bond which is most fulfilling to watch, and this film was more fulfilling to watch.

I loved the fighting, loved the intelligence, liked Olga a lot, loved seeing Bond young and rogue and clearly the best agent in the world. There's nothing more valuable.