Quantum of Solace.

I've heard a lot of nonsense reviews about this addition to the Bond series. Most of them say that QoS is very 'unBond' and too Bourne-like. Well, first of all, it was the rigid 'all bond films must follow the same template' rule that ran the series into the ground in the first place. Just take a look at Die Another Day. Quite frankly, the Bourne films are better than any Bond film anyway so the fact that Bond is emulating them (in style, not character) can only be a good thing.

Previous Bond films now just seem completely outdated. I've never been particularly interested in films that show unrealistic consequences for the violent acts of their heroes. Bourne took you right into the ferocity of a fist fight between two highly trained operatives. This has been carried over into Daniel Craig's Bond and it adds far more drama to the action. Just watch Bond's reaction after taking down a bad guy on the balcony of an apartment block. It's intense, dark, and totally believable. This modern Bond is far more realistic and anyone who suggests that it lacks emotional depth need only look at Bond's final scene with Mathis.

The relationship between Bond and M has also become much more interesting as M takes on the role of a surrogate mother, something Bond seems only too aware of. Almaric makes a great bad guy as Greene, though as with Casino Royale, he is nothing more than a henchman and so far, it is Mr White who remains the highest up the ladder. The weakest link in terms of character is Gemma Arterton's Agent Fields who is pretty much given nothing to do. Kurylenko is wonderful, and makes for a sympathetic character to root for in Camille.

The fact that this film is a direct sequel also makes you feel more invested in the characters whereas with previous bond films there was nothing carried over, making them feel somewhat detached from each other. This is one of the things that made The Dark Knight so successful. Speaking of which, anybody going into QoS expecting it to do for Bond what TDK did for Batman is an idiot. It's ridiculous to have those kind of expectations. Batman is Batman and Bond is Bond!

9/10