Movie Review: Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace owns the distinction of being the only Bond movie that acts as a direct sequel and as such suffers from the syndrome that sequels inevitably suffer from.  While Casino Royale pumped new life into the James Bond mythos by making Bond more human than his predecessors; giving him realistic motivations for doing what he does; and stripping him of his outrageously unrealistic gadgets, Quantam of Solace was clearly a shameless attempt at cashing in the 007 moniker rather than continuing excellence.

Don't get me wrong, Quantum of Solace wasn't a bad movie, it just wasn't a Bond movie.  I like action scenes as much as the next guy, but calling John McClain (the hero of Die Hard) James Bond and sending him to exotic locales doesn't qualify the movie as a Bond film.  The action sequences; as unbelievable as they are; are quite stunning and there are plenty of them to keep the pretty lights crowd entertained, but don't expect things like; enjoyable story; character development; or motivation.

I'd like to reiterate that I did enjoy the movie, but in the way that you enjoy a Jean Claude Van Dam flick at 4 AM on TBS, not in a let's go pay $10 to see the new Bond flick sort of way.  On a side note, who the hell powers their house with unshielded hydrogen fuel cells in the middle of the desert and doesn't include fire resistant compartments?  You'll know what I'm talking about.