All I can say is: wow.

But, before you readily agree or not, let me explain why that 'wow' is one of sheer disgust and disappointment.

Not only did I just waste 2 and something hours of my life watching a movie about, almost literally, nothing; but I did so watching something that had the 007 Bond title attached to it.

I was sorely disappointed with this movie. Not only did it result in absolutely nothing happening, it basically acted as filler. Craig, as hard as he tries, could be replaced by a cardboard cut out for all of his on screen charisma and personality - his Bond is as bland as rice by itself.

Action... the action is top notch. Bond's fighting scenes and action scenes reminded me of Jason Bourne - and that's sad to say, seeing as how Bond (as the title) should be what Bourne reminds you of; not the other way around.

I hate how this Bond, realistic approach or not, runs blindly into any situation and then literally relies on his fists to get him out of the bind he's in. There's no planning, no brain process, just a gritty self-reliance on brawn and a good right hook (or elbow, or foot, or whatever else is handy... like Bourne).

This, at least to me, is not Bond.

I don't care if the movie buffs say it's the beginning of the Bond movies, where he's just become a 00. He became a 00 agent for a reason, and it sure as hell wasn't because he was a brainless hitman who beat the crap out of anything that moved.

Bond, for me, is a charismatic, intelligent, manipulative and pre-planning kind of guy. He rolls in, he explodes off the screen through sheer personality, he knows he's the man, and he knows he can out-fight, out-shoot and out-class any sucker that tries to get in his way - he doesn't try to scrape through by the skin of his teeth and get beaten to a pulp at the same time. Bond changes no tuxedos, because he doesn't ruin any tuxedos. You can rely on Bond to come out of a fire fight looking as though he'd just dropped by the dry cleaners after having his suit pressed.

Casino Royale; yes, I get it - he's new, he's inexperienced and he's proving himself as a capable agent to one day become the Bond we all knew and accepted as Bond...

But, my main argument is: when? When is this transition meant to happen? When is Craig meant to become the Bond I described above? When is he meant to become 'the man'?

If he's meant to be a younger, fresher Bond, then considering he's 35+ and not getting any younger means they've completely missed the boat in terms of giving him time to develop as a character. Craig's Bond, to me, acts like a high school bully who cries when someone takes his milk and then decides to go and beat them into the ground shortly afterward...

I mean, come on, having two whole movies dedicated to crying over spilt milk and then the reaction to that event?

We're talking super secret agent, not glorified thug with a killing streak.

By the end of this movie, Quantum, Bond seemed to have gotten his shit together - and I only hope this is the case, because the whole movie achieved nothing in terms of plot development, and I felt as though I wasted my time.

Bourne had more intelligently written plots than this latest stream of Hollywood tarnished dribble called Bond, 007. I personally love the Bourne movies, but I also love the old Bond movies; and the more I watch these latest movies, the more I realise Bond will never be the same... and that makes me sad.

These guys have one last chance. One more. And if they don't deliver and have Bond come up to scratch and actually do more than spend two and a half hours hunting down some nut for revenge, I'm going to swear off the franchise and never look back. I'm almost to that point now, given the utter pile of steaming that this movie was...

I want my money back.

So, my final say, is that if you want an action flick that happens to star Bond - great, you'll love it! But if you want Bond that happens to star in an action flick, with some fancy spy and espionage tastes thrown in for flavour - better luck next time, move along...

What a joke.

If my hopes for what's to come next are correct, then the next film will have Bond acting more Bond-ish, and have him actually do something more... like saving the world from some evil organization, like he's meant to!

Quantum for me: 2/5

- Great action
- No gadgets*
- Lacking a 'meaty' plot (not sure if they used this one as a tie-off/set-up scenario; sure hope so!)
- No gadgets*!
- Trivial revenge makes the experience boring and over used
- Craig doesn't astound as the supposedly astounding super agent, who ends up being pretty average and thuggish
- No gadgets*!

* - Note: Even a rookie 00 agent would have 'something' in the way of a gadget - a laser watch? A pen bomb? Anything no matter how simple? Sure he uses a phone... but everyone has a phone that can do some manner of tracking if you know how.

they are moving towards a real-spy type theme, in short laser watches and pen bombs are archaic relics of the sixties era bond i.e. stupid and out-dated.

they did however show gadgets that you must have missed, such as the advances touch-top table computers and holoprojectors, not to mention M's mirror became a voice-cued video message system.

also he's still a rookie 00, this takes place something like five minutes following casino royale.

second bond is still suave, and charismatic, albeit rough around the edges. and in fact he does "know he's the man" evidence by his arrogance during the opera, he openly taunted the members of Quantum and withl his smarmy attitude during the end desert scene with the main villain.

honestly he's meant to be a work-in-progress; which imo, he is. you can tell he's got the flair for espionage, but being a recently promoted 00 he's used to being the thug agent and not operating 'under the radar'.

also if you listen to marc forster's comments about him, they've said they understand he's not eh typical bond, they are making a transition towards that (craig and marc have a four film deal) and if you really pay attention you can tell they are leaning towards that in this movie if only slightly.

in addition i think there is actually quite an interesting plot going on if you connect the two films (solace isn't meant to stand alone) and it's a refreshing push away from the traditional sort of villains (the general aside) with the green planet guy.

all in all, yes i agree that it lacks the charm of the old bond movies, but i think you are expecting too much from an action franchise to begin with, however as i said these films are meant to be connected, such as the books, and i think perhaps you'll be more happy with future films as they continue the transition from thuggish soldier to charismatic espionage-styled agent.

It's like I tell my friends: Yes, the new James Bond movies aren't really terrible movies. Casino Royale was pretty exciting, and I've heard good and ill of Quantum of Solace. But here's the trick...

They're terrible James Bond movies.

These new James Bond movies are entirely different from the old James Bond we know. These new movies are not James Bond, and I don't know why they're part of the Bond franchise when in truth they should be something to start their own.

I can see the transition, but for me it's too slow and the point from where he's developing seems oddly late for his age - given he's meant to be the younger, new-age Bond prior to the other movies. I also don't know why they didn't go with a younger M, or someone completely different - seeing as in the 'old' movies, M was a guy who was fairly old.

I don't understand where their claims for 'at the beginning' are coming from; obviously it's the beginning of some other timeline for Bond, because M can't change from a woman into a man through the course films, before returning to herself in the last three or so.

As for the gadgets... they are as much a part of Bond as his tuxedo is. You mentioned their use of advanced technology, but not gadgets (such as a laser watch - which, I believe, could still be very useful in this day and age despite thoughts stating otherwise). They showed technology, but not the personal gadgetry that makes Bond into Bond - he needs the rockets in his car, he needs the spiffy cameo suits, he needs the button tracking devices, etc, etc.

Sure they had a flashy computer table, but that's not anything that couldn't be done today. Make that flashy computer table into the size of a wristwatch and put a hologram into it to show the surrounding area/building, and then you'll be hinting at the more advanced stuff I would expect from Bond - as it stands, we have touch screens, a company has already created the first hologram, so it's not 'new' stuff...

Either way, I hope they get into a decent plot with the next movie, and actually use some of the filler dealing with Greene and his company from Quantum; otherwise this whole movie will have been for nothing, save giving him 5 hours combined to work his emotional baggage out.

PS: Where's Q? Why no developments department?

Well, the person who use to play Q for most of the Bond movies is dead; that may be part of it.

Corise: Do you realize how many different actors have played James Bond? Pretty sure they could pull off a different Q.

they used john cleese after desmond lleweyln died, who i thought worked rather well.

Indeed. However, in this case, seeing as how it's meant to be at the beginning, I'd say someone around his 50's would be fine.

Something to think about: In this movie Bond has had 00 status for all of what, a month? Just two weeks ago his girlfriend was killed. It's a very short timeline.

I have really enjoyed both movies. Quantum is not as good as Royal, but when viewed as a whole I think they provide a nice intro to Bond. I can see a transformation taking place. He's beginning to appreciate expensive drinks. With the death of whatsherface from Royal, he's now beginning to exploit women purely for his aims, with less of an emotional attachment. The gadgets, Q, those will come. He already has the ego, now he just needs the experience.

Corise: Do you realize how many different actors have played James Bond? Pretty sure they could pull off a different Q.

I'm certain that they could. I'm just pointing out the franchise has a tendency to keep using old supporting actors/actresses even whenever can (M, Moneypenny, Felix, etc). Call it loyalty of some sort, or perhaps something to do with contracts.