Saw this movie just this past weekend with a friend. This was one of those movies that I was kind of on the fence about seeing, given that while I do vaguely remember the other two films with Daniel Craig as James Bond being filled with decent action scenes, I honestly can’t remember too much else about them.
This movie had some pretty good action scenes, and the storyline was better than what I had been expecting; however, on a personal level I’m not sure if this is one of those movies that will really stick out in my mind as one of my favorites in a few months.
The opening credits kind of reminded me of the opening to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), and it was pretty cool to watch; I enjoyed hearing Adele’s vocals as well. My friend told me that they did something similar at the beginning of Quantum of Solace (2008), but as I’ve stated before, I don’t really remember a lot about that one. I do recall, however, enjoying Quantum of Solace a tad more than I did Casino Royale (2006).
I was a little reminded of The Dark Knight Rises (2012) while watching the beginning, mostly because I saw a parallel with Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne and Craig’s James Bond—how both characters had to rehabilitate themselves to get ready to go back into the field.
There’s a bit of a long-winded chase that goes on for the first half of the movie that helps to eventually lead 007 to the “main villain” for this movie. I think the movie started to really pick up when it reached the second half, and I will admit that I enjoyed that part thoroughly. Some of my favorite scenes involved Ben Whishaw as the somewhat nerdy Q. His character got to play with some pretty cool-looking fictional tech.
Overall the movie was enjoyable, though there are some parts my friend and I thought weren’t entirely necessary. Like how random Bérénice Marlohe’s character seemed in the whole grand scheme of things, though I’m sure for the men in the audience she makes for some pretty good eye candy. Anyway, if you’re a fan of 007, and if you are an action-movie junkie, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed here.
FINAL VERDICT: B+
Cutting Edge Creativity 
Nice to see you back writing!
Am I the only one who can’t stand Adele? Maybe 🙂
LOL! Thanks, Tyson! I’ve just been so incredibly busy. I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Adele’s music. I like most of her songs initially, but I do find that her music gets old quick for myself personally.
From a normal cinematic perspective I can see what you mean with the randomness of Severine, but as a Bond movie she seemed to fit right into the formula for me. Glad to see the love for Q as well, I loved Ben Whishaw in the role and hope to see more of him in the next films
Good review 🙂
Well, my friend and I did think that the nod to the character she played made sense, but her chemistry with Craig’s Bond in this movie seemed too shallow and fleeting, like it was just kind of shoved in there compared to his interactions with Naomi Harris’ Moneypenny, with whom Bond seemed like he had more of a “spark.”
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In my opinion, Quantum of Solace was the weakest film between the three Daniel Craig Bond films mostly because of how Bond was barely given a chance to keep up with the frantic script and because of how utterly forgettable the villain was. However, I felt both Casino Royale and Skyfall stuck out as being two of the best films in the entire James Bond franchise. What I liked about Skyfall was how it really embraced its classic Bond roots (like having Craig drive the same Aston Martin DB5 Sean Connery drove in Goldfinger, complete with ejection seat) and yet being a very modern action movie at the same time.