Quantum of Solace

As a big fan of the James Bond franchise, I was both happy and disappointed with the new film, Quantum of Solace.  The film was shoot well and has some good action.  Daniel Craig was again exceptional portraying 007.  The film definetely had a very good, upbeat, suspenseful quality to it.  It was good movie, but certainly not great.  First, there was too much action, especially towards the start of the movie.  There  was chase after chase, seemingly for no reason. Characters like Mr. White, Fields, and Mathis were all hastily introduced and quickly killed without much explanation.  The movie also took place in six different locales, which was slightly confusing.  The movie was a whirlwind.  The plot was choppy.  Characters were barely introduced, there was a chase sequence, and then Bond would travel somewhere else.  There just weren't good transitions; it was almost like a  riddle.  There were loose ends that were not tied up.  It was hard to get a feel for what was going on.  Near the end of the film, Vesper's "boyfriend" was introduced to us, but he had barely been mentioned throughout the film.  I also thought the confrontation between Bond and Greene warranted more of a dramatic end. Speaking of Greene, he was a good villain.  He certainly looked psychopathic.  Though he lacked  a strong physical feature or abnormality like so many of the other Bond villains have had.  I thought the film sacrificed action for plot.  The story just could have been crafted a little more effectively.  The action was also a little to extravagant and outrageous for me.  Some of the chase scenes that were on foot, where they scale buildings for instance, are a little too over the top and unbelievable.  Or the scene where Bond is able to fall safely out of the airplane.  I know there is a certain element like that in most Bond films, where things are slightly unrealistic, but know Bond looks like Superman.  The movies also seem to be increasingly violent.  Of course there will be violence in any Bond film, but the best Bond films aren't built on sheer violence, but plot.  The violence is just getting a tad bit too graphic for Bond.  Lastly is the fact that the film had almost no connection with other films from the franchise, save for Casino Royale of course.  One of the good things about Bond films is how they are all tied together in unique ways.  There was no Q, no special, innovative weaponry or technology for Bond, and few of 007's typical mannerisms or habits came through.  Overall, it is a good effort.  It is a fun movie to watch.  It just could have been done better.  It would have been good to slow things down a little and develop the plot a little more.  I don't want Bond to be like any other pop film, with too many chases and too much violence.  I'm sure most casual Bond viewers think it was great, but compared to most Bond films it was only middle-of-the-pack.  I would give the film 3.5 out of 5 stars.