Quantum of Solace

I saw the new James Bond movie last Wednesday, and was blown away. Well, not literally, although they tried their hardest. This is a fast paced Bond that drives, runs, fights and shoots its way from one scene to the next, with barely a time for a breath.

The action scenes were shot with the kind of quick cuts intended to capture the chaos inherent in improvised action. The movie opens with a brilliantly staged car chase scene through a traffic jam. After that, you know that this is going to be an imaginative romp through Bond's paranoid world where all the women, whether a femme fatale or a brave agent, are drop dead gorgeous and all the villains are going to be unbearably fond of their own monologues.

This is a serious Bond--there's none of the camp of the Moore era on display here, and there's little in the way of comedic relief. Still, Craig is a powerful enough presence that he pulls Bond through his dark path without losing sight of his duty, a delicate balancing act is an increasingly unbalanced world.

4 out of 5 stars