I’ve been a fan of the James Bond books and movies for quite a while. Really ever since we first got cable in the early 90′s and I discovered the joys of weekend-long James Bond marathons. My 8th grade English teacher gave me a stack of old James Bond paperbacks that I digested in junior high. Surprisingly, the title of one of the short stories in one of those paperbacks was brought back for the newest and 22nd Bond flick. Quantum of Solace. I probably didn’t give the title a second thought back then, but it just sounds kind of weird now.

Anyway, the movie begins right where Casino Royale leaves off. Since I didn’t quite retain a memory of all of the characters and plot twists of Casino Royale, I was a little behind as the film got underway. The opening action sequence is pretty good and had me hoping for better things to come. After Bond’s third trip across the Atlantic, I had ceased really caring a whole lot about the story that was being told and cared a whole lot more about seeing some good action sequences. After alternating between Bond killing someone and one of Bond’s friends getting killed, it didn’t really seem to matter anymore.

Now, I’m all for a complex and nuanced film, but the villains in this movie just seemed so unimportant. Trying to horde all of the world’s water. You fail at villainy.

Final verdict – just another Bond movie.