Brett Warren (whosinthenews)

Every now and again a film comes along that restores my faith in imaginative, original film making, and when it happens to come from the little guy (IE independent) it makes it all the more miraculous. I really can't say enough good things about this film. It has enough sci-fi punch, pizazz and eye candy to keep you hooked on a superficial level but is grounded thoroughly in heartfelt performances. So no matter how surreal it becomes you still understand the human elements it all emanates from; free will, cause and effect, redemption...universal themes wrapped in an non-melodramatic, non-preachy fashion.

"I needed some solace and a quantum of vodka after this slight disappointment" says Brett Warren of whosinthenews...

Every film, tv and book franchise has their absolute purists and Bond is surely no exception. With over four decades worth of material people have a very clear perception of what James Bond is and is supposed to be. And to many fanboy's dismay Quantum apparently violates many cardinal rules, some of which are valid (an essentially gadget-less Bond?) and some of which are simply preconceived notions that hardly affect an objective viewing of the film and its quality. The main problem resides in the fact that this is the only Bond film to be a direct sequel, which is a double edged sword in that it becomes more difficult to make judgments about the film as a whole since it's really the final act of Casino Royal...a very long final act but one nonetheless. The decision by the scriptwriters to do this raises some inevitable problems when building a satisfying story arc...so you can either be pissed off and consider Quantum a truncated, tacked on epilogue, or cut it some slack.
Another problem that I believe is a valid point is personal preference about Daniel Craig as Bond and the direction his character is being taken. In Casino Royale his obtuse, unshapen, borderline psychotic persona was excusable. He was a stone waiting to be crafted into the slick, stylish and invincible agent we know and love. Much in the same way Christian Bale's Batman transforms into the Dark Knight, we expected Bond to do the same. Granted, the beginning of the film takes place minutes after the first, but there is still the feeling of stagnation since those closing shots of Royale promised a transformed Bond...a world class double-agent. Unfortunately what he remains in Quantum is merely an icy-hearted killing machine, "efficient" as he is called in the film.
Once again the ending of this second installment promises yet a new version of Bond, he has dealt with his ghosts and laid old pains to rest. And so if by the next film there isn't a stark difference in either his methodology (becomes more than a mere bulldozer) or his persona (becomes more suave and manipulative) then I think fans will have a genuine reason to gripe.

Trivia: Catherine Zeta Jones was cloned, de-aged, slimmed down and re-named Olga Kurlylenko so that the real her could star in the romantic comedy romp "The Rebound" co-starring the comic relief guy from National Treasure.

This is big...big and pink.

FINGALLLL, YOU ARE MINE!...with bernay sauce!