Another ringer with the slick trigger finger

I've been to see Quantum of Solace at long last. I'm a big Bond fan and had heard mixed things about it, so was keen to see for myself.

And I did enjoy it, for the most part. But the plot did seem a little thin. Or was I just not concentrating? I did find some of the dialogue a little hard to pick up. I'd already been warned that the first 10 minutes of the film might be a little hard to pick up, unless I'd seen Casino Royale recently (I hadn't, but I could just about remember what happened, although I didn't realise until much later on that the action took place quite so soon after the end of Casino Royale. And car chases? Well, I have never found them terribly exciting.

I do, however, think that Daniel Craig is a good Bond. Much had already been written about how he is back to the Bond of the books. This is true, but I think this does Timothy Dalton a huge disservice. The film kept me engaged, but it wasn't vintage. I didn't get lost in it, but wasn't sure why not. When I was talking with a couple of friends about it (both also huge Bond fans), they made a couple of very pertinent points which led me to the conclusion that maybe it just didn't seem like a Bond film. It didn't have lots of the familiar elements. There is no real romance to speak of (well, not in the classic Bond way), no casino scenes, not gadgets (I don't find this especially vexing). One even went so far as to say "What I wouldn't have given for a raised eyebrow". Well, I wouldn't go that far.

Is this what is boils down to? I'm not sure. Bond films have to adapt, so they can compete with the likes of the Bourne franchise. Audiences seem to like bigger and better. And it is in this that it loses a little of the magic; a little of what makes Bond great. It is perhaps telling that my favourite Bond film is From Russia With Love. What will be particularly interesting is the next one. As far as I know they have pretty much exhausted the Ian Fleming back catalogue (save a few of the short stories) and of course, Sebastian Faulks has recently published Devil May Care, which is set in the 1960s.

Would they dare?