Rating of
3.5/4
Shaken, but not stirred? Try this!
MovieMike - wrote on 11/26/08
Daniel Craig’s second outing in ‘QOS’, as James Bond, is every bit as physical and action driven as the first installment, ‘Casino Royale’. Director Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball, The Kite Runner) takes the reins this time and gives us an even more visceral portrayal of our favorite MI-6 agent. While noted as a sequel, ‘QOS’ doesn’t rest solely on the previous events, but does carry forward the angst from Bond’s experience of loss and betrayal of his love, Vesper, and Bond is angling for some revenge. The plot here is pure Bond formula, with a shadowy organization bent on manipulating governments and resources. Dame Judi Dench, returns as ‘M’ and provides even more depth to the complex relationship she shares with 007. Jeffrey Wright also reprises his role as Felix Leiter, Bond’s CIA counterpart; but is given minimal screen time. Bond’s main co-conspirator in this outing is Olga Kurylenko, a Ukrainian-born actress and recent newcomer with additional credits in ‘Max Payne’ and ‘Hitman’ (I sense a pattern here!). While the movie is not without a few flaws, it still meets most of the Bond requirements of body counts, mayhem and destruction. This time out James isn’t supplied with any special gadgetry, the story line moves too fast to even stop and pick any of that up, but we are offered glimpses into some of the technology employed at MI-6. I’ve seen this latest series of Bond films labeled as a ‘Bourne’-wanna-be and had to laugh. In my view, they couldn’t be any more different and each rests on it’s own merits. Flaws aside, I thoroughly enjoyed ‘QOS’ and if you liked ‘Casino Royale’, you will too.
