Summary: The 22nd Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, is a direct sequel to the 21st, Casino Royale, which rebooted the whole franchise in a grittier, more human direction. The story continues 20 minutes after the previous movie, and shows Bond stopping an evil plot by the mysterious organization that left him betrayed in Casino Royale. But its all about revenge for Bond.Thoughts: I was never really a Bond fan until this reboot. I've only seen one of the old ones (Thunderball), but it just didn't seem to suit me. I rented Casino Royale on a whim one night last year and loved it. It had humor, action, suspense, and a reality that I think the originals were missing. You got into Bond's head a little and find out what makes him tick. Quantum continues this trend. In fact, it continues it so much, that you HAVE to watch them together. Not only will you be less confused about the plot, but the movies complete one another.
Let me explain: I was going to write this review as somewhat middling, because the basic plot is just that, basic. Revenge, blah blah blah, betrayal, blah blah blah. The action sequences were incredible, and were mostly lacking in Casino Royale, so that was good. Casino Royale was a bit heavy on plot and light on action, which Quantum was heavy on action and light on plot. It was only after reading Bill Hunt's mini-review on thedigitalbits that I realized that I shouldn't be comparing these two movies. They complete one another. They weren't written together like some movies that come in two parts (Kill Bill, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), but they fit together so well that it would be a shame to not watch them together.
I really can't talk about Quantum of Solace without spoiling both it and Casino Royale, so I'll leave you with this: If you liked Casino Royale, you'll like Quantum. If you didn't see Casino Royale, don't watch Quantum until you do. You'll only be confused and left a bit empty. If you didn't like Casino Royale, I'm sorry.
Overall: A great companion to Casino Royale.
4/5
Bonus!
On a majority of prints you find a trailer for JJ Abram's Star Trek. It's unlike anything ever seen from a Star Trek before. For those of you not aware, yes, they're making another Star Trek movie. Yes, this is number 11. But like the 21st Bond, pretty much everything has been thrown out of the window and they're starting from scratch. So far, its looking like this is what The Original Series would be like if it was made today and no one had ever heard of Star Trek before. It's a prequel in that its young Kirk and crew and explores their origins more than the series and previous movies ever did. But its a reboot in that things are different in some ways (which could be explained by the presense of a time-travelling Leonard Nimoy). Overall, I think it looks good. It has potentional for either greatness or lameness. But I'll see it with an open mind as a revitalization of one of my favorite franchises and I encourage my fellow Trekkies to do the same. I think even if you've written off Star Trek before, you should give this movie a look.
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