Quantum of 'Splosions

The question is, which definition of Quantum am I using? Do I just mean "a particular amount" or "a large quantity"? You'll have to see the movie to find out. Mostly, I was looking for a play on words and that was the best I could come up with. I guess I'm not feeling too clever this morning. But I am feeling like writing a movie review, so read on if you want to know what I thought of the movie...

Overall, I found the movie to be an excellent addition to the Bond Franchise. It continues the shift away from the campier Bond that was begun in "Casino Royale", but it still had a decent amount of depth to it. It's not as good as "Casino", but Daniel Craig continues to move Bond along the road to the detached playboy that other actors have made him out to be. He's also a more mortal Bond. He gets cuts and bruises and doesn't bounce into the next scene fresh as a daisy. He's also a good deal more brutal than previous portrayals. He's not glib immediately after a life and death struggle. He is brooding and intense for a bit before he relaxes. In short, Craig reminds us that double-0s are not spies but spies with a mandate to murder. Additionally, Judi Dench is superb as M.

The plot was not overly complex, but flowed well and was tight and smooth. I didn't feel it dragging at any time. And none of my vociferous coworkers were bored enough to shout at the screen. There weren't many twists, but the ones that were present were satisfying.

My list of negatives is going to seem long, but that is only because I didn't want to give any of the good bits away. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, but had a few issues with the direction.

The biggest complaint is the jump-cuts in some of the action sequences. It was as though they were trying to cover up bad fight choreography by making it hard to focus on the action. I'm sure it was a stylistic choice, but I didn't care for it.

I also don't think they used a couple of the supporting characters enough. They were there for a brief moment and then suddenly gone for a long stretch. They could have been woven in better.

My last complaint is going to sound silly, but hear me out. I thought one of the action sequences stretched the bounds of the reality they had created for themselves. That's right. I'm dinging a James Bond movie for lack of realism. The problem is that they moved back toward realism with much of the action. Sure, the stuff is fantastical and in some cases probably impossible, bet it was believable in the world they created. If you see it, and I encourage you to, let me know if you can guess which stunt was too much for me.