2008 / Marc Forster > This is what we get after Casino Royale? Having seen all but the Timothy Dalton adventures of Bond, I felt that Casino Royale was arguably the best in the series, even if it significantly veered from the style of the first 20. But Forster’s vision in Quantum of Solace failed to catch the slipstream of its successor. The whole show feels anti-climactic: Too much goes on without any kind of concreteness, and the scope is so minuscule that we find it tough to care for Bond when the final fight vs. the bad guy comes. Aren’t Bond films supposed to be about global domination? Aren’t there supposed to incredibly powerful henchmen who protect the super-villains, who themselves are maddeningly intelligent and devious? This felt more like a take on Bond as if he were Jason Bourne. The film’s enjoyable, sure, but the satisfaction doesn’t last. I can’t help but stress the weakness of scope, and how it reminded me of the terrible storyline from Diamonds are Forever. The stories of James Bond are supposed to be grand in every essence of the word, but this that was not. Here’s hoping they take heed of Daniel Craig’s latest comments in saying that Bond’s initiation has ended. It’s time, finally, for the real villains to come onstage.