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Quantum of Solace opened this weekend, and as any self-respecting die-hard Bond fan would, I had to go watch the opening show. Lines were long, seats were suboptimal, but thankfully, the movie wasn’t a disappointment.

There’s no denying that Quantum of Solace is stellar. It helps further the new direction that the Bond franchise is moving in. It’s a thrill-ride (yes, it’s cliche) for the die-hard Bond fan as well as casual action-seeking movie goer. The opening scene is breathtaking, the story progresses well, and even though the running time is only 1 hour 46 minutes, you never feel like you didn’t get your money’s worth. The direction is reminiscent of the Bourne series, if a bit theatrical at times. Quantum of Solace was expected to show James Bond get in touch with his feelings, which he did and it was handled expertly, not going overboard with emotion. The movie may not be as good as Casino Royale, but it stands far apart from previous Brosnan’s exploits like Die Another Day and The World is Not Enough. So go watch it.

With that being said, the rest of this review is for the die-hard fans. These are the small details that make a Bond movie special or fall flat for the fans.

First off, the opening credits scene was a bit weak. As you’ve come to expect with any Bond movie, the credits are surreal, full of visual trickery and have a memorable theme song. The theme song was not catchy, the visual trickery was not as good as Casino Royale. The trademark body silhouettes just weren’t evocative enough.

Quantum of Solace is full of chase sequences. Bond is chased through mountains, lakes, in cars, boats, planes, anything else you can think of. It is so full of chases, that you almost wish it would stop. There are too many, some overly theatrical. Most Bond movies (including Casino Royale) intertwine a bit of fun, glamour, romance (if you can call it that) in with the captivating action. But this movie seems to take itself too seriously. There are few moments that give you a chance to reflect, even fewer that show Bond having a bit of fun or mentally jabbing with the villain (like the poker scene in Casino Royale). At times, the movie was so intense, you almost wished that they would show 5 minutes of Bond sleeping.

The only other gripe I have is that there are too many location changes in the movie. Usually Bond does his share of world traveling, but being a short movie, it felt very fragmented each time he kept switching continents every 10 minutes. You’ll also notice that (for some odd reason), they start referring to M as Maum (Mom?). They alluded to this in one short scene in Casino Royale, but she is addressed by this name exclusively in Quantum of Solace. The villain is a bit weak, and there are no classic henchman like Jaws, Oddjob, etc. There are almost no gadgets in this movie, which isn’t a bad thing, but it moves away slightly from the classic Bond theme.

This Bond movie, in my opinion, felt like the second part in a three part trilogy. This is the penultimate one that furthers the story line set forth in the prequel, and sets the stage for the final one. The Bond franchise seems to be making a deliberately effort to change the Bond legacy to a new format – one of realism and humanness. Ironically, it almost starts to feel Bourne-like.

With all that being said, this movie is definitely worth a watch. The added bonus: after watching the movie, you find out the real meaning of “Quantum of Solace”.