EDITORIALS

i thought it was better than Casino Royale I enjoyed the movie also. 9 out of 10 sounds about right

Im so stoked. Im a HUGE Bong fan. Thanks for the review Alex!

I'm also a HUUUUUGE Bond fan and I loved this movie!! Buut It didn't feel like a Bond film in the slightest. Infact it felt even less like a bond film then Casino Royale did. The whole movie you just feel sorry for Bond and the last time you felt really sorry for him was at the end of On her majestys Secret Service and we all know how that movie turned out... You never once see him smile or have any other facial expression besides one that only a person who hates everything can make! Having said all the the action was amazing! The directing was top notch and it was nonstop fun! There are a few camera shots that make you go whoa!

Oh and i love James Bond too, but unlike i guess i didn't suffer from "hype" brought to me by being in contact with the people responsible for the movie, like director Mark Foster. The action sequence in the Opera show or whatever, was awesome, yes, but that's like 4 min of the whole movie.

i defiantely liked it more than casino royale, its about on the level with the world is not enough more action, grittier story a decent action movie for sure

doesnt he look like george bush in that picture?

Shawn wants to eat his cake i bet. Anyway, i think you are wrong. What does Judaism have to do with anything? Although i do agree that the duet had too much white and not enough keys. As for the humor? Which casino royale did you see? Have you watched Layer Cake, he even got some laughs in the first Tomb Raider movie. Again you say something else that is stupid when you say that only a gay henchman would want to bed bond. What do you have against henchmen? Anyway, i realize you can't possible believe what you typed. So yeah. have fun.

Wow people get soooo pissed off. He has a different opinion than you, so the fuck what? No one has to agree on a movie because it is all subjective. If you think it sucks, don't buy it, but don't give some one who liked it shit.

c'mon people,with the amount of hype he's put for this movie is the 9/10 rating such a shocker? great visuals and great fights,that doesn't amount to much does it.

Great visuals? Check Great action? Check Great Bond? Check Goldfinger hommage? Checkity check! Now, let's just wait for those Moore/Brosnan lovers to star pissing over the whole goddamn picture...

Yes Alex, best bond since Goldeneye - agreed!

Hermond, I totally agree! Since I am from the Netherlands as well, it got me wondering if liking it depends on region? Nevertheless, I saw the film on Friday and was looking forward to it the whole day/weeks/months. Although a huge Bond fan, it didn't left me stunned as I expected it would. -There is absolutely no story. Main plot line: James is angry. He doesn't care about saving the world, kill the bad guys etc. He just wants revenge. - Shacky camera; oh my god! Action scenes do not get more exciting by throwing the camera around while filming. You cannot tell me that anyone actually saw what happened during the boat scene... chasing bond, lots of shots, still chasing james, anchor, boom everybody's gone..!?! how on earth did that happen. Please let me know, I am dying to found out. Maybe I need to see the film once more (I was sitting in one of the front rows, which is not the best position to watch this action flick (with all the shaking), but I have to say I expected more, it is a James Bond for crying out loud! Cheerio T. ps I did like the Bond girls by the way...

You're mad. 9/10 for a film which is just seemless action, with little resolved plot in what turns out to be essentially a filler movie? A movie which ends with the only intention but to carry on the story into a third movie? This is nowhere near on the level of Goldeneye, and to clame-so is an insult.

WOW!!! so much exchange of heated words. great for Alex ... :p ... great for Daniel Craig & great for EON productions. 1st off ... like Alex I'm a big Bond fan. my fav is Connery, then followed by Brosnan. 2ndly, I never mentioned about judaism. I mentioned Jewish. A jew also has the right not to practise judaism. Jews can be Christians, Buddhists or just a cool swingin 'free thinker'. Even if they're half Jews, they're still warmly welcome by their community. But one thing to note .... 'Jews always help the jews.' DC might be half Jew. Anyways, the franchise owners - Michael G Wilson & Barbara Broccoli are Jews .... or at least half Jew. I bet most of you don't know that James Stewart was Jew. Hollywood studios are owned by Jews. they run the movie industry in the U.S. I just did an academic paper for my Masters in Mass Comm, and it was about Jewish Influences in Hollywood. WOW, the Nickolodeon in the early days of the movie industry was created by them .... the Jews. Check out the '1999 Chanukah Song'. It has a list of Actors who are Jewish .... half blooded or Full Blooded. the song is also written by Adam Sandler ... another Jew. My favorite Jewish celebrities - Ben Stiller, Paul Newman, Steven Spielberg, Sarah Jessica Parker, Stan Lee, Robert Downey Jr & Harrison Ford. Damn! even my 2 fav movies for 2008 has Jew written all over it. Iron Man: Jon Fareauv, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Robert Downey Jr & MARVEL. Sex & the City: The whole cast, the writers, producers and director ...except for Jennifer hudson. Lastly, back to Bond. I've never bad mouth people and I think Alex has his opinions too. just like the rest. I don't need anyone to believe me and i have Jewish buddies & friends from all over the world. They're all smart, fun loving and very hard working people. Whether Bond is Jewish or not is not the big deal. What's important is that Bond is relevant in this new millennium & people still crowd the cineplexes to catch him on the big screen. Just caught it again about 2 hrs ago, .... 'Another Way to Die' is slowly crawling under my skin.

Seen it and liked it very much. A slick, ruthless, parred to the bone Bond that delivers on its own terms. Prefered it to Casino Royale as that (to me) ran out of steam towards the end. Craig doesn't emote much, but he still has amazing presence in the role. He's a great Bond. Good stuff. 8/10

I totally agree with you. 9/10. But I thought Casino Royale was better. I can't say this enough, Olga Kurylenko is HOT!!!

In thailand, this movie started 5th, Nov. *In Japan, next year...umm the scene cutting is too fast for me, but I enjoyed it. I prefer it to Casino Royale. http://www.taideomou.com/archives/50755227.html

This was a good movie, and although some think it wasn't "Bond-ish" enough, it brought the character into a whole new realm. Bond has always been a larger-than-life character, and always seemed to escape every situation unscathed. With "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solice" we finally get to see a real flesh and blood Bond. As much as I loved most of the cheese that was in the old 007 movies, I'm digging the new take. Gone are the goofy gadgets, and over the top action sequences. The new movies have pleanty of "unbeliveable" stunts and sequences, but they are done with a more serious tone. That tone, is a welcome addition to the Bond franchise. You can compare "Quantum of Solice" to the Bourne movies, and that's fine. Those are great flicks, and they've made the whole action genre take notes. The comparison just proves that the producers wanted to make Bond relevant and current, and they've shown that they don't want Bond to become a relic of the past. I have to admit: I personally think Daniel Craig is the best Bond. He's like a pitbull at times, but he can be smooth and charming as well. He's like an updated version of Connery's Bond, but darker, and brooding. He should be. The reality is that Bond has to kill people, and that wouldn't make a normal person very happy.

you are bullshit alex....first of all there are 22 + QS= 23. know what you love mate. you didn't think casino was the best bond., c'mon. it was perfect. I watch the opening chase scene on HD every chance I get., may be you love more of action stuff than drama/dialogue. whatever. here I come midnight show...whoowoooohoooo!

I disagree completely with that 9/10. Casino Royale was a truly 10/10 or - for someone who is kinda bitter - maaaaybe a 9/10, but Quantum of Solace, really, deserves a 7 AT MOST. I consider the whole movie is about "blocks": we have one boring block, then an over the top action block, then a boring block, then another unjustified action block and so on. The villains pretty much suck. That Fields agent-Bond chick sucks. The WHOLE STORY SUCKS (that is the worst point that I have). I mean, not all of it is that bad, but I think in the overall feeling, the 7 is just because this is a Bond movie and no Bond movie deserves less than that (eeh... including the Moore movies, but come on, take consideration of the time context!). After The Dark Knight, this was my bet, and today, after seeing it, I'm not a winner... damn.

Hey Alex, I can imagine how you feel when people start 'childishly' condemning your comments and your view of the movie. Thanks to the immatured fools for their 'kind' words. After watching QoS twice, here is my 2 cents worth summary. 1. Story = 5/10 2. Bond = 6/10 3. Action = 8/10 4. M = 9/10 5. Bond Girl Camille = 9/10. 6. Sets = 9/10 7. Location = 10/10 Things I liked about the movie = It continued smoothly from CR. It played tribute to Goldfinger, Moonraker & a couple of its predecessors. Bond's mobile phone. Bond was always dirty & bleeding after the fights. M had more dialogue. Great Locations. Things I hated about the movie = Bond didn't speak much. Bond is blonde. Too few seduction scenes as compared to its predecessors. Not many Babes .... c'mon, an ugly MILF getting a tan? The traditional barrel scene where bond walks across, ... from right to left, then makes a sharp left turn to shoot his gun at the audience. Wasn't convincing for me. DC is slowly growing into Bond ..... his own way. Sorry, but I'm still a big fan of Connery & Brosnan. However, I'm curious to know if DC will be having more dialogue lines in future as well as more seduction scenes with the Bond girls. But I'm glad to know that Bond is still around .... as Bond says in his final line of QoS ... ' I never left.'

Alex, I thoroughly agree with the way you approached your review. I myself am a huge Bond fan from Fleming's novels to each cinematic interpretation of the character to suit the times. Arguments about who is best bond and which is the best bond movie are a very sensitive matters for many die hard Bond fans which can lead to bitterness and resentment as can be seen from most of the comments made of QOS and your review. As with any Bond film and any Bond actor, QOS has its strong points and weak points. The film is virtually humorless, a direction the producers of the cinematic Bond has toyed with in the past - Licence to kill; the theme song is forgettable; action was sacrificed for character development; the inter cut of fight scenes with other events - the Tosca performance and so many more negatives that can be found about QOS & Daniel Craig's interperation of bond that would make most moviegoers blood boil. But for me, being a bond fan means being able to slip into the character's shoes through the Bond actor's performance and the tone of the movie - it's that escapism that movies, especially Bond movies allow us. When I want the mood and tone of Connery, Moore, Dalton or Bronson or Craig I can watch one of their movies and be totally immersed into the character and the movie. No Bond actor is perfect; no Bond movie is perfect - we all have our favorites. But for me, Ian Fleming's literary creation will always live on in the movies as long as the franchise produced don't tweak the Bond formula too much. That's what being a Bond fan is, at least to me - enjoying the movies of the past and looking forward to future installments.

Gonna wait for this on DVD.

hi there, I am not from Netherlands, nor am i from any region specially likes QoS but there are aspects of the latest Bond that i like and dislike i have read most of the comments on Alex's review. i agree with some and disagree with some. here goes nothing :F Bond: first of all I like the new tone of the Bond, he is meaner, rougher. but he is at the first steps of his career. and he has been hit very hard at his heart on his very first mission the way even he wasnt aware that he could be hurt that much. so he is still hurting, hence the tough face, hard manners. he is still a lumber that will in time will be shaped to what we have read in the novels and seen in the previous movies. he will get to be gentler, more lightmooded as time passes and matures and see the true nature of his JOB. he is one mean hellova spy so he will learn to make jokes to be charming not only by his rough goodlooks but also keen sense of perception and intelligence and we cant be too hard on him that he has no sense of humor, tht he hasnt smiled. he has joked with verper and smiled with her. come on man he is hurting you cant expect someone to smile right after his first love of his life gal has died so that he can live...so give the guy some credit... but that doesnt mean i miss Brosnan's charm, nor Connery's charisma, Moore's humor but he has one notion that he has that he can use: he is physically able to achieve all those feats. he can throw a punch when need arise just as well as take one Gadgets: thank god there arenot any childish gadgets. i am happy that the ones that he is using actually believable and logical. the girls: well he is bond afterall he gets to have darn cute and hot chicks, which i believe where good choices both in CR and QoS the score: come on man QoS score was the worst ever. there was no bond spirit in it. sorry but nopes, its a thumb down the action: i am happy with the direction of the two movies action style. since he was on revenge fueled mission i can relate to his harsh tactics and the fight scenes were good, the car chases the freerunnings were all top notch. this Bond takes a more direct method in dealing with the baddies, but as i referred before, he is new to business. he will learn the value of a baddy that can sing valuable info. lastly the comparison of the latest bond flicks i grade them equal since they are imo one story divided in two. so when is the third new bond movie due?? we should expect a Bond who should be getting in to the role a bit more and tone down his brute force and bring out the sneaky agent. or may be he is destined to be something more ??? we will wait and see cheers burak

It seems like it is a big setup for the next film, there are some great action sequences. My theater didn't really clap that much after the film was over, but apparently the other theater booed the film. Personally I would give it about a 7 out of 10. The story seems rushed and Amalric is an average villain. There are times when I felt that he wasn't even necessary. Craig is superb. The action is excellent, but isn't as relentless as some reviews say it is. I hope that the sequel will be better than this. Go see the film. It is worth the price of admission, but do not expect the same caliber that Casino Royale was at. If you walk into the theater thinking that it will be the same experience that Casino Royale was you will be disappointed some what, so try not to think about it and you will enjoy the movie.

Alex's Rating: 9 out of 10 ! What does that mean ? #33 got a point there over what you give such a rating ?

This was NOT a good movie. Yes, it was entertaining but the story was weak and the action sequences were no where near as good as Casino. I left feeling flat and kind of cheated. Not much depth to any of the characters or the story. Bond is basically just chasing the same guy all over the map. Could have been Should have been Way better.

Critical opinion looks pretty split on this; I'm a bit surprised that Rotten Tomatoes has declared it certified fresh with a 66% Tomatometer. I'm not really a Bond fan (only saw GoldenEye and Casino Royale), but when I go to action movies, I know that I'm not expecting much in the way of plot or nuanced character development. I'm expecting stuff go boom. I rather pity Marc Forster; Casino Royale is a really tough act to follow. But it doesn't surprise me that he's so different from the Connery and Moore Bonds--in fact, I'm glad he is, and hope to see him in transition from the gritty Bond of the first movie to the smooth, wisecracking Bond of later stories. Some of the negative reviews have lowered my expectations a bit, but I'm still looking forward to a good time.

Quantum of Solace was entertaining for sure, but sometimes i got the feeling that the movie was making fun of itself... everywhere pane of glass Bond crosses was broken, he can't get a gallon of milk from the store without it turning into a chase scene, and every time he punches someone in the face, they die

imo, not a 9/10. but a 7-8/10 would be sufficient enough. I really like the new bond, although in the beginning i was against Daniel Craig. I've really liked the way he's added much more deeper turmoil and emotions into the character. Sure, Pierce Brosnan is the pretty boy, but Daniel Craig can get with the nitty-gritty.

9/10 is just fucking crazy, this movie was god awful. It doesn't deserve anything higher than a 5.5/10

I thought it was great. There's so much more of the story to tell there better be a third movie with Craig. Everything about the guy is badass! Everyone did a great job working on this film.

Close to my heart? Franchise that I love?? Please. Critics of this Bond movie are perfectly correct in their negative views. The plot was shallow and could have done with some of this reviewer's excessive emotion.

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9/10 is a the score I would give it, had I just walked out of the theatre. It had so much action, emotional moments, and an unbelievable HOT Bond girl that I thought it was the best movie I had ever seen. Now that I take a closer look, I would have to rate it an 8. While all of the above were in it and comprised most of the movie, These things kept my score down: -Dominic Greene is one of the best villians in years, but he never had time to prove himself. He had a decent amount of screen time, but I wanted to learn more about him and what he does. -What is Quantum? Mr. White said they have people everywhere and he wasn't kidding (there was even someone in the room!). Also, how many high-end people are in this (crime?) organization? Le Chiffre, Mr. White, Dominic Greene, the Prime Minister's assistant advisor, some owner of a mining facility in Russia, Vesper's boyfriend, and even M's bodyguard. They better explain this in the third installment. -Was not long enough. the 109 minute run-time flys by at a brsk pace. Though it may seem long the story was not developed enough and (Strawberry?) Field's role was too limited. She appeared, then died within a short time-span. Overall, I thought this is one of the three MUST SEE movies of 2008, next to TDK and Tropic Thunder. Better action than a Bourne movie, and has the most heart of any Bond movie to date. Craig is the best Bond in franchise history, and he has the box office and critics to prove it. He injured Mr. White, killed Mr. Greene. Bond 23: steals Mr.Blue's soul

James Bond is all like "pew pew pew" in this movie. 10/10

OK. Perhaps my last comments were really a review of Casino not having seen QoS. Now I have seen it and there are so many problems with it I do not know where to begin. All the chases are herkey, jerky, shaky stuccato film clips. You can never really see what is going on. This is contrary to the taditional Bond flick replete with detail. And if Craig is gritty, moody, mean & vindictive one can still see a path by which he becomes a cooler if not cold uber-professional agent with a dry, sardonic sense of humor. Even the opening chase, usually one of the best, is almost visually incomprehensible. Certainly they were purloined from the Bourne genre but somehow Bourne's were more believable. The opening graphics were not as bad as I feared, but were definitely not 007 quality. Far too much of Craig shooting his Walther PPK .380; (don't make me go into why that is a problem). We have grown accustomed to the sultry, sexual/sensual and awesome graphical intro to the Bond films. This one was not of the same caliber. Ditto on the theme song. I was fearing worse and it was actually passable relating somewhat to the general theme of the film. The barrel scene was placed at the end of the film. I prefer the beginning but in either case it should be presented with high quality graphics and punctuated with 007 theme song riffs. It was not. Lots of chases. Most are barely watchable. I actually liked the reference to the traditional 13th century Italian Palio horse race in which the riders can use their longer wooden canes to encourage their steeds or discourage their oponents; and the actual event was supposed to be occuring outside of the chase area. The knife fight was lame. How did the baddie die anyhow? Please tell me not with the little pair of cuticle scissors Bond had. And if the death blow was to the only wounded area shown, the left jugular, where did all the blood go as Bond let him 'bleed out'. Not worry the details because we are soon introduced to THE BOND GIRL. Well, a little anti-climatic because she is not quite as attractive as we are used to although she has very pretty lips. The rest of her seems strangely disporportionate for some reason. It's also strange that she would return to the baddie who just tried to have her whacked. That has little probability for success for someone who we later learn is "Bolivian Secret Service". Oh well, not to worry, we are off on another chase, this time with boats. It is perhaps the best done but for the last scene in which the grappling hook is somehow thrown onto the rubber speed boat and flips it from the front of Bond's boat over the top to the rear...... can't quite figure the physics out on that one. Not to worry, we've docked and Bond mysteriously hands the unconscious maiden who he has just rescued over to a dock attendent...what? Well were off to track this baddie and somehow reconnected with the GIRL in Bolvia where we eventually learn that the baddie, Mr. Greene of the evil Greene corporation in conjunction with the even eviler Quantum Criminal Consortiuum LLC has concocted a plot wreaking with the venom of true corporate greed, evil captialism and nefarious financier-ship; to wit, steal all the fresh water in where? Why Bolivia of course and sell it back to them Bolivans at double the price! MUAHHAHAHAHAHA (evil laugh). We learn at a big party that times are tough in Bolvia because it is costing a weeks wages for an average Bolvian to buy a gallon of clean water! As I remember, the average Bolvian earns about $0.25 per day making the water cost about $1.75 a gallon; pretty much on par with market values in Cleveland. Perhaps this is not the best country for our get richer quicker scheme. No matter, we are off to the evil opera where the evil baddies are meeting to plan, well, evil. This is where we reference a modernistic version of the Tosca operatic bloodshed whilst Bond dabbles in the real thing dispatching the body guards of the evil biggies who, now discovered, are making a hasty retreat for the exits faster than attendees at an Al Gore speech. No matter, while in Bolivia we are matroned by the closest thing to a real Bond girl, agent Fields. Unfortunately we never really figure out what is beneath that trenchcoat although it appears that Bond does. Also unfortunately for Fields and us, she is quickly eliminated by the baddies in what can only be termed as a 'crude' theft of the Goldfinger movie. I would have expected more of a mess but why waste camera time on the slickened Fields when you can spend it on bathroom scenes with....who else....M. Perhaps the most difficult what seemed like 15 minutes of the film was watching M in her bathrobe apply & remove cold creme. The threat itself would have sent Mr. Greene into pro bono philanthropy. Not finished with us yet, M draws her bath and the tension in the theater built noticably as we all began to fear that we would be greeted with an au natural scene of her slipping out of the robe into the tub. Fortunately we were spared that experience (wait for the unedited version coming to DVD soon!). However, it just calls into question what fob with a mommy complex of some sort is calling the shots in these films. M continues to demostrate why she should not be "M" vacillating from suspecting Bond to needing him back in 00 some 4-5 times during the movie. We did get a glimpse into the possible personality of M's hubby when he meekly announced, "the calls for you dear on your private line". Whatever. M may welcome Bond back with open arms or have him captured or killed, no matter, the BOND GIRL is rescuing Bond in her getaway car, a 1964 VW Beetle. I guess the Bolivian Secret Service does not get to roll like the 00's in MI6. At least it was a 40HP! No matter. We are now off to a hotel in the middle of a high plains Bolvian desert. Time to charter a plain...no, not the little Beachcraft Bonanza. Choose the DC-3 with a load of cargo on board. Watch out though, you'll get shot down by the Bolvian Air Force in a single engine Cessna. I guess the BAF doesn't get to roll like the 00's at MI6 either. No matter because we are both jumping out of this crate with the only parachute. Somehow everything turns out ok because the chute opens about 20 feet off of our LZ, a nice big soft slab of granite. Its off the the hotel to find the baddies. The hotel, located in the high plains desert of Bolvia, is called the Plaza del Sol. It is completely self-sufficient and powered by...solar....no you idiot, hydrogen fuel cells. In fact, each room appears to have its own hydrogen fuel cell and its accompanying hydrogen supply tank. The maids must make your bed and refill your hydrogen tank when they replace the shampoo in the bath, I guess. Naturally the hotel, located in the high plains Bolvian desert is made substantially of steel & stone. Unfortunately, the steel & stone in Bolvia is not quite as durable as the steel & stone you and I have grown to love as we discover when Bond causes a baddie car to crash through a wall igniting a hydrogen tank. The rest of the hydrogen tanks ignite sequentially. Darn it, I hate when that happens, you just can't get good hydrogen tanks anymore. Again, unfortunately, the Bolvian steel & stone burns more like paper mache. Bond battles the Greene baddie but aborts to rescue the BOND GIRL who is caught up in her own subplot vendetta too trite to be explained here. You would be better off waiting for this to hit DVD. At least then you can slo-mo or replay the chase scenes making sense of them, spend more time with the slick Agent Fields and most importantly, FFW or skip over M's bathroom escapades. You have been warned.

Without a doubt, Connery & Brosnan were the gold standard of Bond & my darkest days where during Moore’s farcical portrayal of our favorite 00. So I am pre-disposed not to accept Craig as a bone fide replacement. But even in both movies, Craig is not the problem, the producers & directors are. OK. Perhaps my last comments were really a review of Casino not having seen QoS. Now I have seen it and there are so many problems with it I do not know where to begin. All the chases are herky, jerky, shaky staccato film clips. You can never really see what is going on. This is contrary to the traditional Bond flick replete with detail. And if Craig is gritty, moody, mean & vindictive one can still see a path by which he becomes a cooler if not a cold, uber-professional agent with a dry, sardonic sense of humor. This Bond clearly appeals to a feminine perspective that escapes me. I understood him not becoming 'involved' with the other women in the 2 flicks as having high standards and was at least relieved to see his response to Fields as, what we would term a normal orientation! (The women seem to love that Bond does NOT 'hook up' with the main girl in either film and broods ceaselessly like a forlorn Hamlet for his unrequited lover from Casino). Even the opening chase, usually one of the best, is almost visually incomprehensible. Car chase, rooftop chase, sewer chase, apartment knife fight chase, boat chase, plane chase, Chase-Morgan, certainly they all were purloined from the Bourne genre but somehow Bourne's were more believable. The opening graphics were not as bad as I feared, but were definitely not 007 quality. Far too much of Craig shooting his Walther PPK .380; (don't make me go into why that is a problem). We have grown accustomed to the sultry, sexual/sensual and awesome graphical intro to the Bond films. This one was not of the same caliber. Ditto on the theme song. It was not a good as past songs but I was fearing worse and it was actually passable relating somewhat to the general theme of the film. The barrel scene was placed at the end of the film. I prefer the beginning but in either case it should be presented with high quality graphics and punctuated with 007 theme song riffs. It was not. Lots of chases. Most are barely watchable. I actually liked the reference to the traditional 13th century Italian Palio horse race in which the riders can use their longer wooden canes to encourage their steeds or discourage their opponents; and the actual event was supposed to be occurring outside of the chase area. The knife fight was lame. How did the baddie die anyhow? Please tell me not with the little pair of cuticle scissors Bond had. And if the death blow was to the only wounded area shown, the left jugular, where did all the blood go as Bond let him 'bleed out'. Not to worry the details because we are soon introduced to THE BOND GIRL. Well, a little anti-climatic because she is not quite as attractive as we are used to although she has very pretty lips. The rest of her seems strangely disproportionate for some reason. It's also strange that she would return to the baddie who just tried to have her whacked. That has little probability for success for someone who we later learn is "Bolivian Secret Service". Oh well, not to worry, we are off on another chase, this time with boats. It is perhaps the best done but for the last scene in which the grappling hook is somehow thrown onto the rubber speed boat and flips it from the front of Bond's boat over the top to the rear...... can't quite figure the physics out on that one. Not to worry, we've docked and Bond mysteriously hands the unconscious maiden who he has just rescued over to a dock attendant...what? Well were off to track this baddie and somehow reconnected with the GIRL in Bolivia where we eventually learn that the baddie, Mr. Greene of the evil Greene corporation in conjunction with the even eviler Quantum Criminal Consortium LLC has concocted a plot wreaking with the venom of true corporate greed, evil capitalism and nefarious financier-ship; to wit, steal all the fresh water in where? Why Bolivia of course and sell it back to them Bolivians at double the price! MUAHHAHAHAHAHA (evil laugh). We learn at a big party that times are tough in Bolivia because it is costing a weeks wages for an average Bolivian to buy a gallon of clean water! As I remember, the average Bolivian earns about $0.25 per day making the water cost about $1.75 a gallon; pretty much on par with market values in Cleveland. Perhaps this is not the best country for our get richer quicker scheme. No matter, we are off to the evil opera where the evil baddies are meeting to plan, well, evil. This is where we juxtapose a modernistic version of the Tosca operatic bloodshed whilst Bond dabbles in the real thing dispatching the body guards of the evil biggies who, now discovered & uncovered, are making a hasty retreat for the exits faster than attendees at an Al Gore speech. No matter, while in Bolivia we are matroned by the closest thing to a real Bond girl, agent Fields. Unfortunately we never really figure out what is beneath that trenchcoat although it appears that Bond does. Also unfortunately for Fields and us, she is quickly eliminated by the baddies in what can only be termed as a 'crude' theft of the Goldfinger modus operandi. I would have expected more of a mess but why waste camera time on the slickened Fields when you can spend it on bathroom scenes with....who else....M of course. Perhaps the most difficult what seemed to be15 minutes of the film (as if minutes were hours Mr. Spock) was watching M in her bathrobe apply & remove cold creme. The threat itself would have sent Mr. Greene permanently into pro bono philanthropy. Not finished with us yet, M draws her bath and the tension in the theater built noticeably as we all began to fear that we would be greeted with an au natural scene of her slipping out of the robe into the tub. Fortunately we were spared that experience (wait for the unedited version coming to DVD soon!). However, it just calls into question what fob with a mommy complex of some sort is calling the shots in these films. M continues to demonstrate why she should not be "M" vacillating from suspecting Bond to needing him back in 00 some 4-5 times during the movie. We did get a glimpse into the possible personality of M's hubby when he meekly announced, "the calls for you dear on your private line". Whatever. M may welcome Bond back with open arms or have him captured or killed, no matter, the BOND GIRL is rescuing Bond in her getaway car, a 1964 VW Beetle. I guess the Bolivian Secret Service does not get to roll like the 00's in MI6. At least it was a 40HP! No matter. We are now off to a hotel in the middle of a high plains Bolivian desert. Time to charter a plane...no, not the little Beachcraft Bonanza that would actually be faster and more maneuverable. Choose the DC-3 with a load of cargo on board. Watch out though, you'll get shot down by the Bolvian Air Force in a single engine Marchetti SIA1 (which I have been corrected on and is a fast little number) I guess the BAF doesn't get to roll like the 00's at MI6 either. No matter because they are both jumping out of that crate with the only parachute. Somehow everything turns out ok after wrestling for 10,000 feet with the BOND GIRL & parachute falling at 120 MPH because the chute opens 20 feet off of our LZ, a nice big soft slab of granite. BTW, the BOND GIRL walks for miles on granite stones in her bare feat…she’s a hearty lass. It’s off the hotel to find the baddies. The hotel, located in the high plains desert of Bolivia, is called the Plaza del Sol. It is completely self-sufficient and powered by...solar....no you idiot, hydrogen fuel cells. In fact, each room appears to have its own hydrogen fuel cell and its accompanying hydrogen supply tank. The maids must make your bed and refill your hydrogen tank when they replace the shampoo in the bath, I guess. Naturally the hotel, located in the high plains Bolivian desert is made substantially of steel & stone. Unfortunately, the steel & stone in Bolivia is not quite as durable as the steel & stone you and I have grown to love as we discover when Bond causes a baddie car to crash through a wall igniting a hydrogen tank. The rest of the hydrogen tanks ignite sequentially. Darn it, I hate when that happens, you just can't get good hydrogen tanks anymore. Again, unfortunately, the Bolivian steel & stone burns more like paper mache. Bond battles the Greene baddie but aborts to rescue the BOND GIRL who is caught up in her own subplot vendetta too trite to be explained here. Mr. Greene escapes into the desert only to meet a cryptic fate induced by other unknown baddies and Bond’s 10W-40 payback for the treatment of luscious Agent Fields. You would be better off waiting for this to hit DVD. At least then you can slo-mo or replay the chase scenes making sense of them, spend more time with the slick Agent Fields and most importantly, FFW or skip over M's bathroom escapades. You have been warned.