I enjoyed Quantum of Solace.
As good as Casino Royale? No. But that isn't a slight, because I don't consider any other Bond film to be as good as Casino Royale, either.
I had some problems with the action scenes, most notably the opening car chase. It left no impression on me whatsoever, because I had no idea what was going on. At one point I thought Bond's car had crashed, but it turned out to be another car. Er, I think. I would have to say, upon first impression, that this is the weakest PTS of the series. There's nothing tor a viewer to "grab on to", if you see what I mean. Its just drive-smash-shoot-crash for several minutes, then its over. Then the chase through Siena was equally confusing. Who? What? Where? How? Why? Oh, Bond's killed him. Er, ok then. Can the plot start now, please?
Oh, right, the title sequence. I enjoyed it. I always liked the song anyway, and the titles were interesting, a sort of retro-yet-modern take.
The film, and action, thankfully calms down a bit when we get to Haiti (where it seems the former Montenegro Chief of Police now resides), and we meet the supporting players. I actually enjoyed the Bond vs Slate fight, but I did start wondering exactly how many glass doors this hotel room had, and was Bond going to throw him through every single one. Bond casually taking over Slate's job, and meeting Camille, was fun, and I enjoyed the low-key introduction to Dominic Greene.
The second half is all classic Bond as far as I'm concerned. Craig effortlessly dominates the role, and somehow manages to come off as simultaneously indestructible and vulnerable. He switches from extreme brutality to sensitive, caring human a number of times. No previous Bond has ever had a broad canvas like this to paint on, and if anyone thinks that Craig was just a fluke in CR, QOS will serve as proof that he's the real deal, hitting all the right notes.
I would have like to have seen more of Dominic Greene, and I'm still not entirely sure what his scheme was (off to the spoiler discussions threads I go), but Mathieu Amalric and his cheeky smile had some memorable moments (Is he one of ours? Then why is he looking at me?). I enjoyed his wild, screaming fight scene with Bond.
The denouement was...ok. I was perhaps expecting a bit more from the Bond/Yusef confrontation. The gunbarrel at the end, I really could take it or leave it. I think it would have been more memorable if it had ended with the shot of Vesper's necklace in the snow, discarded.
Marc Forster brought some interesting touches to the table, the Opera action scene was certainly different, and I always enjoy a good random shot of a lizard here and there. There was definitely a good bit of Fleming Sweep here and there, and this is clearly a Bond film through and through.
Olga/Camille was quite impressive throughout, I know they always like to bring out the old "She's Bond's equal!" routine whenever they're talking about the Bond girl, but I really bought it this time.
Ehh well I've bored myself now. I enjoyed QOS. Time to read other people's thoughts!
