Don't hate him because he's beautiful

What is with people? Everyone just seems to hate the new Bond movie. Why? Because it isn't as good as "Casino Royale"? Well, there hasn't been a single Bond movie as good as "Casino Royale," so maybe all you clowns should back the hell up!

Is it flawed? Absofreakinglutely. Many of the things complained about by people are legit. The story is not traditionally Bond complicated, and the editing of the action sequences is a little jumpy.

Here is my take though. This is a different Bond. Much like we have a different Batman now, what is being done here is different than what used to be done in these films. Old school Bond was episodic. One had NOTHING to do with the other. Same for Batman. But that is not the case anymore. "Quantum" picked up right where "Casino" left off. And given that we still don't know what this "organization" really is, and given that Bond still has not caught Mr. White, I suspect this story line runs right through the next film as well. Perhaps into all four that Daniel Craig has signed on for. (On a side note, while I hope that Nolan and Bale make one more Bat film, and then the franchise is completely put to rest, I hope that Craig signs on for more Bond films. I believe that Nolan could completely end any notion of another Batman film, because he has perfected it, but we all know that Bond films are unlikely to ever stop. So I would like to see Daniel Craig in as many as possible.)

Back on topic, all of these movies run together, so the "lack" of a story is just an unfair complaint. And frankly, it's just not even that true. The movie has a story. It's just not as complicated as past Bond films. And why is that necessarily a bad thing? This film serves a purpose in the greater plot of Daniel Craig's James Bond. 

As for the second big complaint, the editing, yeah, that one is pretty real. You are jumping all over the place, and if you are in the first 10 rows, and you don't have a perfect view of the screen...Poor you! But, you know, it's not that big of a deal. It's not really distracting from the movie. And the action sequences are really cool, just slightly poorly edited. 

But all and all, this is the new James Bond. I have seen probably 20 of the Bond films in my life, and this is by far, my second favorite of them all. It's not "Casino Royale," but we shouldn't expect it to be. This is a quality movie, with the finest James Bond to date, that continues the reinvention of the character into what Ian Flemming intended him to be. A dark, mysterious, bad ass, but also, very human. This is Bond, and I can't wait for November 2010.

Bigger Bad Ass: Daniel Craig or Christian Bale?

This question is posed to the readership today for a simple reason. The new trailer for "Quantum of Solace" came out this week, and good night alive, it looks INREDIBLE.

I am not going to sit here and hate on Pierce Brosnan as Bond because I really enjoyed his first couple shots at it, but it did appear that he, and everyone else, gave up on the last couple. Daniel Craig really rejuvinated Bond in "Casino Royale," and it looks like he continues to do so in Solace.

The comparisons between Batman and Bond are actually pretty striking. Both had really kind of hit a dull note, and then added new leading men, and totally new crews, most importantly, directors and writers, and the results have been outstanding for both. "Batman Begins" was great, and TDK needs no comment. "Casino Royale" was a flash back to old school Bond, while adding a sort of realism that the Brosnan films sort of got away from. On the same note, Nolan wanted to do just that with his Gotham City. He moved it from some comicy place to downtown Chicago, got rid of outlandish villians, and made the franchise real.

These two are part of the films I have most looked forward to all year. TDK certainly did not disappoint, so now the onus is on Craig to deliver the way Bale did. And if the trailer is any hint, it certainly looks like they did.

Just like July 18th couldn't, November 14th can not get here fast enough!