Quantum of Midnight

We went to the midnight screening of "Quantum of Solace" last night. The movie is engaging, rapid paced and unusually small for a Bond film. No grand set pieces or secret liars to destroy. The plot to control Bolivia's water supply seems lacking in scope for a typical Bond villian.
The action is brisk but contained. Melees erupt in confined spaces: car tunnels, underground grottos, low ceilinged hotel lobbies, back stage of an otherwise expansive opera, even an arial dog fight plays out mostly in cockpits while long lensed angles visually compress space between the aircraft.
Unfortunately the film makers have opted for the shaky cam when delivering high octane chases. But instead of parroting the "Bourne Supremacy"'s superior editing style, "Quantum" has opted for the "let's disorient the audience" approach to action scenes. What is great about that one Bourne movie is that the audience's stomach is never turned. For every four or five tight shots, there is a brief wider angle so the the viewer can keep the geography of the fight intact. A long action sequence in most films can create an intellectual malaise while the eyes glaze over with one dizzying shot after another.
"Quantum" does have a superior Bond villain in Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric). Diminutive but deadly. He seems to be a real menace to society. So it's unfortunate that the film's desert ending does not give Bond and Greene more dramatic tension. On the whole, this same scene is played out to more effect in Clint Eastwood's "The Eiger Sanction".
The emotion depth of the film comes from Judy Dench as M and her scenes with Bond. The director shows us aspects of M's life we never see. Interrupted in her nightly routine, she washes away cold cream while discussing state traitors. Her presence on screen always adds dramatic tension. The other female characters pale in comparison to "Casino"'s Vesper Lynd.
Director Marc Forster delivers the local color shots in a superior way to other Bond films although having spent some time in Haiti, it's amazing that the art department did not recreate the Tap Tap taxis that are ubiquitous in Port au Prince .
A good film but a bridge film to wrap up "Casino Royale"'s loose ends.