The problem with QoS was that it's supposed to be the middle chapter of a trilogy. This was announced early on (and anyone paying attention to the film realizes it, too), but after the film came out this aspect got forgotten. So you had people bitching about it not having enough of a resolution, etc. Actually some of the same criticisms that were heaped upon Empire Strikes Back and The Two Towers, come to think of it. Except in the case of QoS there was no real jumping on point, which made some people uncomfortable because they've never done this before -- even Diamonds Are Forever, which starts with Bond going after Blofeld for killing Tracy at the end of OHMSS, doesn't require knowledge of the previous film. But QoS should not be watched by anyone who hasn't first seen CR. This is a weakness, but it's one inherent in most Part 2s of 3.
I find fandoms tend to experience some sort of "buyer's remorse" if they go ga-ga over a film or series, and as a result, the next entry tends to get savaged. People seemed to feel almost guilty about how much praise they gave CR, so when QoS came along, they took out their frustrations on it. We'll see the same thing when Star Trek XII comes out - that film will be lambasted no matter what JJ Abrams does with it. The knives are already being sharpened for Caprica after several years of praise for Battlestar Galactica, too. And Torchwood is attracting much of the criticism that might have been directed at Doctor Who had DW not come out of the starting gate so strong and remained there.
I saw nothing wrong with QoS. Was it better than CR? No, but CR was this generation's From Russia with Love, and the films that followed that 1963 classic were lesser, too. But as a Bond film it was great. I laughed when I read the Bourne comparisons - those people clearly have never read an Ian Fleming James Bond novel in their life. If they did they'd be criticising Ludlum and the Bourne movies, not Bond.
No romance? GOOD. It would have violated the logic of the film for Bond to go ga-ga over a girl considering he was still heartbroken over losing Vesper. And, no, going to bed with Fields doesn't count.
A weak villain? Maybe, but remember he wasn't the real villain. The as-yet-unseen forces behind Quantum are the villain (please let it be Blofeld!). Anyway, there have been terrific Bond films without strong villains in the past - Thunderball, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, to name a few.
The criticisms I've heard over the theme song are so silly I won't even go into them. I heard so much hatred for Another Way to Die before the film came out that I expected 3 minutes to cat screeching and instead heard a Bond theme 10 times better than anything from the Moore era (save perhaps For Your Eyes Only). News flash: Shirley Bassey isn't interested in recording any more Bond theme songs. Get over it.
QoS was a great Bond film, and while I acknowledge it wasn't to everyone's tastes, it worked for me, and I look forward to the next one. (And considering QoS apparently made more money than any Bond film in history, that's a safe bet).
Alex
