SilverWook said:

How could anyone find Maud Adams forgettable? ;)

QOS is best viewed as an epilogue to CR. It would be difficult coming into it cold without seeing CR first.

I did, LOL. I wasn't impressed by QOS, not because I didn't understand the significance of anything but because it seemed more like a sequel in the Bourne series and was, well, a bit uninteresting. I thought maybe it was because I hadn't seen the first film, but after seeing CR a couple years later I think I would have been even less impressed had I seen the first film beforehand, not because CR makes it look worse but because CR really didn't need an epilogue or follow-up, I was a bit underwelmed. CR is a pretty good film but after all the hype and hearing people tell me I needed to see it I just found myself thinking "this is the film I'm hearing so much about?" I found it above-average, but that's it, I have no desire to ever see it again even though it was a good viewing experience. I think at the time, not quite knowing what to expect, it surprised and impressed people a lot because it was a film for adults and not a corny comic book spy movie, but if it didn't have the Bond name on it people would have seen it, enjoyed it and then more or less forgotten about it, just like they do with most adult thrillers.