The movie begins right where Casino Royale left off.  Bond is still terribly wounded after the betrayal of his Vesper, and despite a promise to M (Judi Dench, who is near perfect as always), can’t help but make everything intensely personal.  He’s paired up with Ukrainian cry-baby Camille (a lame Olga Kurylenko, who should stick with movies like Max Payne which suit her talents better) who has little, to no character development, or real reason to be in the film.  The two are completely on their own against a huge, international conglomerate posing as an environmentally concerned NGO that the superpowers of the world are helpless against, mostly because of their ignorance.  Revealing any more to the plot would require spoilers.

It seems that since Forster has spent most his time working on tender, character-based pieces, he went balls out, throwing in as many explosions, fight scenes, and rooftop jumps as he could, to compensate for his lack of experience in the genre.  It’s entertaining to watch and will get your attention, but seems a little too familiar, as this Bond has taken pretty much all his cues from the Bourne series.  This is true, even though the same three guys: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Paul Haggis co-wrote the script to both Quantum and Royale (a script which shares nothing except a title in common with Ian Fleming’s short story).  Lowbrow characterizations replaced the intriguing character developments that Royale provided.  And call me prideful, but the ignorant American government official is not a character I’m entertained by, or interested in  watching (Ridley Scott wore me out with Body of Lies).  Every time Vesper’s named is mentioned, I found myself longing for Bond’s last adventure, where I actually cared about the characters.  On the other hand, Daniel Craig once again excels as the ripped, emotionally deep, bad ass guy we met last time.  I think the Broccoli family could have done no better choosing a Bond to reinvigorate the series.  I’d follow Craig to the ends of the earth.  All complaints aside, Quantum of Solace is a thrilling ride that won’t leave you unsatisfied on the action end.  And who could really expect a better Bond movie than Royale?

2.5 out of 4 stars

Rottentomatoes: 67% – Cream of the Crop: 35%