'Quantum of Solace' review

Daniel Craig and Olga Kurylenko (Credit: Karen Ballard/Sony)

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Picking up exactly where the events of “Casino Royale” left off, secret agent James Bond (Daniel Craig) is looking for revenge over the death of someone close to him. That desire leads him straight to a powerful international shadow organization and a corrupt businessman, Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), who conceals his true plans behind ecological philanthropy. As Bond finds himself increasingly at odds with his boss M (Judi Dench), he teams with Bolivian bombshell Camille (Olga Kurylenko), who has her own vengeance-based motives for getting close to Greene.

The buzz: The keepers of the Bond franchise, eager to stay relevant in a new Bourne era of stripped-down naturalistic action, remain serious about making Bond serious. After the creative breakthrough of “Royale,” they’ve brought in director Marc Forster—more experienced with directing actors to awards (“Monster’s Ball,” “Finding Neverland”) than in handling fight scenes—for the first direct sequel in Bond series history. Already a box office record-breaker in Bond’s U.K. homeland, “Quantum” has longtime fans buzzing about its unusually short running time (106 minutes) and lack of catchphrases (there’s no “Bond. James Bond.” here).

The verdict: The leaner, meaner “Quantum” takes Bond places that fans have never seen before and the reaction will surely be mixed. Without the sweeping romance and card-playing digressions of “Royale,” the follow-up focuses squarely on action, and “Quantum” delivers plenty of that. From a breathless opening chase to the fiery climax, the movie rarely lets up with elaborately orchestrated big budget excitement. The actors aren’t given much room to stretch but Craig’s badassness continues to impress and increased screen time for Dench only emphasizes the class and gravitas she brings to her role. Still, after the revelatory “Royale,” the straight-forward “Quantum” plays more like a contractually obligated epilogue to the events of the previous film. “Quantum’s” theme song is a fitting collaboration between Jack White and Alicia Keys. Like the movie itself it has plenty of grit but any attempt at soul is too calculated to feel authentic.

Did you know? Although it’s the shortest Bond film ever, “Quantum” was filmed in more countries than any of its predecessors, including the U.K., Panama, Chile, Italy, Mexico and Austria.

Get a second take on "Quantum of Solace."

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