Casino Royale v1.5

Rating: 7/10 (6 December 2008)

Casino Royale was perhaps the best Bond film in the long running franchise; in short, it was grittier, more realistic and more human than any of its predecessors. By comparison, Quantum of Solace feels like a holding pattern. The latest Bond is a forgettable mix of passé locations, unmemorable (and impossibly blurred/overcut) action sequences, homogenized bad guys and a drowsy Daniel Craig. For no good reason, many of 007's signature traits are either toned down or completely missing from QoS: little charm, less glitz and few gadgets. Even more mysterious, is why QoS's chop licking theatrical trailer boasts a handful of shots noticeably absent from the finished product. On the poster of QoS, Bond -- with the seriously badass H&K UMP9 hoisted in the air -- advertises menace, but this proves to be false advertising. Not only is the movie devoid of any true menace, QoS doesn't even bother to put an UMP9 in Bond's hands. WTF? The talk that Director Marc Forster and screenwriter Paul Haggis are overrated A-listers is justified by QoS and if this limp incarnation of 007 does tepid box office business, Bond fans can only hope the duo are knocked back to their world of heavy-handed pseudo-indy melodramas and that the heavy lifting be left to those with foreign accents.