Entertaining, though a considerable step-down follow-up

Rating: 6/10 (4 November 2008)

James Bond doesn't need any introductions this time around. Never uttering the trademark "Bond, James Bond" line, the Marc Forster-helmed "Quantum of Solace" - the 22nd in the irrepressible franchise starring the British secret agent - quickly goes into the proceedings with a highly charged car chase scene across Italy, set roughly an hour after 2006's "Casino Royale."
The whole article feels more Bourne than Bond, where revenge is what drives the dashing debonair played for the second time by Daniel Craig. For the uninitiated, Bond lost his love interest Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) in "Casino Royale." Now, he's hot on the heels of the primary suspect, pseudo-environmentalist Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) who is one of the heads behind the international terrorist organization Quantum. With him as he luxuriously globe-trots is Russian-Bolivian Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko), who has her own score to settle with Greene.
But where the Bourne series and "Casino Royale" succeed, "Quantum of Solace does not... barely. With a protracted running time and too much ground to cover, it's all about the flash, the fights, and the chases. The wit and seduction that made the franchise reboot's work is sorely missing here and all Bond is left with is a monotonous character bordering the superhuman. Kurylenko is impressive as Bond's femme partner and serves as one of the movie's high points, along with the combined performances of the cast that includes Judi Dench as M and Jeffrey Wright as a CIA agent somehow inject the much needed life to all this gaudy proceedings.
As it turns out, "Quantum of Solace" still offer some entertaining moments, but overall it's a considerable step-down from its immediate predecessor.