Quantum of Solace

    This is the Best Bond film in a long time and a notch ahead of the last Bond film, Casino Royale, Daniel Craig's first film as James Bond. The action is unrelenting and Daniel Craig is the first truly believable Bond since Sean Connery originated the character in "Dr. No."

    Daniel Craig, of all the Bonds (there have been 6 different Bonds), is the least romantic, and while keeping the sex to a minimum is the most physical, and threatening. When M, portrayed by Dame Judi Dench, asks about a suspect, that needed to brought in for questioning, Craig as Bond answers, "He was a dead end." And that is the way it is in this Bond film: all the bad guys die.

    Quantum of Solace is a globe trotting extravaganza of action, where the undeniable good and evil meet head on, and the audience is left to pick up the pieces as we struggle to understand the story line. If you blink you'll miss it, because this Bond film is more complicated that any in recent past, with Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade putting together a good story, with sharp dialogue. Director Marc Forster keeps the action plentiful, and at a brisk pace, while keeping it part of the overall story, and, unbelievably, not gratuitous.

    Another smart innovation is the expansion of the role of M to furnish clarity to the story, while rounding off the jagged edges off the edgiest James Bond in a while. Good film and well worth the 106 minutes of runtime to tell its story.


    Rated PG13. Released on DVD March 24, 2009.