Director Marc Forster’s Quantum of Solace continues the adventures of James Bond, beginning where Martin Campbell’s superb Casino Royale left off. Daniel Craig, who first appeared as Bond in that 2006 film, again appears as the flawed but ultratough secret agent. Bond has just captured master criminal Mr. White (Jesper Christensen), who works for Quantum, the organization that was responsible for blackmailing Bond’s girlfriend, Vesper Lynd, and causing her death. Bond brings White in for questioning, but before White divulges any information he escapes, assisted by a turned MI6 agent. Bond and M (Judi Dench) begin to realize that Quantum is far larger, more influential, and potentially more dangerous than they had originally believed. Bond follows the money trail of the turned MI6 operative to Haiti, where he meets a beautiful Spanish woman, Camille (Olga Kurylenko), who in turn leads him to her lover, Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), an environmentalist who, Bond soon realizes, is actually a member of Quantum. Bond sets out to learn more about Quantum and thus foil Greene’s plans -- whatever they may be -- while seeking revenge for Vesper’s death.

This time out, Craig’s Bond is angry and malevolent -- gone is much of the charm the actor showed in Casino Royale. Also gone is much of the earlier film’s witty dialogue and character development, which made Bond more vulnerable, likable, and human. I love Craig as Bond, but between Forster’s direction and the pared-down script by Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis, and Robert Wade (who also collaborated on Casino Royale), Craig is given little chance to explore the character. Here Bond is just a killing machine much like the title character of the successful Jason Bourne series.

I don’t read other reviewers’ opinions before writing my own review, but I chanced on some remarks by noted film critic Roger Ebert, who was also bitterly disappointed in Quantum, and whose understanding of Bond I share: "James Bond is not an action hero! He is too good for that. He is an attitude. Violence for him is an annoyance. He exists for the foreplay and the cigarette."

By his own admission, Forster was never a Bond fan, and thought Casino Royale too long -- Quantum of Solace had to be as tight and fast as a bullet. But at only 104 minutes -- a full 40 minutes shorter than Casino Royale -- it’s not so much tight as incomplete. The story needs more explanation, the characters need more dialogue, and the action needs to be slowed down. Fights and chase scenes are edited so quickly that the actions are incomprehensible. At times, I couldn’t tell who was punching or kicking whom. As a kid, I would play an LP of my mom’s favorite crooner, Dean Martin, at 78rpm instead of 33^1/3rpm, so that he sounded like Alvin the Chipmunk. That’s what Forster has done to Bond.

On first viewing, I thought that much of the film must have been left on the cutting-room floor, but apparently only 45 seconds’ worth of the scripted footage shot wasn’t included in the theatrical release. Thus, there will be no director’s cut or extended version -- what you’ll see onscreen at your local theater is all there is. Quantum of Solace, one of the most anticipated films of 2008, is one of the most disappointing.

• Go Back