Quantum of Solace

Bond, James Bond, is back in the sequel to the very well done series reboot, Casino Royale. 007 is chasing the men behind the death of his lost love, Vespa, while simultaneously uncovering their plot to take over the world through a certain natural resource.

This Bond is a fun and entertaining movie. It starts with 4 different non-stop action sequences, the beginning car chase is the best of them all. Daniel Craig proves again he's one of the best Bond's in the series, he especially fits the more realistic direction these last two Bond movies have taken. You can definitely see the influence the Bourne films have had on Bond, which is a good thing in my mind, but I'm afraid America has taken over the best spy/assassin thrown for now, shame Britain. The problem with this Bond is the story. It's quite confusing and uses a very round about way to get to the main point You kind of forget Bond's motives until you're reminded of them at the very end. Although I really like the direction of the new Bond films, I have to call them out on the lack of use of the famous theme song. It is very subtly used, almost unnoticeable, in certain points, but you really don't hear it blare until the closing credits. I realize they're going away from some of the cliches and camp of past Bond films but reducing the theme song's impact is highly unnecessary. You'll also notice the absence of 007's most famous line, which appeared almost perfectly at the end of Casino Royale.

All in all it's a fun time, worth a trip to the theater, but it doesn't quite live up to it's predecessor.

*** out of 4 (Rated PG-13 for the same reasons every Bond is PG-13)