Quantum Of Solace picks up right where Casino Royale left off. Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M interrogate Mr. White who reveals the organization, which blackmailed Vesper, is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined. Forensic intelligence links an MI6 traitor to a bank account in Haiti where a case of mistaken identity introduces Bond to the beautiful but feisty Camille, a woman who has her own vendetta. Camille leads Bond straight to Dominic Greene, a ruthless businessman and major force within the mysterious organization. In a minefield of treachery, murder and deceit, Bond allies with old friends in a battle to uncover the truth. As he gets closer to finding the man responsible for the betrayal of Vesper, 007 must keep one step ahead of the CIA, the terrorists and even M, to unravel Greene’s sinister plan and stop his organization.

In 2006 the Bond franchise got a much needed shot in the arm with the fresh reboot of the series in Casino Royale one of the best Bond films to be ever made. It is exactly what the franchise needed as they movies had grown kind of stale and even ludicrous at certain points (e.g. the entire plot of Die Another Day). It started the entire series over, no Q, no gadgets just Bond's not so humble beginnings. Fast forward two years to Quantum of Solace and all the steps forward that Casino Royale made they completely take right back. They is no ridiculous plot nor ludicrous villain but there is also not really any story or plot to speak of either. The films has a loose outline that just lets it go from one action sequence to the next not really ever bothering to tell a story nor follow any plotline.

The problem is they need to realize this is James Bond, its not Jason Bourne it doesn't need to be Bourne to be successful it needs to be Bond. Its been two movies now, I think we deserve a little of the things that make Bond, Bond. We certainly have plenty of high paced action sequences but those are starting to feel more and more like Bourne sequences with the close cut action and the leaping from rooftop to rooftop where you can barely see the action you so close to it. We need cinematic wide shots, shots showing us Bond being Bond. We have plenty of the charm and the wit of Bond but where are the gadgets. Where is the famous music leading into the action sequences? Where are the tiny elements that make a Bond film feel like a Bond film? Heck they even hold off the famous shooting down the gun barrel until the closing credits, like they are trying to trick you into the fact that they got you to see a Bond movie.

I like Daniel Craig as James Bond. He has the charm and the wit and the arrogance to pull of the character, which is a shame they are trying to hold him back so much. Enough of M berating Bond for being such a loose cannon, she needs to learn to trust him like the previous M's did despite his methods of getting the job done. He has been rogue to long now (lest we forget he was rogue most of Die Another Day too) its time for Bond to settle in and just be Bond.

As far as Bond girls go I really liked Strawberry Fields played by Gemma Arterton. She had that perfect Bond girl feel and she gets offed in a very Bond like fashion ala Goldfinger. Her character and her subsequent death were the lone moments in the movie where the movie felt like a James Bond movie. It is also fitting that she is also the only girl he ends up sleeping with in the film. I would have liked to have seen more of her than Olga Kurylenko who plays Camille the official Bond girl of the film.

I really like Jeffrey Wright as Felix, he might be one of the better actors to play Felix even though we haven't seen much of him. And of course Judi Dench is great as M she has been since we first saw her take on the role in Goldeneye, its hard to imagine going back to male M again. But where is John Gleese and Q, granted he wasn't as good at Q as Desmond Llewelyn was but we still need a Q. And we brought back Felix despite him getting half chewed by a shark in License to Kill, which also brings up another good point where is Moneypenny. We could use some good innuendo between Moneypenny to remind us Bond is Bond. Quantum of Solace is a decent action flick in today's modern world of action flicks with all the close cut scenes of car chases and fights but it was not really a Bond movie, which is shame. We all liked Bourne but we love Bond hence the reason this is the 22nd Bonds and there is only 3 Bournes. So here's hoping that we get a Bond film for the next installment instead of a decent Jason Bourne wannabe.

Grade: C+