If Casino Royale was an earthquake that shook the world of twenty-first action movies and rearranged the landscape, Quantum of Solace is the aftershock. It may not have the direct, unexpected impact of the original tremor, but it still has enough power to knock you on your ass. The first direct sequel in James Bond history - the film picks up nearly immediately after the end of Royale - Quantum of Solace is an effective, thrilling action movie, if not quite the earth-shaker that the first Daniel Craig movie was for the Bond franchise. Solace doesn't have enough of a narrative arc, feels a bit too much like the final act of the first movie, and is ultimately much more forgettable, but it's also one of the most expertly choreographed and straight-up enjoyable movies since, well, Casino Royale. The producers of the reimagined James Bond may not have taken a step forward, but they certainly haven't taken one in the opposite direction either. Consider Quantum of Solace a lateral move.

One of many elements that QoS shares with Casino is an adoration of gorgeous scenery, and the film starts on the coast of Italy, as Bond (Daniel Craig) transports Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) through an expertly staged car chase to a spot where M (Judi Dench) meets them for questioning. White escapes, M's life is put in danger, and a fantastic free-run like the one that opened Royale ensues. Bond was already frustrated and vengeful over what happened with Vesper Lynd in Royale, but the escape and attempt on M's life sends him over the edge in his search for answers and vengeance. Let's just say he puts his license to kill to use in Quantum of Solace. This is an angry, purposeful, driven Bond like we've never seen before. He's not an agent. He's a force of nature.

The force of Bond drives him to the lushly photographed Haiti and into the world of Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a major player in an organization that secretly controls, well, everything. Bond ends up working in tandem with the lovely Camille (Olga Kurylenko), a stunning beauty who has been getting close to Greene just to enact her own revenge, in his attempt to destroy a world where the line between hero and villain has blurred. After a few turns in the investigation become deadly, the CIA and MI6 start to wonder if Bond has gone crazy and try to bring him in. Only his associates Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini) and Felix (Jeffrey Wright) can help James complete his deadly mission and stop the powerful Quantum organization.

Quantum of Solace hits the ground running and simply doesn't slow down, which can be both a positive and a negative. There's a visceral thrill to the action that's very reminiscent of the Bourne movies and 24, and I like the new, “direct” Bond that Craig and the writers of both films - Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis, and Robert Wade - have brought to the legendary character. When Bond is on a boat chasing a bad guy, the old 007 would use a device from Q and start it with a witty line. The new Bond simply drives his boat into the enemy's and takes it from there. It’s a fun approach to action but, thematically and in its plot, Quantum of Solace is the most deadly serious Bond movie ever made. Even Casino Royale gave itself time to breathe with card games and girls on the beach. QoS is the Dark Knight of the 007 franchise, and the consistent serious tone doesn't necessarily fit the franchise like a well-tailored suit. There's something admirable about a movie that can keep up a dead run without breaking a smile for 106 minutes, but I wanted Quantum to slow down and let me invest in the characters like the last one. Or at least catch my breath.

The too-driven pace hurts some of the cast too. Kurylenko isn't nearly as interesting as Eva Green and great actors like Jeffrey Wright and Giancarlo Giannini are basically just plot devices instead of the three-dimensional people they were last time around. And when a sexy agent named Strawberry Fields (Gemma Arterton) is introduced, she might as well have a clock overhead ticking off the seconds until she dies (although the end of her arc features a visual reference to Goldfinger that is one of the most striking moments in the film). On the other hand, Judi Dench and Mathieu Amalric are typically fantastic and obviously having fun with their well-developed characters.

Quantum of Solace is gorgeously shot, well-acted, and perfectly choreographed, but it's simply not the masterpiece of tone and pacing that Casino Royale was when it redefined the franchise. The feeling when the credits roll on Quantum of Solace isn't so much one of closure (I wouldn't be surprised if some loose ends are still being tied up in the next movie), but that the new Bond has been clearly defined in these two films. The "blunt instrument" of Casino Royale has been honed into a deadly but relatable, three-dimensional character. Quantum of Solace is the rocking-but-unsatisfying-on-its-own encore to Casino Royale's full set-list and, now, the lights are up and the show is over. I can't wait to hear the next tune.

Rating: THREE BONES

Reviewed by Brian Tallerico (MovieRetriever.com Film Critic)

Release Date: November 14th, 2008

Rating: PG-13

Starring: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench, Giancarlo Giannini, Gemma Arterton, Jeffrey Wright, David Harbour, and Jesper Christensen

Director: Marc Forster

Writers: Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis, & Robert Wade

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