quantum of solace

James Bond is pissed. Bond has just lost Vesper Lynd, his deceased love who brutally betrayed him, and the wounds have barely begun to heal.

Quantum of Solace, the 22nd entry in the Bond franchise, finds Bond emotionally exposed for the first time, picking up immediately at the end of its predecessor, Casino Royale. Agent 007 (Daniel Craig) and new-to-the-Bond-series director Marc Forster (Finding Neverland) channel the same tone from the previous film, making a fluent transition.

M (Judi Dench) thinks Bond is "blinded by inconsolable rage" and cannot get over Vesper's death. Her concern is well placed, as for the greater part of the movie, our hero, in his quest to learn about Vesper's past, shifts between composed-in-a-tux Bond and reckless-tossing-enemies-off-buildings Bond. M freezes Bond's cards and passports and even sends Agent Strawberry Fields (Gemma Arterton) after him. But all attempts to stop him end in futility (or, in Fields' case, an oil-soaked homage to Goldfinger). The only solace Bond finds in his desperate and destructive quest is in the mysterious and beautiful Camille (Olya Kurylenko), who is also hell-bent on revenge.

Though he dispenses with most of his leads, Bond somehow manages to collect enough information to get on the trail of the wormy, evil villain Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric). Greene is part of a secret, corrupt organization whose current third-world, resource-heavy country of interest is Bolivia. Bond, with the help of friend Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini) and CIA Agent Felix (Jeffrey Wright)-both familiar from Royale-follows Greene from Italy to Austria to South America.

The action scenes prove top-notch, and though a few of them dip into unrealistic waters, the absence of absurd Pierce Brosnan-era, high-tech gadgets helps to keep the film grounded in a gritty reality. Craig shows what an excellent Bond he is, successfully showing emotion in a uniquely MI6 manner.

Though the film hits high notes across the Bond board, one can't help but feel a bit let down at the end credits. Perhaps in the end, the interconnection of Royale and Quantum works against Quantum, leaving it without a properly fleshed out third act.