Release Date: November 14, 2008

(out of 4)

James Bond still has a mental list of unforgiven . Bond's rage is truly full-throttle in "Quantum of Solace," the 22nd adventure in the 007 series. Still reeling from the events of the last chapter's installment, Bond's ego is damaged by Vesper Lynd , the woman that betrayed him in “Casino Royale .” He stubbornly disregards that she also loved him. Bond nevertheless wants to track the blackmailing evil-doers who sucked Vesper into her dishonorable conduct.

Such vengeance has to be put on hold. Bond (the indomitable Daniel Craig) has a new villain to track around the globe and his name is Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”). Greene is a dishonest environmentalist with the intent to monopolize the economy in Boliva at the expense of precious natural resources, yet it takes forever to understand this conspiracy with all its intricacies.

If not for the plot, then it's Craig's spin on Bond that makes us perpetually care. When it comes to beating up bad guys while donning a tuxedo, nobody does it better than Craig's Bond. An avante-garde opera house is one of Bond's knockabout highlights. Not one to flinch, Craig even has a shirtless scene as well where his Hercules body is bloodies and bruised yet doesn't faze him. He's ready to kick ass or to love, particularly Agent Fields ( Gemma Arterton ) who eventually faces a similar fate of the babe smothered in gold in the third Bond movie “ Goldfinger .” Call it a nod to a Bond classic.

The central Bond babe however is Camille (Olga Kurylenko) who has a vendetta against another Bolivia baddie responsible for murdering her family. It's a tad disenchanting that there is less eroticism between Bond and Camille – their joined forces is more about respect than love. Also missing is all the clever rat-a-tat dialogue that existed between Bond and Vesper; the great seductive dialogue will not be found here. It's evident that Bond just doesn't have the time to fit in romance to his heavy schedule: we're bounced around to various Italy locales, Haiti, London, Austria, Russia, Bolivia – am I forgetting anywhere?

What Bond movie could do without stupendous action sequences? The opening pre-credit car chase through the hilly roads of Siena, Italy. A rope tangling from restoration rafters reminiscent of the cage battle in “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome .” An aerial dogfight about a rocky mountain desert. Yet the film's action deserves one demerit: A jaw-dropping awful speedboat fight with Bond dodging machine-gun bullets is as preposterous as anything in the worst Roger Moore Bonds.

Two out of place character reprisals from the last Bond installment and a bad theme song by Alicia Keys are other questionable additives. One of the essential core elements however is the non-stop bludgeoning by Bond, and when he kills somebody he shouldn't have and is framed for the death of another, British boss M (Judi Dench ), suspends his double-O license. Not that James Bond cares. M (we finally learn what that moniker is short for) believes Bond needs to put his rage in check, but Bond is just being Bond, fulfilling his obligatory duty.

“Quantum of Solace” is a step down from “Casino Royale ” where the Czech Republic served as perhaps the most glamorous backdrop of any Bond adventure, not to mention Venice, Italy, but the glamour is lessened this time – we're stuck in the dirty, dusty Bolivia in the last thirty minutes. Quite a difference in scenery, “Quantum” is less pleasurable eye candy and is less coherent: a climactic explosion is neat but the frenetic editing doesn't allow you to really see how Bond set off the explosion.

As you may notice, I haven't really said much about villain Dominic Greene. Almaric's performance is gleaming in his schizoid squirminess, but while the performance is brilliant it's odd that the villain is not the greatest we've ever had. We never get into the evil-genius inner workings of his schemes. Another catchy performance: Jeffrey Wright's return as CIA operative Felix Leiter .

Whatever letdowns, any true 007 fan must see his movie and God knows there are nearly a billion fans worldwide. Before James Bond got an image make-over with Daniel Craig, it didn't matter what order you watched the Bond movies. The Bond movies are now sequential, and even though this “Quantum” chapter often feels like a transient chapter, it will certainly bridge to the next future installment that will likely somehow depend on the events of this film. You got to catch every minute from hereon out. As the series will continue to flourish, I predict one haunting word will continue to rake Bond's senses: Vesper. The inconsolable rage lives on.