"B" Rating by Robert W. Hammerle

Two things need to be immediately addressed concerning the advance word that the new Bond movie, "Quantum of Solace," does not measure up to its wonderful predecessor, "Casino Royale" (2006). First of all, it doesn't, and secondly, it doesn't make the slightest bit of difference. Simply put, it is wonderfully enjoyable in its own right.

To be fair, I have talked to several people who were not impressed with "Quantum." One considered the theme to dark while the other thought that director Marc Forster made a tragic mistake by having his cameras so close to the chase scenes that it smothered the action. He longed for the wide-angle shots that characterized "Casino," and upon reflection I don't disagree with him.

However, and meaning no disrespect to those observations, I found Bond's continual miraculous escapes from crashing planes, roof top pursuits, boat chases, car crashes and exploding buildings not only spectacular in their scope, but a reaffirmation of the very thing that makes Bond who he is, namely 007! After all, a good Bond movie always calls upon the audience to suspend a good degree of rational thought, and this is a good Bond movie.

More to the point, "Quantum of Solace" has a dark, brooding quality that is enormously compelling. Bond is emotionally wounded to the core from the loss of his lover, Vesper (Eva Green), and he obviously is a tortured man. While he has a job to do for the British Secret Service, the question dominating this intriguing thriller is whether his pursuit of vengeance will get in the way.

Daniel Craig is a perfect fit as Bond, and he embodies the roguish charm that has been lost since Sean Connery stepped down as the world's top secret agent. Most of you probably have no understanding how far the Bond franchise slipped from its origins when Connery was starring in "Doctor No" (1962) and "Goldfinger" (1964). While George Lazenby and Pierce Brosnan were tolerable in the role, Roger Moore's lazy, uninspired performances nearly reduced Bond to a pathetic caricature.

In addition, while Mr. Craig brings a steely authenticity to his performance as Bond, the scripts have finally escaped their primitive tendency to view Bond women as simply sexual objects. Instead of P---- Galore (Honor Blackman) or Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards), we have the tantalizing Olga Kurylenko who matches Craig step for step.

Sure, there is a minor moment where Bond beds another agent named Fields (Gemma Arterton), but this plays out as little more than Bond killing time while awaiting the arrival of his adversaries. For any of you who saw last year's overlooked action film "Hitman," you have a lasting memory of Ms. Kurylenko. Who can forget that mesmerizing scene where, after crawling out of bed with Timothy Olyphant, he awakens to see her standing on the hotel room balcony, almost completely naked as she stares wistfully at the horizon.

The only scene in a movie released last year that comes remotely close to the sensual impact of that moment was when James McAvoy was making love with Keira Knightley as she was pinned against a bookcase in "Atonement." Alas, I digress.

But as beautiful as Ms. Kurylenko is, she is dynamic as a Russian/Bolivian Secret Agent out to find some of the same people that Bond is pursuing. For reasons that I will not ruin, she is as tormented as is Bond, and their relationship is mercifully never cheapened by some tawdry sexual encounter.

Unlike most of the Bond movies pre-Craig, the plot now matters. Here, Bond and Camille (Kurylenko) are trying to take down a mysterious international organization that is trying to control precious water rights around the world. In particular, they are attempting to do so in Bolivia while helping a corrupt Army Officer gain power.

As with all good Bond movies, you have to have an enemy worth killing, and you certainly do here. Mathieu Amalric is delightfully sleazy as the corrupt Dominic Greene, the head of this evil empire. Also utterly loathsome is General Medrano (Joaquin Cosio), the Bolivian henchman who is willing to sell his country to Mr. Greene in exchange for power.

What makes Daniel Craig's Bond movies so engaging is that while they retain much of the crisp, witty dialogue of great Connery films, they don't cheapen themselves by having nearly every response from Bond being some cute play on words. And, to the extent that there are some memorable exchanges, they all fell within the confines of the plot.

Simply stated, the audience is spared such cheap dialogue as was reflected at the end of "The World Is Not Enough" (1999), where Bond (Brosnan), immediately after making love to Dr. Christmas Jones (Richards), says, "I didn't realize that Christmas came twice a year."

Mention should also be made of supporting performances by two superior actors, namely Judi Dench as M and Giancarlo Giannini as Bond's ally Mathis. To appreciate the multi-lingual Mr. Giannini, let me suggest that you watch two Lina Wertmuller classics, "Swept Away" (1974) and "Seven Beauties" (1975). Giannini is a giant in the rich Italian film industry, and anyone pretending to be a movie fan should have an appreciation of his tremendous abilities.

As to Ms. Dench, she is given a larger role as Bond's boss in "Quantum," and the movie is clearly better off for it. She has a commanding presence that few other actors possess, as reflected by the fact that she won a supporting Oscar as Queen Elizabeth for approximately 8 minutes of screen time in "Shakespeare in Love" (1998).

Since one of the screenwriters in this film is the multi-talented Paul Haggis, we would expect some contemporary themes in this movie, and it doesn't disappoint. You have American CIA agents who cynically don't care what is happening to the people in South America as long as there is a government that is friendly to the United States. With the global focus on oil, these agents make clear the realities of the world today, namely that the United States is more than willing to accept the most brutal of dictators as long as the oil is flowing our way.

"SPOILER ALERT" "SPOILER ALERT" "SPOILER ALERT"

While the following description of the end of "Quantum" will ruin nothing, M looks at Bond and softly says, "I need you back," to which Bond responds while walking away, "I never left." That is great news for movie audiences around the world.