QUANTUM OF SOLACE

QUANTUM OF SOLACE: The reinvention of Bond continues in this the first direct sequel in the franchise, picking up right where Casino Royale left off with 007 tracking down the mysterious organization responsible for his beloved Vesper’s death in the previous film. The plot is more convoluted, the villain – played by Mathieu Amalric – less memorable, but Daniel Craig sweats testosterone and rage with an intensity that rivals even the great Sean Connery. Director Marc Forster stages fight scenes with such authentic brutality you feel battered and bruised within the first 10-minutes. And the introduction of QUANTUM – evil acronym yet to be translated – suggests another long-running enemy for her majesty’s secret service to ferret out and destroy. But now that Bond’s unrelenting quest for vengeance has dragged on through two films, the franchise is in desperate need of rediscovering its sense of humor. Solace offers some closure to Bond’s formative years; here’s hoping the next chapter lets him have a little fun. MGM’s Blu-ray is as picture-perfect as one could hope, even though the extras are a bit skimpy considering the rest of the Bond releases. Speaking of which, several films in the series are due to be released concurrently, including Goldfinger, Moonraker and Never Say Never Again, featuring Sean Connery’s return to the role that made him famous.