Back but not better than ever

At the close of his last adventure, Bond was left a broken man after being betrayed by his late love, Vesper Lynd (Eva Green). The agent embraced his status as a 007 and was ready to follow the directive of his bosses at MI-6. Or so it seemed. "Quantum of Solace" shows Bond on a rampage for retribution. His quest leads him to the mysterious terrorist organization QUANTUM and its conniving leader Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric). As Bond plots to bring down Greene, the British and American governments cut deals with his organization, believing that Greene has discovered vast amounts of oil in the deserts of Bolivia. Unwilling to fall into line, the Bond who so earnestly serves his Majesty's government is labeled a rogue agent who must be stopped.

From the first scenes, the film makes it clear that the world crafted by screenwriter Paul Haggis is not one of quips and glamour but of extraordinary rendition and torture. After Bond drags a bruised and battered suspect into an underground lair, his typically affable boss M (Judi Dench) venomously asserts "you're not in Britain anymore." She then threatens that the "longer it takes [to confess] the more painful we'll make it." Moments later, when Bond chases a double agent through a crowd of tourists, a stray bullet hits a random passerby. The spectacle of violence has a price in this dark universe where no good guys exist.

No one seems more morally ambiguous than our would-be hero; Craig manages to achieve a balance between innate cruelty and deadly charisma. The actor's language reveals that Bond no longer takes any pleasure (or pain) from murder and grows detached from its violence. After M chastises her prized agent for his rampant executions, Bond says matter-of-factly, "I don't dwell on the past." His emotionless face conveys how the spy has become a remorseless killing machine. His female companion Camille (Olga Kurylenko), on her own quest for vengeance, comments, "There is something horribly efficient about you." Bond asks bemusedly, "Is that a compliment?" With his cockeyed grin, Craig effortlessly underscores how Bond remains blind to the monster he is slowly becoming.

What makes Craig's creation even more frightening is his infectious charisma. His novice Bond realizes that his still-undeveloped charms, his sexuality and class, can be his most deadly weapons. The more vicious he becomes, the more Bond relishes in the opulence of his existence. Bond slowly develops a taste for what have long been the character's signature pleasures, including fancy martinis and extravagant five-star hotel suites so unlike the dingy hotels inhabited by more pragmatic spies.

The burgeoning enthusiasm that Craig shows for the high life makes his Bond far more compelling than a rough-edged Jason Bourne knock-off in a tuxedo. Craig plays the super-spy with such smoldering intensity that the viewer cannot help but cheer the character even as he grows more repulsive.

At his best, Forster manages to echo Bond's unique mix of brutality with finesse through his staging of grand action sequences. The director, whose previous films have been intimate dramas like "Finding Neverland," flourishes on the huge canvas of the mega-budget action movie. Whether running through the dark sewers of Siena or flying above a sun-baked Bolivian desert, Bond's exploits are captured with superb confidence. A visual that typifies Forster's striking style occurs when Bond tackles a minor villain off a rooftop. The camera follows the pair as they fall through the air and break through a plate grass roof. Forster's sleek imagery, distinct from the jittery, handheld style of the Bourne trilogy, makes this Bond adventure as exhilarating as any before it.

The frequency of these often beautifully choreographed action sequences points to the film's most glaring fault: its breakneck pacing. Though "Quantum of Solace" is almost an hour shorter than "Casino Royale," its plot is far more complex. Because the film spends so little time exploring the various intrigues, the countless double crosses that occur mean nothing. What's worse, even the Bond girls suffer and are turned into little more than cardboard cutouts with pretty faces. A female agent known as Ms. Fields (Gemma Arterton) serves only to be seduced by the hero. The overly complicated plot shoehorned into a short running time distances the viewer from the fascinating center of "Quantum of Solace": Craig's shell-shocked Bond.

Even with its faults, "Quantum of Solace" remains a must-see for both serious fans and regular moviegoers. This Bond lives not in the typical black-and-white realm of the action movie but within the shades of gray of the real world. No longer are we allowed to mindlessly cheer the exploits of the debonair hero: Craig and crew make us complicit in the hero's increasing brutality. Whatever your thoughts are on the darker Bond, the film ambitiously presents for the first time the spy film as something beyond mere escapist fantasy. The new 007, filled with rage and sadism, is unquestionably a hero for our dark and frightening times.