QUANTUM OF SOLACE **½

Director Marc Forster has quite a few quality films to his credit and this time around he helms one of the most famous film franchises, starring: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Jesper Christensen, Joaquin Cosio. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and some sexual content. Running time is one hour and forty-five minutes.

Betrayed by the woman he loved, 007 (Craig) fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Determined to uncover the truth, Bond and M (Dench) discover the organisation which blackmailed her is far more complex and dangerous than imagined. With the help of a South American agent (Kurylenko) and in a minefield of treachery, murder and deceit, 007 must keep one step ahead of the CIA (Wright), the terrorists (Amalric, Christensen and Cosio) and even M, to stop the organisations sinister plan.

Production values and pacing are good in this film which features non-stop action from start to finish. But at times it's hard to tell what's going on, even on a large screen, because the camera is too close to that action. So, you're aware a lot is happening but you know you're missing most of it. There are some nice touches, such as the meeting of the criminal minds during a performance of Tosca, but the plot seems like a group of episodes which don't quite connect into a cohesive whole. Combine that with a rather dour, humorless cast of characters and you're left with a film which should be satisfying but simply isn't. If you want to see this film I'd recommend doing so in a theatre. A TV screen isn't going to do this pic justice.