Daniel Cann

Bond’s mission takes him across the globe and his leads take him to Italy, Austria and South America as he attempts to uncover the shadowy Quantum and their plans. He is of course still coming to terms with the betrayal and death of his love, Vesper.

The plot concerns Quantum and their scheme to install exiled General Medrano as leader of Bolivia and to gain control of one of the World’s most important natural resources: the country’s water supply. Behind this coup is the environmentalist Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) a powerful businessman appearing to be a philanthropist but hiding his true ruthless nature.

Along the way Bond befriends Camille (Olga Kurylenko) a tough and feisty young woman on her own vendetta that unites the two in a common goal. Also aiding Bond are Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), Rene Mathis (played with avuncular charm by Giancarlo Giannini) and Agent Fields (a gorgeous and comic turn from up and coming actress Gemma Arterton). These supporting characters give the film some heart but are criminally under-used. Fields for example barely has time to establish herself before she is taken out of the action. Leiter and Mathis will be familiar to fans of ‘Casino Royale’ but again they are nearly reduced to cameos for this entry.

Therein lies the problem with this film. It is all built around a paper-thin premise and moves at such a fast pace that there is no depth. Its predecessor’s great strength was that it pulled the viewer in and you cared about what happened to the characters and their fate, this film is a strangely hollow affair and I found myself detached and unmoved by it all. The stunts are spectacular, its packed with action and it looks great, but importantly it lacks soul. The sense we are all together along for the ride with Bond sharing his adventure is notably absent. I found it a little tiresome seeing him bludgeon his way through proceedings; there was no finesse or panache, just brute force. Granted he is a rookie agent earning his stripes but something just does not feel right here.

The villain is underwhelming and the climactic struggle between Greene and Bond is like witnessing a fight between an accountant and a rugby player. When you strip it down to its basics this feels like a standard action film cutting it with the competition but not rising above it.

With award winning director Marc Foster (‘Finding Neverland’ ‘Monsters Ball’) at the helm we were promised character development and a deeper Bond. Well, that is clearly not in evidence, the only growth and development comes in the films final frames where Bond finally seems to be on track and has found the measure of comfort needed to make the world make sense for him again. The ending is abrupt and I left the cinema with an audience shrugging its shoulders and wondering what they had just seen.

There is no doubt that Daniel Craig has made the tuxedo his own but audiences will expect and deserve the finished article for the next instalment. If ‘Casino Royale’ was the starter, main course and the desert this film feels like the coffee and the after dinner mint.

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