Quantum of Solace

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Year:	2008
Country of origin:	UK / USA
Director:	Marc Forster
Genre:	Intense Bond
Starring:	Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench, Giancarlo Giannini, Gemma Arterton, Jeffrey Wright
Rating:	5/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0830515/
Tagline:	No tagline
Favourite line:	"If you could avoid killing every possible lead, it would be deeply appreciated."

This took a real critical mauling upon initial release and, for my money at least, it was entirely undeserved.

The plot:
Kicking straight in after the events of Casino Royale, Bond is hell-bent on revenge for the death of his lover. Heading to Haiti, he is soon embroiled in a cross-continental conspiracy by the mysterious Quantum organisation to plunder the Earth's most valuable resource, and in particular the machinations of one Dominic Greene (not much of a Bond villain name, I must admit!) in Bolivia, self-styled philanthropist who may not be as giving as his public image suggests.

Again, as with it's predecessor, here we forsake the usual Bond trappings of silly gadgets and even sillier one-liners, this very much a grittier, sleeker animal, less meat on the bones, as can be evidenced by the stripped down hour forty run time - very short for the franchise.
The action scenes are quite remarkable, packed full of energy and, crucially, pain, as faces are slammed against rock or smashed through windows, or assailants are body-slammed through glass-topped tables.
And by the Christ's it really is violent and must have stretched the 12A certificate right to the wire here in the UK.
Whilst not one for the purists - the main gripers, I imagine - this is a massively effective, muscular action movie that most 'normals' should enjoy and the sooner the legal wranglings at MGM are sorted out and we can get Daniel Craig back on our screens in Bond mode, the better.
Loved it.