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A wave of reviews for the new James Bond movie have come out and while most point out the movie was enjoyable and Daniel Craig owns the character, the majority of reviews are disapointing.  Several publications felt the movie was a big letdown after the awesomeness of Casino Royale. The big problem is most felt this was just another day at the office for Bond, just another action flick with little in the way of character development.  The problem was the movie reverted back to the formulations of the franchise instead of pushing through to something grander - the promises offered in the previous movie [Slashfilm]

Bond is back, obviously. Looks like this one won’t be any different than the last, but it will have more hotness, as Paris Hilton would say, and more action.

There was one shot that made me stand up and take notice, when Bond falls over a wall and the camera falls off the edge with him. That was a pretty badass shot. Looks like the hiring of director Marc Forster was a smart choice and I hope they do more of this in the future - hire relatively up and coming directors with impressive resumes to put their stamp on the franchise.

One more thing. When Bond turns to a gentleman and goes I think you’re the only one I can trust, does anyone else think the guy looks like George Lucas?

The teaser trailer for the latest James Bond adventure has finally surfaced.  This one is going to be attached to Hancock if you’re looking to see it up on the big screen.  I would say this isn’t much of a teaser but a full-blown first course.  We’ve given a bevy of fight scenes, car chases, beautiful women, James Bond going off the reservation and only a sliver of the plot.

It looks badass and the idea of a Bond movie being a direct sequel to the previous movie sounds intriguing.  All Bond movies heretofore have all existed in this little vacuum.  It’s nice to finally see some emotional connection to the women in Bond’s life - how it drives him, shuts him off emotionally, etc.

Quantum of Solace is in theaters November 7.

James Bond fans may still be trying to piece together just what the heck the title of his latest adventure really means, but once the action starts rolling, the martinis start flowing, the girls start swooning and Jimmy Bond’s theme music cues up, who’s going to really care what the heck that title means anyway. Full plot after the jump, just in case you want to keep things spoiler free.

“‘Quantum of Solace’ continues the high octane adventures of James Bond (Daniel Craig) in ‘Casino Royale.’ Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. MORE »

Quantum (n) - any of the very small increments or parcels into which many forms of energy are subdivided; portion or part.

Solace (n) - a source of relief or consolation; alleviation of grief or anxiety

On the surface, the new title for Bond 22 doesn’t have the same zing as Casino Royale did. However, Quantum of Solace sounds a little sci-fi, like Moonraker-era Bond, but in context it sounds like a pretty rad title. Sony held a press conference this morning to announce the title and pat itself on the back and have the cast dress up and look very sexy.

They were even kind of enough to supply an official plot synopsis.

Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M (JUDI DENCH) interrogate Mr White (JESPER CHRISTENSEN) who reveals the organisation which blackmailed Vesper is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined.

Forensic intelligence links an Mi6 traitor to a bank account in Haiti where a case of mistaken identity introduces Bond to the beautiful but feisty Camille (OLGA KURYLENKO), a woman who has her own vendetta. Camille leads Bond straight to Dominic Greene (MATHIEU AMALRIC), a ruthless business man and major force within the mysterious organisation.

On a mission that leads him to Austria, Italy and South America, Bond discovers that Greene, conspiring to take total control of one of the world’s most important natural resources, is forging a deal with the exiled General Medrano (JOAQUIN COSIO). Using his associates in the organisation, and manipulating his powerful contacts within the CIA and the British government, Greene promises to overthrow the existing regime in a Latin American country, giving the General control of the country in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of land.

In a minefield of treachery, murder and deceit, Bond allies with old friends in a battle to uncover the truth. As he gets closer to finding the man responsible for the betrayal of Vesper, 007 must keep one step ahead of the CIA, the terrorists and even M, to unravel Greene’s sinister plan and stop his organisation.

So, what is Bond’s quantum of solace for Vesper’s treachery at the end of Casino Royal? Sounds like a dish of cold vengeance. And lots of sex and probably a martini or two.

The title was taken from an already existing Ian Fleming short story and the producers are promising much more action than Daniel Craig’s first foray as Bond. Craig has his own thoughts on what the title means, according to an article by the BBC.

Craig said the cryptic title referenced how Bond’s heart had been broken at the end of Casino Royale. “Ian Fleming had written about relationships,” he explained. “When they go wrong, when there’s nothing left, when the spark has gone, when the fire’s gone out, there’s no quantum of solace. And at the end of the last movie, Bond has the love of his life taken away from him and he never got that quantum of solace.”

The article also goes into deets about the two lovely ladies who will vie for Craig’s affection and the old lady M, who tries to keep our boy in check.

 With rumors of Bond 22 simply being titled 007, thanks to star Daniel Craig’s loose lips on a British talk show, and recent photos of him training for the movie on speed boats, mums been the word on all other fronts recently.  Empire Online has scored a slice of info.  Seems that the young and pluckish Gemma Arterton (honestly, Gemma is one of my favorite names for a girl) has been cast in an unidentified role for the new flick.

Arterton doesn’t have many credits to her name, with the most notable ones being a role in Guy Ritchie’s crime thriller RocknRolla and the schoolgirl comedy with Mischa Barton, St. Trinian’s. 

She’s sexy, but not quite in the sort of way you want a Bond girl to be, more in the cute and cuddly way.  Sort of like in the Miss Moneypenny kind of way.

Fox News’s Roger Friedman (shudder), is insisting, despite the silence, that actor Mathieu Amalric has been cast as the villian in James Bond double-doose. Amalric was best known for his turn in Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Those that have seen the flick, insiste he turned in an Oscar caliber performance.

I like that they are casting relatively unknown Europeans as the baddies in the latest Bond flicks. The unknown is scary.

Even though sources insist it’s true, Amalric would neither confirm nor deny. Since his “Diving Bell” character communicates through blinking, we thought of asking him to do just that — one for yes, two for no — but thought better of it. Anyway, expect a formal announcement shortly. This is a done deal.

Those are Friedman’s words, not ours. There is no confirmation on this, but that’s pretty strong language. Also, a sidebit but singer Leona Lewis was mentioned as singing the theme song for the next movie.

Photo of Bond’s new enemy.

Interesting bit of rumor coming from the fine, fine boys at Latino Review. They’re reporting that producers have targeted the next Bond girl for James Bond 22 and her name is Mayrin Villanueva.

MI6, the best source for Bond news anywhere, claims this rumor started from a Mexican news station.

Local news coverage in Mexico cites Mayrin Villanueva’s husband Jorge Poza, who has told media outlets that his wife has landed a role. She reportedly attended several casting sessions before “producers requested her presence for the film which is currently in pre-production”.

There isn’t much about the actress, seems like she’s been in lots of Telemundo roles over the years and this would likely be her first major movie role. Let’s just hope she does better with her English than say, Penelope Cruz. One thing you can’t deny is the 32-year-old actress is muy caliente.

It was hard not to fall in love with Vesper Lynd, or for that matter the actress who played her (Eva Green) in Casino Royale.  She was hot and fragile and super intelligent and hell, if she could steal James Bond’s heart, then it’s also assumed she could easily steal ours.

But like all great Bond girls, she died.  So let the search begin for the next great leading lady.  MTV News caught up with actress Rose Byrne (Sunshine, 28 Weeks Later, FX’s Damages) to talk about the latest Bond rumors, simply because she was one of several actresses in the initial running for the part of Vesper Lynd.

Byrne remarked that her good friend, and fellow Aussie actress Abbie Cornish “got it.”  Cornish is best known for her dalliances with actor Ryan Phillipe, which eventually led to Reese Witherspoon divorcing him.

Apart from that she’s been outstanding in little seen movies like A Good Year, Candy and especially as the broken and fragile girl in Somersault.  (FYI that movie is probably known for Cornish showing of her ta-tas a lot)

Sorry, wish we could have come up with a better title.  But Variety has just reported that director Marc Forster has signed on to direct the next James Bond flick.

Forster is becoming a mainstream version of Michael Winterbottom.  He just shuffles between genres with effortless grace. Between the southern gothic Monsters Ball, the psychological thriller Stay, the oddball comedy Stranger Than Fiction, and the heartwarming Finding Neverland, Forster has carved out quite a career for himself.

Forster has the adaptation of Khalid Hosseini’s Kite Runner in the canister next, so it’s same to presume that James Bond 22 will ramp up preproduction.  The director is meeting with Paul Haggis to knock out a script and story.

Daniel Craig will be back on board.  We’re sort of sad that director Martin Campbell won’t be back, afterall he did a superb job in reviving the franchise with last year’s Casino Royale.  

We can’t wait to see what Marc Forster does with an action flick.

Racism guru Paul Haggis, who also happened to win as Oscar for directing Crash, has taken the reigns of scripting the follow-up to Casino Royale. Though we’re not the biggest Paul Haggis fans - anyone else think Crash should have been titled Crash: Racism 101, or How I stopped worrying and learned to love people not like me? - we loved his script for the latest James Bond adventure.

So the LA Times is reporting that Haggis will be back scripting once again. That’s good news, except it’ll be interesting to see how well his script turns out when he doesn’t have an awesome Ian Fleming book to work with. More interesting that Haggis scripting is the list of directors rumored to be in line for helming the superspy flick.

Tony Scott, Jonathan Mostow, Marc Forster and Alex Proyas are all allegedly in negotiations to direct Bond 22. Of those four we think Forster or Proyas would be the best choices.

Tony Scott’s visual style (Domino, Man on Fire, Deja Vu) just doesn’t vibe well and Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Breakdown, U-571) has proven to be a pretty bland director.

Marc Forster (Monsters Ball, Finding Neverland, Stranger Than Fiction, Stay) has bounced from genre to genre and proven himself not only a visual wiz but also a fantastic storyteller. It seems every hat he wears he’s knocked it out of the park. We’d love to see him tackle an action movie first, but if Bond 22 is his first stab at action we think he’d nail it.

And really Alex Proyas (I, Robot, Dark City, The Crow) just gives us a boner thinking about his style mashed up with a James Bond story.