FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — “Quantum of Solace” would be a good action-drama, if only it weren’t a Bond film.

Daniel Craig’s second performance as James Bond picks the up the action from the moment “Casino Royale” leaves off, and that’s the problem.

Director Marc Forster (”Monster’s Ball”) correctly assumes that viewers of “Solace” already saw the previous film and know what’s going on. He seems to forget, however, that fans of “Casino Royale” who are sitting for “Quantum of Solace” are looking for James Bondish elements to the movie. There are none. Except for the good-as-always performance of Judi Dench as “M,” you would never know this was a Bond film.

SPOILER ALERT

That alone is enough to ruin a supposed 007 film. No MI6 headquarters moments. No Moneypenny. No Q Branch. No new watch. No cars with machine guns and missiles. No sex scenes (the redhead didn’t count). Was this a Bond movie or not? Was this the British import we Americans have come to love and honor, or has the series finally succumbed to the reality of American film stupidity where explosions and kill-shots rule supreme over plot?

There wasn’t even a decent Bond villain. The so-called and so-dead “bad guy” was a hapless little dweeb who never really posed much of a threat. Even the boilerplate evil general seemed vapid and undeveloped.

He doesn’t even say “The name’s Bond, James Bond” in the entire movie.

END SPOILER ALERT

It seems to me that you could have tacked this movie onto the special features of “Casino Royale” and bottled it down to a half hour.

Ukrainian beauty Olga Kurylenko is the latest Bond girl, Camille. Kurylenko slept through her role and failed to sell her revenge-driven rage character line. She may be the worst bond girl ever.

The real Bond girl in this movie was Miss Fields, (the redhead) wonderfully portrayed by 22-year-old Brit, Gemma Arterton, who should have had a much more predominant role in the movie. She gives the best performance in the film and gets about five minutes on screen for her troubles.

The movie is driven by the subplot of a far-reaching evil organization, reminiscent of early Bond films, but we never truly get a picture for what that organization is. It, like most of the movie, gets swept under the rug to make room for someone getting killed in every other scene.

There is an interesting scene where Camille and Bond try to parachute out of a falling plane and end up walking in the desert in a tuxedo and black cocktail dress. You almost get the hint that you’re watching 007 in action, but then you shake your head and wake up. No.

Cinematography-wise, “Quantum of Solace” is a very good movie and well-made, even with purposefully jerky camera moves.

It’s just not a Bond movie, and if it’s really to be billed as such, then “Quantum of Solace” is the worst Bond movie ever made.

By Carlos McElfish

I was not expecting much when I brought Agent Under Fire home and lazily plopped it in my PS2. I did not expect to recapture the Bond-magic that GoldenEye so gracefully purported, nor did I assume the storyline would be at all good. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Agent Under Fire is actually an entertaining, albeit short, video game.The graphics are nothing to go screaming buck-naked in the streets about. There are some nice reflection algorithms but thats about it. What this game does offer however is a solid, entertaining experience. A game can have all the bells and whistles in the world but if its not fun to play then it might as well be good for nothing. This is basically a good game, composed completely with power cords. So while the visuals in Agent Under Fire could for all intents and purposes have been carbon-copy-ported straight to the Dreamcast, the “fun-ness” it offers more then makes up for its lack of stunning visuals.

The soundtrack for this game is worth mentioning, due mainly to the fact that (aside from the obligatory Bond Theme) there are original tunes and innovative implementation. The music gets more intense as the on-screen action heats up and slows down to a more surreal and calming tone accordingly. It’s nothing new and has been used in high quality games in the past, but it’s a nice touch nonetheless.

Electronic Arts is doing the honors this time around and have, for the most part, given the series fans little to complain about. You guide James Bond through a myriad of different tasks and man the turrets of a tank, chase down objectives in tricked out automobiles and plow down baddies with a multitude of weaponry.

In “Agent,” James Bond looks like a mix between Pierce Bronson and Jet Li. The game is not based on any Bond movies so don’t expect to recreate your favorite theatrical moments.

Agent Under Fire is about two parts FPS, one part Silent Shooter and one part Spy Hunter. Each mode is well executed and mostly enjoyable. You can pretty much plow through the whole game in right around 5 hours, so you might want to think twice about laying down a 50 spot for it (although the multiplayer mode does vastly extend the life of it’s usefulness). The only time you will have any trouble with the difficulty of the game is the notable, but rare, times where it is uncertain how you are supposed to proceed.

When all is said and done Agent Under Fire does come through on many levels. Gameplay is smooth, and transitions between game type are surprisingly good. The Spy Hunter/GTA3-wannabe sequences (complete with bystanders and high-speed matrixed out stunts) offer up the most adrenaline rushes.

The control in FPS mode is nice and tight (with config mode 3) and delivers the most fluid and precise action this side of Halo. Short of a mouse and keyboard your not going to find play control as silky smooth as this in a home console FPS. But again, as is the Tao of Ying and Yang, you will find that the freedom of movement and range of motion is very linear.

At the end of every mission you are scored on severeal criteria including “Bond Moves.” You will have different opportunities in each mission to pull off maneuvers that somehow conform to the stereotypical Bond-stunt. Your overall score will determine what medal you receive: gold, silver or bronze. You are able to unlock different weapons and features with gold medals.

Sadly , the game suffers from uninspired artificial intelligence and yawn inducing gadgetry. Most of Bond’s “stealth” maneuvers are limited to using the “Q-Laser” to open a lock or the “Q-Claw” to grapple yourself from point A to point B — not exactly Bond’s most shining moments. All the stereotypical Bond cliché’s are duly covered, and all the cheesy PG rated female encounters are lubricated with a nice slick trademark Bond retort. “Oh Bond, I don’t know how to repay you” — “I’m sure we can figure something out” — queue instinctive eye rolling. And the development team attempted to integrate (key word: attempted) some sort of “jiggly” sub-routine for the uniformly well-endowed female characters of the game.

On one hand, I really like this game: good solid shooting entertainment, nitro injected driving sequences, head-to-head and cooperative multiplayer modes. On the other hand, the gaggle of faults in the game makes this one a tough sell. The most compelling reason to play it after you have beaten it is the multiplayer mode (which requires the PS2 Multi-Tap to get the most use out of). Overall, I would say this game will be worth every cent you pay for it, for an overnight rental of course.

Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Electronic Arts
Platform: Playstation 2
Genre: Action/Adventure
Rating: T -Teen
Players: 1-4
Launch Date: 2001

Technical Requirements:
Playstation 2 with Multi-Tap for 3-4 player modes

Playability: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Learning Curve: 4 out of 5 stars
Sound: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Graphics: 3 out of 5 stars
Overall: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Sony announced last week that the film is the first high definition disc to ship more than 100,000 copies. It’s also the first to have broken into the top 10 on Amazon.com’s best-seller list.

The movie is a perfect selling point for Sony’s Blu-Ray format, and an appropriate one for the company to use as a launching pad to surpass rival format HD-DVD. The crisp transfer on the Blu-Ray version allows fiery explosions to jump off the screen, and highlights every drop off water dripping off Daniel Craig’s sculpted abs as he emerges from a swim.

The special edition-available in both wide screen and full screen-includes a handful of extras tied to both the film and the franchise. A “Becoming Bond” documentary highlights the transformation of unlikely casting choice Craig into a blonde James Bond. A version of the 2002 AMC production “Bond Girls Are Forever” examines the role of leading ladies in Bond films over the years, and is updated to include Eva Green’s Casino Royale character, Vesper Lynd. Stunts performed in the movie’s numerous action sequences are dissected in a second featurette. And then, of course, is the token pop music video: in this case, for Chris Cornell’s “You Know My Name,” which provides the soundtrack to the opening credits of the film.

However, film buffs may want to hold off on rushing out to purchase the DVD, as in what is becoming the norm for DVD marketing, something along the lines of a “Super Special Deluxe Edition” will likely be released in the coming months, with additional extras and perhaps never-before-seen footage.