The newest James Bond entry wastes little time amping up the adrenaline by immediately dumping the audience in the middle of a multi-car, engine-whining chase through Italy. As the title character runs his slick little Audi in the red, Quantum of Solace makes no attempt to veil its intent on providing a no-holds-barred action extravaganza.

After the rather brilliant predecessor, Casino Royale, this newest 007 has plenty to live up to not only the action side, but in terms of storyline as well. The question remains: Does this latest iteration of Ian Fleming’s debonair spy have the gadgets to keep audiences bonding with Bond?

Quantum finds Bond (Daniel Craig) a bit shaken after the loss of yet another love interest and hell-bent on revenge. A mysterious crime organization (aka “Quantum”) is uncovered with links to his fallen lady-friend and soon 007 goes renegade with thoughts of retribution. Meanwhile, British intelligence (MI-6) and its head (Judy Dench) must decide whether or not to rein in the super spy when the body count begins to escalate.

Once word had hit the street that director Marc Forster was to take over the franchise with Quantum, the film community rippled with anticipation. In this unique case it wasn’t because of the director’s wealth of experience in the genre, which was minimal, but his record of quality dramatic productions. With the Oscar magnet Monsters Ball and the exquisite Finding Neverland to his credit, it seemed that Forster was to bring an added dimension to the canon of Bond. However, those expecting a deeper and richer exploration of the character will be in store for a let down.

Forster seems to be so preoccupied with succeeding on the action front that he checks his past flair for character study at the door. This Bond, although played excellently by Craig, is faceless to the audience, lacking the humanity that separates him from a robotic killing machine. Of course that icy exterior is a requisite for 007; however, the aforementioned Casino Royale illustrated the potential to go much further beneath the surface of Bond.

It is quite possible that Casino director Martin Campbell’s previous Bond experience with GoldenEye allowed him to concentrate on narrative cohesion rather than chase-scene count. As with any production, Forster cannot be blamed for all the film’s shortcomings. In this case, the script deserves its fair share of scrutiny.

The screenplay, written by the acclaimed Paul Haggis (Crash, Million Dollar Baby), unfortunately suffers from similar symptoms as the direction. Haggis, a solid dramatic writer, seems out of his element on this one and tries a little too hard to make Quantum an action-packed thrill ride. We see Bond hop from Spain to London to Haiti to Austria to Italy to Bolivia to Russia with only a trace of intrigue packed along.

Again, the film never regains the powerful sentiment that existed in Casino. Haggis is also guilty of denying fans of the franchise an adequate dose of gadgets or sublime villainy. This is unfortunate because the impressive Mathieu Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) had oh so much potential in the role of the secret agent’s nemesis.

It is not as if Quantum of Solace does not have value because it most certainly does. It is just disappointing that it never becomes more than a popcorn actioner. Maybe this installment is burdened by lofty expectations, but even Bond struggles to seduce audiences this go around.

Adam Neal is the founder of FeatureFilmReview.com.