2 1/2 stars

Pretty and action-packed, "Quantum of Solace" plays as a typical James Bond movie. And that's unfortunate, given the refreshingly atypical Bond movie that preceded it.

Daniel Craig and the 2006 film "Casino Royale" revived the Bond franchise by presenting a brawny, complex 007 averse to debonair clichés and drawn to Vesper Lynd, a Bond girl lent enough depth by actress Eva Green to perhaps even qualify as a woman.

But the makers of "Quantum of Solace," in order to accommodate loads of bang-up action scenes and location changes, apparently had to sacrifice a few things. Like character development.

As "Quantum" starts, Vesper has committed suicide after betraying Bond, leaving the spy who loved her hurt and very angry. Oh, he'll still make time for a roll in the hay with a virtual stranger. Just don't expect him to smile about it.

It's a good thing the off-the-charts charismatic Craig makes icy determination look so good, because it's the one note he gets to play as Bond travels to Haiti, Austria, Bolivia and elsewhere on the trail of the vast criminal network Quantum and answers about Vesper.

With Vesper gone, so goes the idea of the truly compelling Bond girl. Though Gemma Arterton sparkles as Bond's fellow MI6 agent, she's barely onscreen. As a mysterious woman mixed up with Quantum and nursing a grudge of her own, Olga Kurylenko seems like a placeholder for a Bond girl yet to come, one with more oomph.

But Kurylenko turns out to be the female lead, and, as a real looker, meets the chief standard for most pre-Vesper Bond girls. She and Craig make quite the pair while walking in black evening wear before a vast desert backdrop.

"Quantum of Solace" always looks and sounds terrific, with top-notch production values and a superb score by David Arnold that always sounds fresh while evoking Bond scores past.

Director Marc Forster ("Finding Neverland") choreographs action scenes for maximum impact while showcasing Craig's grit. Though the shirtless moments are fewer than in "Casino Royale" (sorry, ladies), the power behind the physique remains evident. Craig looks capable whether scrambling across a tile rooftop or commandeering a boat or motorbike. (Bond steers so many different types of vehicles in "Quantum of Solace" that you half-expect him to hop on a riding lawn mower at some point.)

Screenwriters Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade stretch themselves finding new ways to let Craig show his might and clench his jaw. But their imaginations seem to stop there. For instance, Quantum's M.O. of toppling governments and stealing national resources seems too familiar.

Heading up Quantum's dirty-deed department is Dominic Greene, played by Mathieu Amalric from "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly." Amalric makes a plausible sleaze, especially opposite Kurylenko in scenes more lively than any between Craig and Kurylenko. But Amalric is too subtle to convince as a homicidal megalomaniac. Next to Bond, Greene seems like a punk.

Only Judi Dench, bracing as Bond's superior, and Jeffrey Wright, as Bond's ally in the CIA, match Craig in screen presence. Come to think of it, Wright would have been a great choice to play a Bond villain. He emanates intelligence, and his gravelly voice and meaning-laced inflections make him wonderful to listen to as well as to watch. All he would need is that Bond bad-guy accessory – the amorphously Eurotrash accent – to be a formidable antagonist.

Call Bee movie critic Carla Meyer,

(916) 321-1118. Hear her discuss the week's movies at 4:40 p.m. on Fridays on NewsTalk 1530 (KFBK).