007 is back for 22nds

Photo: Getty Images

It was Shana's assessment that Daniel Craig is himself the new Bond girl that convinced me to give Quantum of Solace a shot. I'm also not usually into blue-eyed blonds either, but the reinvention of the franchise taught me to be open to all sorts of new love.

Quantum of Solace has a horrible title and an equally awkward theme song, but it bookends Casino Royale nicely. You don't have to rewatch the latter movie, they bring you up to speed quickly on the vengeance plotline. The first 30 minutes or so have all the classic trademarks: car chase in the Aston Martin, fancy command center, digital cameras with a 5,000x zoom lens, Bond in a tux, evil men trying to take over the world. But then most of that falls away and the movie becomes a stripped down vehicle that transforms Daniel Craig into more Bourne than Bond. I'm not complaining -- the Bourne trilogy is astoundingly fun and compelling. Craig is definitely not as suave as James -- I was genuinely confused in a hotel room scene when he was hitting on a colleague -- but he has a raw emotional energy that translates well in both hand-to-hand combat as well as showing empathy to Olga Kurylenko's own interweaving revenge plot. But really, the love of a good woman he's seeking feels most plausibly about Judi Dench's M. character. Bond is a Mama's Boy? Cancel page for Dr. Freud, this explains the bed-hopping.

The art design for this movie is gorgeous, and there are fun nudges to '60s classic Bond, but here are the most important parts: Craig takes his shirt off twice and the man wears the hell out of some khaki pants, better than any Banana Republic model. I know some fans don't like their Bond so fashionably accessible, but I liked going out the next day and buying myself a pair of pants that successfully frame my package as well as his did. OK, my pants are from Target, but seriously, they look good. I might even wear them to the gym to go work on my pecs.

-- A. RAYMOND JOHNSON

Previously > The Repo Cult > The Dark Knight