The task of shepherding Daniel Craig through his second outing as James Bond fell to a director not known for action movies. And it shows. Quantum of Solace is underwhelming -- competent enough, but missing anything truly memorable and not so hot when you look closely, which you shouldn't have the opportunity or inclination to do. 

Craig doesn't lose his grip on the role. In fact, this sequel to Casino Royale makes you all the more eager to watch him in a traditional Bond adventure, rather than one intent on proving the franchise can adapt and so insistent we need a new 007 for the 21st century.

Marc Forster's previous films include the southern drama Monster's Ball for which Halle Berry won an Oscar, Finding Neverland about "Peter Pan" author J.M. Barrie, and The Kite Runner, based on the acclaimed novel in which two Afghan boys say goodbye to their innocence. It's a solid body of work, though not one that leads naturally to an action-thriller.

Presumably, no expense was spared on Quantum of Solace and yet the fights and chase sequences are often a blur. They feel mechanical and there's a lack of clarity in the staging and cinematography (except when it comes to highlighting product placements). The only sequence with a unique atmosphere takes place at the opera during a performance of Tosca. What good is an awesome stunt if you can't make it out? What good is Craig's buff athleticism if he's just a more reckless bull in a bigger, fancier china shop?

Forster is better at gesturing toward the psychological anguish that prompts Bond to go rogue in order to avenge the murder of his Casino Royale love interest Vesper. The movie's title may have been lifted from a short story by Ian Fleming, but the plot is a dull screenwriting conceit that begins a mere sixty minutes after Casino Royale ends.

The demise of Vesper, the U.S. Treasury Department agent played by Eva Green, was a bit of a shocker and quite powerful. Traitor or not, she really didn't warrant this much attention however. And the film relies so much on its predecessor that if it's not fresh in your mind, a few flashbacks or some other device to jog the memory would be welcome.

Of course, it's the effect she had on James that's supposed to hold our interest; and that wouldn't register at all without the concern M (Judi Dench) shows for her renegade underling. She's sympathetic and loyal, willing to cut him slack up to a point. Only when he teams up with an exotic beauty (Olga Kurylenko) from South America who's also on a revenge mission does the possibly jealous MI6 honcho get her knickers in a twist.

Their quarry is a friend of Her Majesty's government and Uncle Sam named Dominic Green (Mathieu Amalric). He's a boardroom villain who heads Quantum, a consortium of greedy establishment types responsible for the money laundering that fueled Casino Royale. Here, they're installing a military dictatorship in Bolivia in exchange for vast tracks of land. Kurylenko's character Camille has a beef with the fiendish general they're propping up; as a little girl, she watched while he killed her parents and set their house on fire.

James doesn't vocalize the physical or emotional pain he's experiencing because he's so focused on doling out justice, discovering why Vesper was killed, and learning which side she was really on. After a series of vehicular chases in which he never seems to be in peril -- and with assists from his CIA pal Felix (Jeffrey Wright) and Vesper’s colleague Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini) -- the movie climaxes in a hotel in the arid South American desert.

Fans of the series will be happy to know Bond snaps out of his grief-driven trance. And now that he's got Vesper out of his system, maybe we'll get a Bond flick that doesn't just smolder but is genuinely combustible. Revenge is a dish best served cold. The optimal temperature for a spy thriller is considerably hotter than Quantum of Solace.

(Released by Columbia Pictures and rated "PG-13" for intense sequences of violence and action, and some sexual content.)