The unmasked avenger

Action. USA, Dir. Marc Forster with Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and Olga Kurylenko

The 22nd chapter of the Bond saga picks up exactly where we left off in Casino Royale, making it the first "sequel" in the series. Numbed by the betrayal and death of lover Vesper Lynd, Agent 007 (Daniel Craig) is transformed into a killing machine.

Bond, obsessed with revenge, mixes his personal vendetta with duty, taking liberties with his "license to kill." In the process, he discovers Quantum, a global criminal organization run by  evil genius Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric). With a series of coup d'etats in the works and widespread misery planned for all but his cohorts, Greene's plan would ultimately cast a dark shadow over mankind (if it weren't for Bond coming to save the day, of course.)

The movie is more violent, grim and perhaps even more realistic than ever - presumably the result of Bond producers taking up the gauntlet thrown down by Matt Damon's competing spy franchise, the Bourne trilogy.