Not that this is a groundbreaking statement of any kind, but to most viewers, James Bond movies have never really been about much more then high-speed chases, booze, gadgets, women and (kind of) clever product placement throughout.

The writers and directors, including recent Academy Award-winner Paul Haggis, who have taken on the character over the years may dispute the fact, but who are they kidding?

The latest installment, Marc Forster's Quantum of Solace, is fine, but certainly no exception. It is hard to believe a single person who contributed to the $67.5 million the movie made last weekend ventured to the theater because the themes of corrupt environmentalists and Bolivian water supplies appealed to them.

But hey, there's a car chase (Aston Martin vs. Ford), lots of drinking (Heineken and Smirnoff), some nifty gadgets (Sony and Omega) and two beautiful women (Gemma Arterton and Olga Kurylenko) for Bond to trust and distrust as he feels fit.

What made 2006's Casino Royale more interesting than any one of the vanilla Pierce Brosnan installments is the hints of Bond's past before becoming 007 and how the film's events shaped his character. There isn't much sign of that here.

It would be silly to delve too far into Quantum's plot, but it is worth noting this is more of a sequel than any other Bond film to date. The late Vesper Lynd, the secret agent's girlfriend in Royale, as well as the secret organization that made up the villains last time around, are key plot points in Quantum.

The primary villain here is Dominic Greene, played by French actor Mathieu Amalric (last seen by American audiences in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly). He pulls off the greedy corporate sleazebag role well, but classic Bond super-villain he is not.

Daniel Craig continues to excel at the role, even as his character becomes more of a straightforward murder machine and less of a witty British charmer. The acrobatic leaps and tumbles he takes in his journeys, resulting in nary a scratch or broken bone, wander into the realm of fantasy, but that's nothing new for the series.

Quantum of Solace clocks in at a surprisingly brief 106 minutes, and probably has more action packed in that timeframe than any past Bond film. Unfortunately, this comes as somewhat of a disappointment to this critic; Casino Royale showed many signs that Bond could be made human and some character development could prove interesting.

But it seems, for better or worse, that the series is back to its old self.

Grade: C+