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QUANTUM OF SOLACE Casino Royale, the 2006 revamp of the 007 film franchise, turned out to be the best James Bond outing since the start of Reagan's first term, so expecting Quantum of Solace to match it was probably asking too much. And indeed, this second effort starring Daniel Craig gets off to a rough start, simply because the two elements we can always rely on – the opening credits and the theme song – are particularly dreadful. Fortunately, it isn't long before we're again immersed in the 007 mystique. Half gentleman, half bruiser, Craig's Bond is still learning the ropes of his newly designated status as a field operative, and it's up to his superior, M (again played by Judi Dench with the right mix of pissed-off exasperation at the monster she helped create and barely concealed pride at the confident, competent male she's released to the world), to try to keep him in line. In a first for the 46-year-old series, this is a direct sequel to its predecessor: To watch it without having seen Casino Royale would be akin to viewing The Empire Strikes Back without having seen Star Wars. In short, the villainous organization from the previous picture is still operating full speed ahead, and revenge for the death of a loved one remains foremost on our hero's mind. One of the keys to this franchise's longevity is each entry's ability to adapt to the times, and Quantum of Solace is no exception. But don't think for a moment that real-world issues dominate the movie: The stunts are as outlandish as ever, the typically lavish settings allow us to live vicariously through Bond, and fans of the Connery/Moore eras will spot a few neat touches, including an homage to Goldfinger. If I rated with numbers instead of stars, it would merit – dare I type it? – a 007 out of 10. ***
SEVEN POUNDS The last time Will Smith teamed up with director Gabriele Muccino, the result was the box office smash The Pursuit of Happyness. With their latest collaboration, it seems as if the pair were engaged in the pursuit of crappyness. That might sound like an especially harsh pronouncement for a film that seeks only to provide uplift, but why spend up to 10 dollars on a ticket when a Hallmark card expressing the same sentiments – and in a less laborious manner, to boot – can be had for a mere three bucks? Smith, charisma intact, plays Ben Thomas, an IRS agent who's clearly up to something good. Reaching into the lives of various strangers, he tries to get to know them before bestowing his blessings – and his finances – upon them. Among those he contacts are a blind telemarketer (Woody Harrelson), a battered single mom (Elpidia Carrillo) and, most importantly, Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson), a woman in desperate need of a heart transplant. Meanwhile, a deadly jellyfish lurks in the background (no, really). Scripter Grant Nieporte attempts to keep all the puzzle pieces from connecting until the end, but the scattered flashback sequences allow viewers to suss out what's up. The story thread distribution is also lacking: The movie might have had more emotional resonance had we been able to watch Ben spend equal time with all his targets, but because the focus is on the Ben-Emily romance, the other bits never gather much steam. Harrelson in particular gets gypped: His sightless man is the most intriguing character, but he's disappointingly held in check. Pound for pound, this ranks as one of the season's biggest downers. **
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE I'm not sure how a film in which a small boy gets blinded by someone deliberately pouring hot liquid onto his eyeballs while he's unconscious ends up being hyped as the "feel-good" movie of the year, but that's the story with Slumdog Millionaire. The modern-day sequences find lanky, likable Jamal (Dev Patel) working his way through the questions on India's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Jamal has coped with poverty all of his life, and it's his unlikely ascension that has the entire nation rooting for him. But Jamal isn't doing this for money; he's doing it for the love of beautiful Latika (Freida Pinto), who, as we see in ample flashbacks, grew up on the streets alongside Jamal and his hotheaded brother Salim (Madhur Mittal). Initially, the movie's structure is ingenious in how it feeds on incidents from Jamal's past to allow him to get the right answers on the TV game show, in effect suggesting that what's most important in this life is what we learn firsthand. As for the sequences revolving around the characters' rough childhoods, they're refreshingly raw and uncompromising, a cross between Charles Dickens and City of God. It's a shame, then, that director Danny Boyle and scripter Simon Beaufoy toss aside all innovation in order to bind the final half-hour into a straightjacket of rigid formula plotting. The boy-finds-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-tries-to-save-girl angle is flaccid enough, although it's the arc involving bad bro Salim that's especially groan-worthy. Still, three-quarters of a stellar movie is nothing to sneer at, meaning that those who take a chance on Slumdog Millionaire will get their money's worth. ***
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