When it comes to the James Bond franchise, everything is pretty much fair game in terms of cast and crew. Approaching the 23rd film in the series, anyone can direct a chapter and there’s absolutely no issues with recasting the role of James Bond himself after an actor has contributed to a few of the flicks. Since Daniel Craig took over the famed title in 2006’s Casino Royale, Bond has reached a whole new level of quality and entertainment. Martin Campbell directed that chapter, which was followed up with Marc Forster’s Quantum of Solace, and now we know who will handle the duties for Bond 23: Sam Mendes.

Much like Forster (Monster’s Ball, Finding Neverland), Mendes is not a director who plays in the realms of action movies very often. His best work to date is the Best Picture winning American Beauty, which he has followed up with many loved and respected films such as Road to Perdition, Jarhead, and Revolutionary Road.

Quantum of Solace
Blu-ray
Directed by Marc Forester
Starring Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric
Paramount Home Entertainment
Release Date: March 24, 2009

The James Bond series could very well go on forever. Even after 20 films, it is possible to reinvigorate the series, as the films starring Daniel Craig have proven. Honestly, I have never been a big fan of Bond and hearing that the series was going to be rebooted with Craig didn’t seem to be anything worth getting excited over. Well, I was wrong, and happy to admit it.

Though it may be sacrilegious to say so, doing away with the cheesy gadgets, the overly suggestive character names, and even the one-liners have saved this series, and it’s obvious the new Bond will not be anything like the old ones. A scene in Casino Royale really established the mentality of the new series in relation to the old, as a bartender asks Bond if he wants his martini shaken or stirred, he snaps back “Do I look like I give a damn!?” The new bond is darker, more realistic (not that that is a stretch), and much more intense.

Quantum of Solace continues this new spirit with style. As an emotionally tortured Bond continues his quest for vengeance, details emerge about a mysterious and far-reaching shadow organization. The movie not only brings closure to many elements of Casino Royale, but establishes a strong foundation for the sequels that will obviously be made.

In light of today’s release of the lastest Bond flick Quantum of Solace on DVD and Blu-ray, the Gold Box spotlight deal of the day over at Amazon is a special on James Bond box sets for DVD and Blu-ray.

Get the James Bond Blu-ray Collection Six-Pack for $64.95 (that’s 64% off the list price of $179.96). This 2-volume Blu-ray box set contains six movies from three different Bond actors: Sean Connery in Dr. No, From Russia with Love, and Thunderball; Roger Moore in Live and Let Die and For Your Eyes Only; and Pierce Brosnan in Die Another Day.

Also up for grabs is the James Bond Ultimate Collector’s Set for $89.95 (that’s 69% off the list price of $289.98). This 42-disc DVD box set contains 21 James Bond films, from Dr. No to Casino Royale (that’s all the movies except Quantum of Solace), plus another 21 discs full of bonus features.

Quantum of Solace
Directed by Marc Forster
Starring Daniel Craig, Gemma Arterton, Judi Dench, Mathieu Amalric, Olga Kurylenko, Jesper Christensen
Rated R
Release date: November 14, 2008

Casino Royale for me was the definitive James Bond. It took author Ian Fleming‘s British super spy back to his rough-and-tumble roots while giving him a 21st century makeover and a new direction for a darker post-September 11 world lacking in operatic villains with stylish bases and magnificent science-fiction weapons. Under the direction of Martin Campbell, Daniel Craig became the best cinematic portrayal of James Bond since Sean Connery was first fitted for Agent 007’s tuxedo in 1962’s Dr. No.

Craig had previously been best known as a intense actor specializing in playing characters who existed in the grayest of areas in films like Road to Perdition, Love is the Devil, Layer Cake, and Munich. Born with piercing blue eyes and a distinctly roguish charisma reminiscent of Steve McQueen, Craig was the perfect choice to play a James Bond reborn into a world where the terrors we read about everyday in the newspapers and online far exceed the evils of the would-be world conquerors the suave MI6 agent has faced before on the big screen.

Now two years after Casino Royale brought Bond blazing back to theaters in top form comes Quantum of Solace, the first Bond film that continues the story from the previous one and builds on it, expanding the secret agent’s world beyond the pulp novels that gave birth to him into a bleaker and more dangerous world. Now we have a Bond who sports more than his fair share of scars both on his face and his soul. Quantum, in a way, is like an extension of the third act of Casino, and in the end some of Bond’s questions have been answered but more have been raised. This is a James Bond for a different time. He won’t be sipping champagne on a yacht in bed with a beautiful lady when the curtain closes on this tale. This is the movie where he truly becomes Bond… James Bond.

Yahoo! has debuted the theatrical trailer for the upcoming James Bond film Quantum of Solace.

Watch it here below!

Daniel Craig returns as James Bond, Agent 007, in this direct sequel to 2006’s Casino Royale and this time, it’s personal!

It was announced late last month that the film would be pushed back a week to November 14, 2008. So all of us who were already pumped up for this film before today can be even more anxious after watching this new trailer.