“Quantum of Solace,” part two of a three-part Bond trilogy, starring the double-o-magnificent Daniel Craig, can — honestly — rest on the laurels of “Casino Royale.”

It’s all there: Craig’s quantum of sexiness, intense car chases scenes, explosions, glossy locations, clever flirting with naughtily named hotties, the delightful sternness of Judi Dench, gadgets that make the iPhone look like a dot matrix printer?

But while “Quantum” is entertaining enough, it’s a bit confusing and bears no resemblance to the Ian Fleming short story of the same name. Beginning an hour after No. 22 ended, we’re expected to remember the ins and outs of every character relationship like weekly TV episode viewers. As for Quantum, the ultimate evil conspiracy theory, their reveal has to wait until part three.

Unfortunately, “Quantum” falls short of standing up on its own, disappointing for a franchise that was able to, in No. 22, “Casino Royale,” turn all the banal Bond baggage into dark, clever twists.

Having dispatched Bond’s love interest in No. 22, No. 23 shows him hurting and angry. If he were an average American male, this would be a movie where he stares a lot into his fridge, empty but for a bottle of catsup and a six-pack of beer, as he plays his ex’s last phone messages over and over on a bad cassette tape. But Bond’s no average anything, so he takes out his raging anger through a reverse Batman: he kills everyone.

“Quantum’s” villain is likewise reverse Joker. Dominic Greene, a secretly water-hoarding baddie, is as terrifying as JLo’s baby daddy Marc Anthony. Which is to say, not much. There’s a scene where floppy-haired Greene is trotting around in a paisley shirt, trying to look evil, and munching an apple. I can understand wanting your villains to be repugnant, but not because they have apple skin in between their teeth.

For a movie about water, a liquid James Bond has little interest in, this certainly is a dry slice of turkey compared to “Casino Royale.” It’s a wild ride to watch Bond spin some fantastic vehicle three times in an Italian tunnel, crash into a wall, zoom on, then parkour from a sliding-tiled roof onto a balcony, then to a motorcycle, then onto a dock and onto a boat. But you can almost see the action scenes turning into video game prototypes: watch Bond crash into a construction site and dodge cars rolling down the hill and speed around slow-moving steamrollers!

It looks good, like Bond’s martini: “Three measures of Gordon’s gin, one of vodka, half of Kina Lillet, which is not Vermouth, shaken well until it is ice-cold, then served with a large thin slice of lemon peel.” But it lacks the meat of “Casino Royale.” Just like that signature martini, the second Craig-as-Bond is a hell of a drink, but a bit rough on an empty stomach.

Ashley O’Dell reviews movies that aren’t in theaters anymore.