The producers of Bond wanted to made the franchise more relevant, especially after the success of edgier Jason Bourne films (The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Ultimatum and The Bourne Supremacy) starring Matt Damon.

Did fans want Bond to do away with the fancy gadgets and gizmos and concentrate on more raw action? Well, it seemed they did as Casino Royale went on to become a worldwide box-office smash.

Craig not only became the new face of this famous spy created by Ian Fleming, but his craggy looks and ability to look sexy in blue trunks made him a global sex symbol.

With success, comes high expectation. Such is the case with Craig’s second Bond film, Quantum of Solace (which also happens to be the 22nd Bond film).

Produced for EON Productions by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli and directed by Marc Forster, the screenplay is written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Oscar winner Paul Haggis.

The film picks up from less than an hour after the end of Casino Royale, marking the first direct sequel produced by EON.

Agent 007 (Craig) and M’s (Dame Judi Dench) interrogation of Mr White (Jesper Christensen) proves no one can be trusted.

Fuelled by the betrayal of Vesper (Eva Green), the woman he loved, Bond’s determination to track down the mastermind behind White’s sinister organisation leads to Haiti, where he finds an unlikely ally in Camille (Olga Kurylenko), a beautiful but feisty stranger.

The trail quickly leads to Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) but with the British government and the CIA working against him, Bond must kill or be killed on his mission to uncover the truth and destroy a secret society called Quantum.

Newcomer Gemma Arterton is cast as MI6 Agent Fields who helps Bond while Jeffrey Wright once again takes the role of Felix Leiter, Bond’s ally within the CIA.

Quantum of Solace boasts more overseas locations than any other Bond movie in its 46-year franchise.

The crew started filming at Pinewood Studios in Britain before travelling to Panama City and Colon in Panama; the Atacama Desert in Chile; Sienna, Carrara, Lake Garda and Fonteblanda in Italy; and Bregenz in Austria; with an additional unit filming an aerial sequence in San Felipe, Mexico.

On taking on the mantle of Bond, Craig said in an interview transcript provided by Colombia Tristar: "The truth is, when you make a big decision in life, you know your life is going to change. But it kind of doesn’t.

"You don’t emotionally change. And my life hasn’t changed, not in my mind. The physical aspects have changed, sure. I have to do things differently, I have to fight for my privacy, and there’s a huge amount of bonuses. But I’m still the same person I was six-and-a-half minutes ago, same person inside before Casino Royale too."

There are more stunts in Quantum than Casino Royale. "Three times as many. Four times as many! We shot a scene where we’re doing this body flight thing, where we’re freefalling, and we had to film that within a wind tunnel.

"I also shot a two-day fight sequence we’d been rehearsing for about three months. That was just physically very hard, because it was just getting hit, basically. But I’m still walking."

Craig admits that expectations are high after the success of Casino Royale. "We have to apply the method we used last time, which is to make the best movie we can, and that’s where we’re at ... hopefully. It’s difficult. But I know from what we’ve got, this movie is going to be something else."

Craig did sustain some injuries during the shooting of Quantum and the news made media headlines. "I chopped off the end of my finger and I lost the power in the finger but it’s really healed amazingly. There’s a postage stamp scar. I was slamming a door on Mathieu’s face so I probably deserved it (laughs). I got eight stitches in my face from a kick. That was nothing really. I was back at work immediately. It’s tiny stuff."

When asked if he is more comfortable playing Bond this time around, Craig said: "What’s good about this one is that we’re taking the story directly on so I know where we are, where his head is at; and what’s great about having Marc here is that he is very much into storytelling, it’s his big thing, and he wants the film to make emotional sense."

Quantum of Solace opens nationwide today.