Although he's only wielded James Bond's license to kill in two movies -- with a third on the way sometime next year -- Daniel Craig is wasting little time preparing for life after 007. Since the release of Quantum of Solace in 2008, the British actor has shot five non-Bond features, including this summer's Cowboys & Aliens and two highly-anticipated fall films, Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn and David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. He's also headlining the new horror movie Dream House, which isn't being screened for critics in advance of its opening this Friday... a move that doesn't inspire much confidence in its quality. Still, you can't blame Craig for booking so many gigs in between Bond movies; he's undoubtedly noticed how his predecessors in the role of the world's most famous secret agent have occasionally struggled to move on once their days ordering shaken, not stirred martinis are done. Here's a look back at how the other Men That Have Been Bond have fared once the mantle was passed to someone else.

One of the Bond girls from Quantum of Solace has been surprisingly candid lately about some of her more unusual physical attributes. Get your mind out of the gutter--it's not that kind of physical attribute. London's Daily Mail reports that Gemma Arterton reveals in the newest Esquire magazine that she was born with six fingers on each hand. The extra digits were tied at the base an allowed to wither up and fall off naturally. If you look closely, you can see the slight scars that remain. Although, considering she plays one of 007's famously beautiful love interests in the upcoming pic, it's unlikely many will be looking at her hands when she's onscreen. Her polydactyly isn't the only thing Arterton is revealing, either. Click on through for Quantum spoilers.

Sometimes, life imitates art instead of the other way around.

Someone drove James Bond's Aston Martin into Lake Garda in Italy on Sunday, and all media outlets have been talking about is the car. I had to read all the way to the end of the fourth paragraph of this news item, for instance, before I saw, "...but the driver was able to swim ashore." Thank goodness, right? I mean, sure he destroyed a $250,000 car, at least he's okay.

Most media outlets have been saying he's a stunt man, so maybe that's why no one wonders if he's okay: They assume a stunt guy knows how to get out of a car in a lake. But of course.

James Bond is back for one of his best adventures ever.

Let's start off by answering the biggest question first: yes, Skyfall really is as great as you've been hearing. The 23rd entry in the venerable James Bond franchise isn't just the best studio blockbuster of the year -- featuring a better story than The Avengers, fewer logic gaps than The Dark Knight Rises and rip-roaring action sequences that easily outclass pretenders like The Hunger Games and Battleship -- it also ranks in the top five (hell, maybe even the top three) Bond adventures that have come along in 007's now 50-year big-screen history. In a fall that's packed with awards-friendly prestige pictures, Skyfall is reminder that a smart, beautifully-crafted and, in general, kick-ass action movie can be as worthy of serious acclaim and respect as any historical biopic or weighty drama. With that out of the way, time to get to some of your other burning queries:

After the strong start that was 2006's Casino Royale, the re-booted, Daniel Craig-led James Bond series hit a major rough patch with Quantum of Solace. After a four-year break, though, Bond is back and better than ever in Skyfall, which is already burning up the box office charts overseas. (It opens in the U.S. on Friday.) The cast and crew of Skyfall -- including Craig, Javier Bardem (who plays his nemesis, Silva), Naomie Harris and Bérénice Marlohe (the requisite Bond Girls) and director Sam Mendes -- passed through New York recently and spoke with the press about celebrating Bond's 50th anniversary with one of the best 007 outings to date.

Although snippets of the song first debuted in Coke advertisements, people yesterday got their first full listen of the new Bond theme song by Alicia Keys and Jack White. There was a lot of anticipation for this ditty -- the first duet in the Bond franchise's history -- so it's unsurprising that for many it doesn't completely live up to the hope/hype. Radio 1 listeners heard "Another Way to Die" for the first time and, according to the BBC, reactions were "mixed." A Los Angeles Times blog dings the song for relying on elements of the "instantly recognizable Bond theme" for its hooks rather than rather than coming up with anything new of its own. Another complaint is that the singers' voices are "not meshing well". My main problem with it is that I keep wanting to type "Die Another Day", Madonna's similarly-titled Bond song from a few years back.

Finally some good news from the set of the latest 007 movie. Alicia Keys and Jack White are set to record the theme song for the 23rd James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the duo will make history by performing the first Bond song duet. It's not as impressive as Sheena Easton's history making appearance in For Your Eyes Only -- she remains the only singer to appear onscreen to serenade Mr. Bond's credits--but it'll have to do. I'll reverse that opinion if Jack White delivers a credible Shirley Bassey imitation. After all, she's the queen of Bond themes.

Finally, another reason to go to Amsterdam! You know, besides the culture. Cinema Expo is happening this week in the Dutch city of sin, and the studios are unraveling their 2008-2009 slates for an international crowd. Here's what's been lighting up the message boards: