Ian Fleming's James Bond

Rating: 9/10 (24 November 2006)

Daniel Craig reinvigorates a fagged-out franchise that's been laying on bigger stunts and sillier gadgets to disguise the fact that it's run out of ideas. And he does it with an actor's skill, an athlete's grace and a dangerous glint that puts you on notice that Bond, James Bond, is back in business. This actor is made for this role he IS Bond, the Bond that Fleming envisioned 53 years ago. I wasn't with the Craig bashers a year ago, because Craig had already a fine status in both film and the theatre. However it was hard for me to believe that the producers could bring the Bond franchise back on track, well they did.
Dame Judi put her power on hold in the lightweight Brosnan films, but with Craig she comes out blazing, knowing she's found an actor who can give as good as he gets. And Eva Green ? She's far beyond any Bondgirl ever. She acts very well. A scene in which Bond and Vesper attempt to guess each other's past histories trumps its comic zing with romantic gravity.
The Craig bashers were afraid he would put their hero to his final death. It's the other way around. This actor would have Fleming's final blessings saying the words: "My name is Bond, James Bond".