It's amazing what story and good acting will get you

Rating: 10/10 (23 November 2006)

The beginning of the end for the Bond series was when the schtick began to overtake the story. Though generally entertaining, guys like Roger Moore, Dalton and Brosnan didn't have the swagger or acting talent to save the series from its descent into a parody of itself. Story took a back line to expensive casting. Acting took a back seat to looks. Gadgets and high dollar special effects were left as the only leg the series had to stand on, and in this era of excess, that leg wasn't a very strong one.
Daniel Craig is a workmanlike actor. He doesn't look the traditional part of Bond, yet this in itself makes him a shrewd choice to breathe new life into this franchise. He brings back to the Bond character the sobering fact that the man is a killer, and that his legendary confidence didn't come without its dark side. From the start, this movie dives right into a gritty, brutal groove. What tongue-in-cheek is salvaged is delivered with the sort of finesse Connery once brought this role. Real emotions and drama make their way back into the franchise, and the high dollar sports cars, tailored suits and designer martinis gain life in the backdrop, rather than serving the dominating effect of past efforts. The performances all around are commendable. Craig plays Bond without a care to what came before, yet with such confidence there is no doubt he is Bond. A brutal, headstrong, arrogant and yet troubled Bond, a dark Bond, the sort of Bond that might have been forged into the man he eventually becomes. If the Bond franchise is to be saved, this film was exactly the sort of remedy required. Bond has returned as a vital, interesting character rather than a glorified comic book hero. It works so well. While I can't say with assurance this is the best of the franchise, I find myself very hard pressed to name its superior. It certainly makes the Bond movies of the last three decades almost forgettable, and it has me looking forward to the next installment of a series I assumed all but dead many years ago. To all involved, a triumphant job!