Yeah well, I don't know...

Rating: 7/10 (2 December 2006)

New actor, new style, new controversies...orthodox 007-movie lovers already started crying as soon as they saw the color of Craig's hair. Ridicoulos view of things, if you ask me. I saw quite a few interviews before I watched the movie yesterday and people like Martin Campell, Daniel Craig, Eva Green and some producers as well talked about the new style, the new Bond: Vulnerable, with flaws, harder, more realistic, closer to the book. Great, I thought, and where is the 007 in all this? On one hand, I like broken characters. I like hard human heroes. I like it, when a man, who has to be the perfect tool, aches and breaks under this weight.
On the other hand, I always liked it when Bond mostly on his own dashed into the crazy villain's head quarter, fought the bodyguard, the villain, destroyed everything and rescued the girl to have sex with her right afterward. I'm a movie guy, I haven't read a 007 novel.
So now, I'm not sure what I should think about the new Bond. It's a good thing to add some depth to the action hero but does James Bond need depth? I guess it's everyone's choice, whether if they embrace the Craig-Bond or miss the old days with funny gadgets, impossible stunts and the necessary joke afterward.
I personally found myself in a mixture of the good old "Die Hard"-times along some candy-for-the-eye-moments and some of the best realistic stunts ever made. Remember, realistic is flexible. And then, don't forget the depth.
I was near hurling when I watched "Die another day". It seemed that director Lee Tamahori imitated Mel Brooks. With that in the back of the mind, some improvement surely happened. But I personally wish for the golden middle between "Casino Royale" and "Die another day". And I want Q back.
There's not much to complain about the handcrafts in this movie. All the actors do a good job, the action is decent, the plot is full and plausible, the settings are, as usual, gigantic post cards and camera, light, cuts, everything works good.
I'd give a 6.5, if possible, but a 7 is also adequate.