A deconstructionist Bond which comes a cropper

Rating: 7/10 (17 April 2007)

The first two-thirds are superb, a world above all other Bond movies. Even though it's only fluff, not serious cinema, the film boasts dialogue which would improve the so-called serious films of our half-literate day.
The first action scenes are thrilling, but best of all is the dialogue, which makes you want to listen to every word, out of fear of missing something funny or wise. The first conversation between James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), for example, is a gem, and so is the first part of the poker game, the best part of the movie.
I agree that Daniel Craig is slightly off-key as Bond - he also seems a bit old for a neophyte - but he's more than adequate. As for Eva Green, she's an actress not only beautiful but smart, as is her choice of roles ("Dreamers", "Kingdom of Heaven"), and it's fitting that she's almost the best of the Bond girls, simply because, in a sense, she's *not* one of the Bond girls. (Diana Rigg was the best Bond girl, for the same reasons.)
The trouble with the movie starts after the poker game, with a standard denouement and a substandard action sequence which, while clever in concept, disappoints in execution.
A definite must-see, but only for the first two-thirds.