Bond meets Bourne

Rating: 9/10 (14 November 2006)

I confess I thought most of latest Bond movies had devolved into video games disguised as movies--that is until I actually played an EA Bond video game that had a better story (destruction of New Orleans)and character development than any recent Bond film. Kudos to EON productions for recognizing that the franchise was dying (despite the box office returns) and it was only a matter of time before the audience caught up with that (a la "Batman and Robin") And though I wish Pierce could have gone out on a high note (never say never?), Craig's re-imagining of the role works exceptionally well. The action is brutal. Bond is resourceful, but not superhuman. Even the one-liners and girls are there. The difference is that the story matters, and the tension is real. I don't want to give anything away, so let me just say that despite a couple of minor scenes with clunky dialog, it was thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end. There is a romantic interlude that started to make me feel a bit like I did at the end of "LOTR: Return of the King", but stick with it, and you'll be begging for more. For the first time since I was a kid, I found myself gripped by a Bond film. The franchise is back to OO status.