A new kind of Bond movie

Rating: 6/10 (4 December 2006)

I write this the day after I saw the movie and without reading any other comments to avoid being biased and yes I checked the "contains spoiler" box although it is more of a warning to the type of movie this is.
First of all the best part of it: The leading man Daniel Craig. This is how I imagine a sophisticated character of an international secret agent would be. Tough and intense one moment but polished and seductive when needed.
Certainly more believable than previous characters running in the countryside in their three piece suits. But then again when did reality figured in the Bond movies?
If I think about it as a movie not from the Bond series, I would say it is good example of the spy-action genre. Therefore not the kind of movie I usually pay to see myself. But James Bond? I always go to see 007, the habit started way back and is now a ritual.
So my point is: If you want to see a usual Bond movie this is not it.
Moneypenny and Q are not in - and this is the least of it. Gadgets are -mostly- not in. Bond humor is not in (although the "Do I look like I give a damn" is priceless). Just when I though "at last a car chase" it lasted less than a minute. They filmed in Venice and there wasn't even a power boat chase! (Remember Roger Moore and the hovercraft gondola?) And even if the palazzo was magnificently sunk underwater, it does not compare with the usual utter destruction of the evil genius' lair.
Above all it is the violence that didn't work in the stylized way of the Bond movies. Here is close and "dirty", not the exploding boat - dead in the water - painted gold kind of killings.
As for the torture scene... too realistic. I still shift in my chair when I think about it. So parents keep that in mind before you allow your teens to see it.
To be honest Bond movies where a bit repetitious in the past few years. All I described missing were done so many times already. And I certainly don't miss the creased pants, impeccable tie, combed hair in the thick of the action kind of hero. I just wish the changes were one step at a time.
So there you have it: Action movie, less vintage Bond in the recipe. I thought is was good overall, but not the movie I expected.