Quite confusing in places, but possibly the best "Bond" film ever!

Rating: 8/10 (31 December 2006)

I am not an avid fan of the James Bond franchise, so when I went to see the film just before Christmas, I didn't know what to expect. The critics were raving about this film (spearheaded by British celebrity Jonathan Ross) and rightly so.
You could say the whole business about "restarting" the Bond franchise was a good idea; after the masterful Sean Connery left the series, it began to go downhill with every film filled with clichés and very predictable plots (the franchise was saved, possibly, by Pierce Brosnan in Goldeneye). It needed a knew start. I was still a bit confused about the character Felix Leiter returning, and the marketing slogan "Bond's first adventure", when I discovered that everything was modern and the film was set in the present day. But the knew Bond (Finally another English Bond!), Daniel Craig is brilliant. He is much more grittier and ruthless than all the other Bond actors put together, who mostly deliver their performances with predictable one-liners and by waving their Walter PPKs around in a "threatening" way without actually using them (the Kate Beckinsale quote "I think if you're going to kill someone, kill them, don't stand there talking about it all day!" {Van Helsing}). He is a very good actor and plays Bond with Gusto (on top of that, I don't agree with, or care about any of the crap the press have made about him). The Bond girl, Eva Green, is okay, with a more reluctant approach towards Bond, and the villain is good (Mads Mikklesen, who should have kept his real name for the character!). Judi Dench delivers an excellent performance as ever.
The plot is admittedly a bit advanced (this could be a good thing however) and you do begin to wonder who is killing who, but if there is one thing that makes this film stand out above all other Bond films (in this case, only matched by Goldeneye) it's the action. The action sequences are first rate! It may stand out above all other Bond films to the point where it isn't actually a Bond film any more, Daniel Craig may have mixed views from the press, and although it isn't my favourite film, it is still a bloody good one. Daniel Craig is certainly the best Bond since Sean Connery, and it could, just possibly, be the best Bond film ever! 8/10.