This is a new direction, no question

Rating: 4/10 (19 November 2006)

Just saw the movie. It definitely is a change of direction for the franchise and the series, appealing to a different viewer than the first 20 Bond films. In no particular order: (1) Unusual opening that didn't feature a great chase sequence to some sort of surprise; (2) No "R" (John Cleese), with the only gadgetry of the life-saving nature...no Moneypenny for that matter; (3) No megalomaniac/rule the world type of singular enemy; (4) Bond isn't a ladies man, nor are they particularly interested in him; (5) No significant car chase scenes (the airport struggle was creative, however); (6) A lot of vulnerable moments for Bond; (7) the infamous lines are skipped (shaken, not stirred) or deferred (Bond, James Bond); (8) the comic relief is minimal, delayed until at least 1/3-1/2 way through, and some of the jokes are missed altogether due to their lengthy development; (9) the famous Monty Norman music is largely ignored and delayed until the end, almost as if an afterthought or an annoying prerequisite (although the up-tempo music used in the beginning was interesting); (10) Bond falls in love, something not really seen since On Her Majesty's Secret Service, where the reasons were far clearer; (11) Craig plays a rougher Bond, even topping Dalton in this regard, and a bloodier Bond (although he heals remarkably quickly and illogically between scenes); (12) Judi Dench is showing her age and really is an almost-cameo character who, in this film, distrusts Bond; (13) there are excellent foot chase scenes; (14) a lot of the verbiage is missed as it's close to if not "under the breath" (I recommend turning subtitles on when it's out on video), particularly at the black and white type of beginning when it was crucial to get on board as to the plot; and (15)it's long, seeming to miss a natural ending about 1/2 hour before the actual ending. Plot-wise, it was confusing to this long-time Bond film watcher that Craig was bestowed a "double O" status in this show when Dench was in the film, when it was more logical to skip the fact that this was the first book and merely portray it as continuing the Bond legacy with a new episode and still another actor in that role. The standpoint that was taken felt similar to the making of "Never Say Never Again" which was reportedly an attempt to improve "Thunderball." Craig didn't gain instant acceptance as Bond with this viewer as Moore and Brosnan did, who were in familiar detective roles pre-Bond (The Saint and Remington Steele, respectively), so the jury is out for him like it was for Dalton. More importantly, the significant structural changes might just well relegate future Bond releases to DVD watching.