Great reboot of a classic franchise

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2006)

For sure one of the best Bonds and one of the most exciting action movies ever made. The Madagascar chase in particular was thrilling, but all of the action sequences were extremely well-choreographed and well-edited, so that the audience doesn't get lost, as can be the case with many modern fight scenes. The hand-to-hand fighting is much more exciting than the typical shoot-em-up gunfights. I didn't mind the doing away with many of the 007 conventions, as I understood that this is a reboot, and Bond hasn't become Bond truly yet. Furthermore, the film didn't completely reinvent the Bond franchise, it just toned down the formula a bit. All of this makes it a more realistic - but still stylized - and thrilling action flick.
I found the pacing was off sporadically throughout this, though, especially at the end, with the numerous false endings. Pretty much everything after the torture scene felt off; it didn't really drag, but it didn't jive with the rest of the film. That said, the aforementioned action scenes and the surprisingly exciting poker scenes more than made up for it. The villain's death was quite sudden and somewhat anti-climatic, but the final twist was genuinely surprising and led up to a great finish. The dialogue was quite sharp throughout - Bond's quips were top notch, and the banter between him and Vesper was entertaining - and the story was interesting, though there were a bit too many bad guys. Still, a solid screenplay.
The acting was pretty good, with Daniel Craig making a great case for the top Bond. He'll have to do a couple more films before being accurately compared against the others, but he was fantastic in this. Not quite as suave, but both comedic and dramatic. I still think Connery was better, but Craig was pretty damn good. Eva Green was a great Bond girl, but wasn't as hot as some of the others. For some reason, she looked much better without any makeup on. And the villain was pretty good in his limited role.
So, overall, a great reboot for the Bond franchise, akin to Batman Begins. While it's not quite as good as that was, it's still a thoroughly exciting and thrilling action flick, with great performances and a solid story. There were some pacing issues, but I suppose that comes with being the introductory film to a new franchise. I have confidence the next one will be even better, just as From Russia With Love was to Dr. No.