Tedious non-Bond

Rating: 6/10 (21 November 2006)

Not that I didn't like parts of it. The opening action scene despite going on almost too long, was expertly crafted, with a nice Parkour demonstration - but not by Bond I have to add. From then on the action switch was either fully on or off. When it was on it was good, but the interim scenes for some reason seemed to drag interminably, maybe because of the distinct lack of a decent Bond girl, or dry humour, I couldn't put my finger on it. But then the movie didn't contain an ounce of suspense, I couldn't have cared less about the characters, even if I did know what they were up to. Bond sports a perma-pout throughout the film that would put even Posh Beckham to shame, although I have to say I do approve of Daniel Craig as Bond, it's a shame for him the writing for the movie sucked. The poker game although central to the film went on tediously long, and found myself wishing the whole film would end on more than one occasion, so I could get out. Dull, tedious and not a James Bond film at all, more of a non-descript actioner with crass product placement (thanks Sony Vaio). They should have cast Patrick Swayze and called it The Shooty Gambler or something. Boo.