Ian Fleming's Bond

Rating: 10/10 (20 November 2006)

That is what this movie is all about, re-booting the Bond franchise and reviving Bond as he was meant to be... and showing us how he got there. Those who love Bond movies, and I do, should immediately identify this as a flawless masterpiece in the series. The length of the movie might bother some, but me - i hardly noticed. What I noticed were the cool touches and nods marking a change and renewal.
* Male vocal at the start with clothed male shadows, not a female vocal and nude female shadows. Btw I think the song was cool too.
* Showing how becoming 00 is not easy
* The opening chase sequence - it said a lot to me. Action movies these days are a lot about the kind of moves the running bomber showed. Bond is different - he can keep up and do it his own way - direct and smart.
* Smart, impetuous, emotionless when killing but driven by anger. Bond's a rough uncut diamond and in this movie he's put under a grinding stone.
* Even the car was realistic - an Aston Martin DBS that rolled and shattered like any other cars
* In fact this movie reset the whole franchise to how it should always have been - centered on people, with gadgets as peripheral
* smart and sexy women, a true counterfoil to Bond, not props
* Bond getting beaten up. Real spies win as many times as they lose. And they are not supermen. Die Another Day started this way, but then lost its way. Casino Royale never sets a foot wrong.
Finally I couldn't help noticing, as the movie wound to an end, the references to a shadowy powerful organisation. Just wondering aloud - are they bringing SPECTRE back?
Recreating Bond like this was a beautiful masterwork, how'll they treat Blofeld and his minions? I wonder and hope that things don't meander again...