Unsympathetic characterisation mars this for me

Rating: 6/10 (29 December 2006)

I have seen all the James Bond films - and this is to be numbered among those that I am in no rush to see again, rather than among those I love.
The reason is that the James Bond of this film is a sadistic thug - and nothing more. There has always been something appealing about the previous characterisation of James Bond, but this James Bond is a killing machine without any redeeming characteristic.
It has been said that Daniel Craig marks a return to the harder-edged cruelty of Sean Connery. I disagree. What made the Sean Connery characterisation appealing to me was that it was also larger-than-life and witty - as well as being cruel. And that undeniable cruelty must also be seen in context - Domino in 'Thunderball', for example, sees James Bond as someone who treats her as a gentleman would, in contrast to the way Largo treats her. The cruelty of the Sean Connery James Bond can therefore relax into tenderness when that James Bond perceives there to be no threat to himself.
Other James Bond outings have had their own appeal. But it is a mistake to make too many comparisons between Craig's James Bond and the Bourne films. The Bourne films contain both excitement and a character one can sympathise with - a killer who is repentant enough to seek forgiveness from the daughter whose parent he had had to kill.
Perhaps I shall be able to find something I like in this James Bond characterisation. The film may be faithful to the original book and character of 'Casino Royale' in many respects, but I beg to differ from both critical and popular opinion on this one at the minute. Ian Fleming's James Bond is not a particularly likable character, but previous characterisations combined his immorality and amorality with qualities one could relate to and an appealing superhumanness. Perhaps the series creators should also reflect that durable screen tough guys like Humphery Bogart had things that this James Bond characterisation lacks - wit, warmth and humour.