New Bond cuts the mustard

Rating: 8/10 (17 November 2006)

Just seen this film on its first release day in the UK (thurs 16th Nov)
I was 100% convinced by Craig's performance as 007, and he had clearly stuck to the books portrayal of the younger agent on his first mission. This movie is closest to The Living Daylights for equal measure of action and plot movement, with a few more twists toward the end. Craig bares the most resemblance to Dalton in his approach and execution.
For me the tension wasn't fluid enough, though the intensity did reach high, sweaty palmed levels, from the early foot chase to the nicely played out poker game.
A highlight of the film is the immaculate use of location shooting, Bond is renowned for globe trotting and this film does it beautifully. On a personal note, i would have preferred to see more use of the new Aston Martin DBS (or even better the 1964 DB5 which makes a cameo) instead of all the man-2-man fisty cuffs, especially since the trade mark gadgets are thin on the ground.
Without dissecting too much this Bond is a high action adventure movie with enough Bond traits to satisfy the most demanding Bond fan, and don't worry, the barrel sequence hasn't been eliminated!