Far from

Rating: 8/10 (8 January 2007)

I've always had a somewhat schizophrenic relationship to James Bond. One part of me thinks he's the ultimate cool. The other part defines him - and particularly the majority of the films - as corny. So when everyone claimed that "finally, here is the ultimate 007, back to the roots", that first part of me thought... "so there will be no cool one-liners?", and the second half answered "wonderful, there will be no corny one-liners!...
Anyway, this is a hell of an action movie. Martin Campbell's direction is super-tight, and the editing by Stuart Baird is absolutely first-rate. There are a number of truly spectacular action set-pieces here, my favorite being the extremely hectic airport sequence. David Arnold, who wrote his first Bond score ten years ago (time flies!), adds a lot of excitement with traditional but extremely effective action music (and the love theme is such a beautiful nod to John Barry's most beloved 007 songs).
Finally, we have mr Craig - Daniel Craig. Yes... he is p-e-r-f-e-c-t. Those cool/corny one-liners Roger Moore and Remington Steele (oops) delivered have been replaced by subtle glimpses in the eye and by intelligent dialog. Thank you, Daniel Craig, for curing my 007 schizophrenia - we are now one whole who knows that James Bond is an elegant action hero and one that deserves a place in the 21st century!