What happened in the middle of the film? Poker scene unbelievable

Rating: 3/10 (23 November 2006)

Firstly, I would like to say, if this wasn't a Bond film, I would be giving it a higher mark. First of all, there is no way that Daniel Craig makes a very good Bond. First of all, he isn't good looking enough. The only thing he has going is his (very) blue eyes, which seemed to be zoomed in on at any moment of suspense. And where was his humour? Brosnan, Connery and Moore previously always had a smooth response, especially in adversity, but Craig's sharp lines always appears contrived.
Having said that, the first half hour of the film is very good. Plenty of action, and everything is set up for an interesting story. and so to the poker section of the film. To someone who knows about and plays a lot of poker, the players on the table appear to be complete amateurs even though they're supposedly playing for $15 million each. The CIA man at the table offers Bond his re-buy of $5million because he himself is 'leaking chips', but a real player would always back themselves to come good. And the final hand is something you would see every 25 years playing every day. but that is just me being picky I suppose.
The love story seems to develop from absolutely nowhere, and really isn't very interesting at all. There just didn't seem to be any chemistry.
All in all, a reasonable (if over-long) film, but classic Bond it certainly ain't.