Long Time Coming

Rating: 10/10 (20 November 2006)

This one stays with you. I was a huge Bond fan growing up and remember seeing You Only Live Twice at a drive-in theater in Jersey when I was 8 years old. Not since Connery got thrown around by the Sumo Wrestler on that awesome Ken Adams office set has a fight scene worked so well. And Connery's unflappable god-like presence still lingers like the holy grail of cool for all time. Craig is brilliant as Bond, finally creating that explosive mix of vulnerability and ice-cold efficiency we've been missing for the past 40 years or so. The challenge for film makers has always been how to "get inside" Bond, but the last few decades have only given us the accessories. When the familiar John Barry theme (the original arrangement) smashes in at the end of the film for the first and only time all night, you realize it's been a long, long time coming.