Still Bond but not brilliant

Rating: 7/10 (7 January 2007)

From the opening scene you know this is a different Bond film to one you've ever seen.The filming is entertaining,with a very good pace.It does however force the point you feel of how different it is and runs for about 20 minutes too long.
As with all Bond films the plot is not of the utmost importance...but here it is anyway.Bond has just become 007 and must now compete in a high-stakes poker tournament against Le Chiffre.There are of course many gripping tosses and turns in-between to keep us entertained.
The acting in this film cannot be faulted.Mads Mikkelsen makes a stand-out turn as Le Chiffre,Craig makes the character of Bond his own(not particularly easy) and Judi Dench makes acting look easy as M.The scenes where we have Bond and love interest Vesper Lynd(Eva Green) in one on one situations did on occasion made me cringe.Not so much the fault of the actors but the script.This is what took the film down a notch particularly coming up to the finale.
The main success of the film is Martin Campbell's direction.As with Goldeneye he re-invents Bond and leaves us with a good film.Without him this film would not be anywhere near as good as it is.
Overall not as amazing as some people claim it to be but still well worth seeing.When the main talking point of the film is Bond getting his balls whacked you should know it's not going to be a classic...