An extremely impressive debut for Daniel Craig

Rating: Null/10 (20 July 2014)

The only Bond film that I saw in the cinema when it was first released, this is a magnificent return to form after "Die Another Day". While that film was, for all intents and purposes, a sci-fi film and an utterly dreadful one at that, this brings the series back down to Earth in much the same was as "For Your Eyes Only" did after "Moonraker". Daniel Craig makes an extremely impressive debut as the sixth James Bond. His newly promoted, inexperienced 007 is a cold, deeply flawed, troubled and, in some ways, quite vulnerable character. In that sense, he reminded me of Timothy Dalton's Bond, particularly in "The Living Daylights". While his Bond is harder than many of them, Craig is still every bit as charming and suave as his predecessors when the script demands it. He very effectively silenced the critics and fans who balked at his casting and labelled him "Bland, James Bland" before he had even filmed a scene.
The strongest main villain in many years, Mads Mikkelsen is excellent as LeChiffre, managing to be both menacing and charismatic in equal measure. Ruthless, arrogant and highly intelligent, he is a wonderful character and the Mikkelsen's performance conveys all of his rather unpleasant characteristics with a level of skill that makes it all seem effortless. He's the most believable main villain since Franz Sanchez in "Licence to Kill" and I loved the fact that, unlike most of his predecessors, he has to answer to someone and his life is put in serious danger by someone other than Bond. Eva Green is absolutely mesmering as Vesper Lynd and I think that you'd have to go back to Pussy Galore or Tracy di Vicenzo to find a better Bond girl. Her chemistry with Craig is electric and, while it was very good before that, the film truly takes off once she makes her first appearance on the Montenegro train and cuts Bond down to size. She is concerned about Bond's ego, with some justification, and refuses to become another notch on his bedpost, making both of these things clear to him in no uncertain terms. She is the strongest modern Bond girl and is in every sense Bond's equal but she seems like a real person. Retreating to the shower to metaphorically wash off the blood after the deaths of Steven Obanno and his accomplice is the most realistic reaction to death that I've ever seen in a thriller, not just a Bond film. As regards whether she genuinely loved Bond, I think that she did as she stopped wearing the necklace that her boyfriend gave her towards the end of the film. Saving Bond's life after he went into cardiac arrest, living her phone behind and ultimately sacrificing herself said a great deal about her character than betraying him. The scenes towards the end of the film which depict Bond and Vesper spending them together are the sweetest and most romantic sequences since "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". If circumstances had been different, I think that they would have been very happy together.
As Desmond Llewelyn was the only actor reprise his role from a previous film in "GoldenEye", the same is true of Judi Dench as M in this film. While she always had very good chemistry with Pierce Brosnan, her chemistry with Craig is on another level. Most of her interactions with Bond are extremely tense and serve as one of the highlights of the film. However, I felt that her phone conversation with Bond towards the end indicated that she does have a certain fondness for him in spite of everything and her interaction with him in that scene had certain maternal undertones. Of the rest of the supporting cast, Giancarlo Giannini is the true standout. He is simply wonderful as René Mathis, playing with role with such style, charisma, intelligence and wit. I can't praise him enough. Jesper Christensen is extremely good as Mr White and, while I have liked if he had more screen time, it is fitting that he did not as it makes both him and his organisation appear more shadowy. Jeffrey Wright is very good as Felix Leiter, making his first appearance since "Licence to Kill", but likewise has too little screen time. Caterina Murino is suitably enchanting as the film's sacrificial lamb Solange Dimetrios while Simon Abkarian is suitably vile as her husband Alex Dimetrios. It was also nice to see Tom Chadbon, Malcolm Sinclair, Christina Cole and Crispin Bonham-Carter pop up in small roles.
The opening sequence is one of the most low-key but also one of the most effective and I loved its quasi-film noir vibe. Eschewing the heavy use of CGI seen in "Die Another Day", the action scenes are done the old fashioned way and the film is all the better for it. I thought that all of them were brilliantly done, particularly the crane sequence in Madagascar and the chase at Miami Airport. However, some of them could have been trimmed slightly as many of them go on for a tad too long. In spite of how important they are to the plot, I had similar concerns about the poker scenes. If you have never played poker and your limited understanding of it comes from watching "Star Trek: The Next Generation", this scenes can get a tad boring at times. I think that they could have cut a good 10 minutes from the film without it affecting the plot, if I'm honest.
In spite of those minor criticisms, I'm giving it a perfect score as this is an absolutely brilliant film which successfully updates Bond for the 21st Century while remaining true to the franchise's roots.