Hey, its OK!

Rating: 7/10 (20 November 2008)

Some observations (as Gareth Keenan would say)...
Well, this is a decent movie but I'm not at all sure how it is "by some margin" (according to Barbara Brocolli) the most expensive 007 movie made. I mean, for one thing it's a good 45 minutes shorter than the average Bond movie and for another, no major set-piece apart from the last one is actually *that* major. Oh sure, its all guns guns guns and lots of rapid cuts of Daniel Craig rolling around amid showers of broken glass but I'm still wondering...where da money go Boss? But then, this is Casino Royale part 2, and as such works quite well even if it feels more of an appendage or extra limb to Martin Campbell's superior entry. But it's still a bloody good action film. (over) edited to within an inch of it's life and replete with stunning stunts and thrills. Craig and Dench are almost a double act in this one - she seems to pop up all over the place as though second guessing his every move. Which is an amazingly generous use of her time considering he's just this new agent, just starting out, apparently...
And yes, the plot is slight and feels under-developed but its not that different from any other Bond film. Basically, any film company that continues to employ two hacks like Neil Purves and Robert Wade (the literary genuius's behind "The World Is Not Enough" and "Die Another Day") gets what it pays for. Which is a damn shame because things started to look up a bit in 2006...
But see this for film what it is - a lean and hungry return for the best Bond actor since Connery in a rather dull storyline. By no means the ball-drop the critics would have you believe but not the greatest either. A decent modern Bond film that keeps up in the air the ball "Casino Royale" first kicked but doesn't exactly have any juggling tricks.