Good but not great

Rating: 5/10 (15 November 2008)

I've got to say, i rather like Daniel Craig as Bond, with his dry wit, strong resolve and he certainly looks good on screen. The last two films have gotten back to basics and tried to build on his character, explaining exactly why Bond behaves the way he does, and full credit must go to Craig for delivering impressive performances in both.
There's much to like about Solice, sadly, there's plenty to dislike as well. Parallels drawn to the Bourne series are inaccurate and more to the point a little insulting to the Bourne films. The hand held camera work in Bourne provides a gritty realistic edge. But in Solice, all of the action scenes are not only hand held, but less than a second per cut. I'm all for judicious use of quick cuts to get the heart racing, but when you're forced to sit through 10 minutes of it, you get disorientated and are left wondering what the hell happened.
I'd have given both the director and editor a hefty dose of Temazepam to chill them out, or (preferably) the sack. Same goes for the theme tune, which let's face it is terrible.
There are too many locations and the links joining them are weak. Often, time seems to be the only force driving the film to its conclusion as the script gets a little lost from time to time.
However, Craig, Dench and Giannini all turn in good performances. Some of the scenery is spectacular, i enjoyed the expansion of Bond's character and given the franchise, i found the ending surprisingly poignant.
6/10, not the worst Bond film by a long shot but fails to keep up the standard set by the impressive Casine Royale.