Disappointing, and I'm not a Bond fan.

Rating: 3/10 (9 November 2008)

In a sentence; it just rolls off the momentum of Casino Royale. All of the ambiance and elegance is completely lost. This supposed and promised motive of Bond's is entirely unconvincing, making the hollow screenplay an utter mess in an attempt to mesh the contrasting themes (that being, 'Bond vs. current Villain' and 'Bond and his personal interest'). Also, the villain's fiendish plots are hardly realized making it extremely uninvolving. The action scenes are exciting at the time, but not strong enough to create any striking images. There's also limited excitement since the protagonist is unquestionably and apparently immortal. Daniel Craig is a great action hero; as long as he doesn't say anything. Although this is a half-good thing, considering the character, he fails at creating any convincing chemistry. Amalric manages to be subtly sinister in himself but as a character he's never given a chance to truly become any kind of a threat for Bond or the government or the public. It seems to plod sub-characters in there for no other reason than to amplify the transitions of the previous ideas and formulas of the series; which was uneffective. Although I shouldn't expect any less, the dry humour is thoroughly unwelcome and distracting. In the end, wholly unsatisfying.
3/10