Mendes should have started with this one..

Rating: 8/10 (28 April 2015)

This movie is obviously a sequel to Casino Royal and it is supposed to deal with theme's as 'revenge' and 'forgiveness'. At the same time it is the prelude to what comes next in 'Skyfall'; a new direction in which Bond's past and personal conflicts are dealt with in a more thoroughly way. Material, actually suited for Mendes.
This movie stands out in the way action-sequences are shown, even more fast and entertaining then in Casino Royal. On the other hand there is a tormented, hungry-for-revenge and slowly-coming-to-terms kind of Bond who only could be played by Craig, who shows himself a real layered actor in this Bond movie. And the relationship with M is further deepened, which paves the way for it's conclusion in Skyfall.
But what makes this movie unfortunately 'average' is the fact that those insightful moments about Bond's catharsis, scenes where really good actors could give really good scenes, that those moments are way too short, leaving me with hunger for more and not getting it. If the director only would have been more daring...And he could. He would still have fulfilled the commercial needs, since the action-sequences are so revenge-driven kind of brutal and aggressive - they complement Bonds arch is such clever, physical way - that longer moments of reflection would have been balancing this movie perfectly.
Despite all this, i love this movie. My fantasy, knowing Casino Royal and Skyfall makes ends meet in this hopeful 'in between' episode.