Fast pace too much for tired Bond.

Rating: 6/10 (11 November 2008)

The last two Bond films have had Bond at the end of his emotional tether. on the point of resignation (or even termination) from the Service. Daniel Craig is a fine actor, but his virile good looks mock the worn - out spy image, despite the efforts of the make-up department. He seems to make a remarkable recovery from each set of injuries he receives.
This film is a sequel to "Casino Royale" - indeed the story follows right on with a pre-credit sequence of a hairy chase along an Italian lakeside road. The Aston, car lovers will note, is only slightly damaged and Bond motors on to Siena, and arrives in the middle of a horse race. A thrilling rooftop chase, the best in the movie, ensues, then to Austria, Haiti, Italy again and finally to action sequences in Bolivia (actually filmed in Chile). There are two problems with the action. First, there is little escalation of tension. Everything happens so fast that it becomes a blur. Second, this is compounded in places by running two different action sequences at once and intercutting them, which adds to the confusion.
The storyline is the usual conspiracy of world domination, this time through locking up water supplies, but the chief villain played by the fine French actor from the diving bell Matthias is not very prepossessing. Olga the new Bond girl, pretty as she is, doesn't make much of an impact either. Judy Dench as M however has a better part than in "Casino" and makes the most of it.
Visually, the new Bond movies are still great to watch, at least if you like demolition Derbys. But dramatically the content has become very thin. There is hardly an original line in the script, let alone an original idea. Others have noted the similarity with the Bourne movies (which had some of the same production team). The first Bond film, "Dr No" appeared 45 years ago, and I still remember chunks of it. This film is not likely to last so well.