Disappointing to say the least

Rating: 5/10 (15 November 2008)

Banal intro; banal music; stylized and uninvolving action sequences; no real mean villain; and several lost threads in the story. Daniel Craig is still very good, as is Judy Dench, but this is a Bond movie breaking with many traditions. Bond breaks from his shaken, not stirred Martini, from dropping his name, and from a sense of humor (though the sequence where he picks Mathis' wallet is exceptional in terms of dark comedy). As anyone will tell you revenge is pointless -- nor can it be anything else in a Bond movie or the censors will wield the big scissors -- so in the end this is also a pointless movie and one that feels oddly dishonest. Water and oil really do not mix, especially in the desert.