Maybe not the best Bond, but it sure beats Octopussy & Moonraker!

Rating: 7/10 (13 November 2008)

I picked a horrid, wet English Thursday afternoon to catch the latest Bond movie in my local cinema, and, whilst not maybe being the best Bond movie of all time it was certainly entertaining enough to brighten up the nasty old afternoon that was going on outside! At first I was a little put off by the start - no familiar figure firing a shot into the camera lens - but it soon become clear that what we were watching was the immediate continuation from Casino Royale. Here I found myself praising the director and writers for treating us with respect, no 10 précis of what happening in the earlier film, they knew its core audience would be au fait enough to be up-to-speed with events, and soon we were into the excellent title sequence (and, yes, I like the song!), then - WHAM!- the action begins.
The action sequences are, as one might expect from a Bond movie, outstanding, although I felt that one or two of them went on for a little too long - even Bond needs to pause for breath once in a while! As for the story line, I found that a little on the weak and often muddled side - I thought that maybe the revenge mission Bond had set for himself occasionally got in the way of the main story line of destabilising a country for its oil, or not as the case maybe. The villains here did not seem as evil as say Blofeld, and the mystery organisation certainly could never touch SMERSH for pure nastiness! That said the story did keep the movie going at a real pace, and the relatively short running time (for a Bond film at least) whipped by.
One thing I did find fun was spotting the inter Bond references - the most obvious one being, of course, Goldfinger (here more like Oilfinger!) Others, like Live and Let Die (the coffins in Port Au Prince - yes, yes, I know the "funeral" in Live and Let Die took place in New Orleans, but what the hey!), the Diamonds Are Forever with the lift fight, and a couple of others that escape me at the moment! This may not be a Bond to rate with the true greats of the series like Goldfinger, From Russia With Love or, dare I say it, Casino Royale, but it is certainly much better than the Bond of dross like Octopussy or Moonraker. Personally I would place this Bond alongside those enjoyable, if sightly forgettable, ones like Live and Let Die, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (the most underrated Bond) and Diamonds Are Forever.
A final point, a friend of mine hadn't been to see a Bond movie since the early 1980's and was waiting all film for THAT famous line "The name's Bond...", but... Hey, maybe next outing for Britain's finest!