Flat...not the cleverness we're all expecting

Rating: 6/10 (16 November 2008)

I really liked Casino Royale, which was got me into the theater to watch this one. What I came to find was that it was an hour into the movie and I was still waiting for it to start, and more importantly, to start making sense. The revenge story on the girl's part was clichÃ©d and predictable, and the revenge story on Bond's side was not fleshed out enough. It was like they visited certain plot points by giving them a few lines of dialogue, but really we were just being transitioned from one action sequence to the next. And to further the frustration, there wasn't the clever villain that we've all come to love in Bond movies, but rather just some vague business deal being done by shady business men. I'm okay with no gadgets and a more serious Bond feel, in fact I prefer it, but there needs to be more focus in the story if the filmmakers are going to take the blinders off by removing all of the larger than life elements that are usually characteristic to these movies.