Scotch Mist

Rating: 7/10 (26 October 2012)

I tend not to watch long-running franchises like Harry Potter, Lord Of The Rings and the Bond series though in each case I've seen at least one early entry. In the case of the Bond franchise I saw most of the Sean Connery titles and perhaps one of the later Bonds - it may well have been Casino Royale with Craig as opposed to Niven. The new title however has attracted lots of favourable reviews most of which mentioned that Judi Dench enjoyed much more screen time in this one so on that basis I ponied up at the box office. They were right. Dench does have a prominent role and Dench gives the film what class it has. It was slightly disconcerting to see a Greg Wise lookalike as an initial villain when Wise hadn't been mentioned in association with the film and certainly wasn't listed on the opening credits. They appear to have struck a balance between credibility and fantasy and it's far less colorful than the Connery titles when the screen was often awash with color. This time it almost lapses into sepia at times. Nice also to encounter a heavy who is NOT intent on destroying the world and is happy to settle for an individual. All in all a fairly entertaining couple of hours.