Largely Really Bad

Rating: 1/10 (5 November 2012)

First off I would like to state I am a big fan of James Bond films, Goldeneye and Goldfinger are the two best one's in my opinion, and Casino Royale was very good also. Having said that, this film was so bad that I actually walked out of the cinema at the end and vowed to not watch the next one, not out of spite, but because I think it will be just as bad.
This is the worst bond film that was ever made, I didn't like Quantam of Solace but at least it had some entertaining action scenes. I actually created this account like some other authors on here, just to express my distaste at such a bad film.
The positives: Daniel Craig was an excellent actor in this and did a great job. I thought the new Q actor in the film was good, the bond girl (if there was one) was good for the 15 - 20 minutes that she was actually in the film for before disappointingly being killed. Judi Dench also put in another fine performance.
The negatives: Almost everything else was terrible. The plot was weak and disjointed. Naomi Harris may have been good in other things (I remember her doing a fairly good job in 28 days), but was truly awful in this. It would be hard to imagine anyone in the future ever doing a worse job of MoneyPenny.
MoneyPenny is supposed to be a secretary that is usually flirtatious, naive, fairly attractive and have a very small role. Instead she opted to take centre stage as some kind of secret agent, who attempted to be a spitting image James Bond in just about everything she did. I personally did not think she was attractive, but I would understand if anyone disagreed with me on that. Nevertheless she was not right for the part (you couldn't have picked anyone worse), and the worst worst thing about it is she is almost certainly going to be in the next one.
There was no chemistry between bond and any characters in this (except Judy Dench for a short time). And all the things about James Bond we are not supposed to ever know, are supposed to have almost all solved.
This film had 0 originality in it also. It was so unoriginal that I might as well have paid to watch snippits of all the films it had ripped off (I would have enjoyed watching that so much more!). I could almost name in every scene which film the scene had ripped off.
I am absolutely startled that any reviewer could consider giving this above 5 stars. And why there were so many positive critics about this. I usually love most films more than most people, but this was terrible.
After this criticism it is only fair that I say what could have been done better. Bear in mind, that I am not a producer so what could be done to make a great James Bond is a little beyond my pay grade.
1. A bond girl who actually lives for at least most of the film, and has some chemistry with someone. 2. A more original car, or at least some sort of original device in it which you would not usually get in a car (on a basic level even if it is just a electric board that resusatates your heart. 3. A better, more dramatic, more believable near death scene. 4. A better moneypenny actor and better moneypenny script & character type (this is so easy to do), and she shouldn't be in the film much at all. 5. A better car chase (again I understand why some may like the car/motorbike chase in this film), but I still think a much better one is needed. 6. Better plot - So much work is needed on this though 7. Better Villains (not another former MI6 agent), something more original. Jaws & Oddjob were brilliant, perhaps someone who previously had some association with bond to build chemistry would have worked. 8. Originality 10 fold increase at least. 9. Some elements of surprise 10. Something that gets you off the edge of your seat a bit more. Violence, Romance, Comedy, Tension or Emotion in isolation or a mix of some sort. 11. Probably a lot more things also, but that's all that is in the top of my head fresh after seeing it.
1 star is a bit harsh on this film - it perhaps deserves 2/3 stars in my honest opinion. But given the budget, the critics saying: 'best bond ever', 'best Bond opening ever' and the time it took to produce this was truly awful. I also want to lower down the 8.2 star rating on here, as this is at least 5 stars to high.
Apologies for any bad spelling/gramatical errors, and an apology if I upset anyone who liked MoneyPenny in the film. I'm sure Naiomi Harris is good in other things (such as 28 days), but she is not made for this role at all. I thought there was other poor acting/scriptwriting for some bodyguards for instance also.