1st half glossy 2nd half gritty

Rating: 8/10 (8 August 2013)

James Bond (Daniel Craig) returns as 007. Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) is the big villain. M (Judi Dench) is under pressure from Intelligence chairman Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes). Bond returns to his past.
The franchise is really hitting its stride with Daniel Craig. The first half is the glossy polished 007. The iconic scene is James Bond jumping onto a half demolished train. He lands solidly and slowly brush off his jacket then he catwalks off. It's all flash. Even when he's shot off the train and left for dead, then he returns as a weakened 007, the movie still churn out it glitzy wares. Then it truly turns as we see the iconic Aston Martin. It turns gritty. We lock ourselves into an isolated English mansion. The only thing I find odd is the Home Alone booby traps. They should leave that improvised weapons to the comedies. Overall, this is a high point of the recent Bonds.