"Bond". "James Bond". um-mm... "M" and the "bad guy" too.

Rating: 7/10 (11 February 2013)

Do not get me wrong. This is a fantastic movie. Totally worth the admission ticket. And worth watching again by purchasing another admission ticket the same week. But I cannot really call this a Bond movie. When I watch a Bond movie, I want to see a movie which is about Bond. I should be rooting for Bond the entire time seated at the edge of my seat and wishing for bad things to happen to the villain in the hands of Bond. What I really look forward to is watching a movie that builds up with unexpected surprises and finally culminates in Bond totally outwitting the bad guy. I need to feel impressed by Bond. But this movie was a third about Bond, a third about M and a third about the villain. And was the villain really a villain? I didn't think so. I rooted for the villain towards the end of the movie. I felt all three were supporting characters that complimented each other and in the end I couldn't figure out if Bond was the "hero" of the movie. This is not like any of the Bond movies ever made. It totally stepped away from the Bond formula and presented itself as an action drama. Yes I enjoyed the movie but I missed Bond and the theme music.