"What did you expect, an exploding pen?"

Rating: Null/10 (4 December 2012)

Bond returns after being presumed dead to find MI6 in peril from a man with a (big) grudge against M.
Fans of the series won't really care about the plot and its holes; it's all about the explosions, pretty girls, high body count, and 007's cleverness. Daniel Craig's emotional repertoire consists of pursing his lips and squinting his eyes - he's no Sean Connery (who, by the way, would have been great as Bond's trusty, Scottish gamekeeper). We do get much more of Judi Dench as M and she's wonderful. Javier Bardem is good as the crazed villain, but his blond hair keeps him from being truly menacing.
My biggest problem was with the plot which is quite narrowly focused on offing M, rather than the traditional 007 storyline of massive weapons of mass destruction aimed squarely at the West. It was okay but didn't have the gravity of some past Bonds where world domination was at stake.
The movie delivers nonstop action scenes and that's what James Bond is all about. 7.5 stars.