Explosive pens?

Rating: 9/10 (26 October 2012)

This is brilliant. No other way to describe Sam Mendes archetypal and utterly brilliant Bond vision. His skills as a dramatist come to the fore, so that the action moves along at a frenetic pace, but never rushed. The homage to what's gone before is handled so well, he makes you smile and reminisce and enjoy a feature that does everything you want it to very well.
The action sequences are riveting, the story is thin (but this is Bond), some of the acting isn't all that. But these are minor details in a most absorbing Bond tale. Adele's theme tune sets the scene very well after a pretty good chase through Istanbul, London has never looked sexier, let alone the far East.
It's Bond-by-numbers essentially, but that's a damned good thing in this case. As well as the Bond reverence, Mendes has messed about with some recent classics, so you should spot Raiders of the Losr Ark, Silence of the Lambs, the 39 Steps, and Apocalypse Now at least.
This is everything you want a Bond movie to be. Great stuff.