Cold, flashy and devoid of character.

Rating: 6/10 (11 July 2016)

Men's lifestyle and luxury magazine rolled into one and made into a movie, the product placement and formulaic cinematography works as a sedative that sets the tone of the movie throughout, in danger of falling asleep.
We don't really wake up until 2/3 of the way in with restrained James facing torture by painful methods but by this stage the film has taken too long to set the pieces in motion, a story that struggles to link the villains of the past to the current plot which is just as good for an excuse to make one slick looking film.
The dilemma may be an existential one for James. Death follows wherever he goes, it's just part of the job, and the women manage to fall easily onto his lap . But has he ever thought about retiring or getting a different job? The thought may have crossed his mind between the shenanigans in his moment of inner silence to realise that the bling and the blood won't save him for being without a plan. Deep thoughts, but when you are this good at portraying the modern lifestyle the question may as well remain a rhetorical one. It's not that Bond has nothing to say, he just prefers not to.