I was a bit put off by how regularly he pouts but generally he brings a gravitas to the character that it benefits from. He convinces as a heartless killer and has the presence that suggests that he could do ruthless damage if he had to. With all the fanboys tired from bemoaning Craig, it is nice to actually see for ourselves what he can do and mostly he is very good. Those expecting this self-styled 'reboot' to provide a depth and emotion that isn't there will be disappointed but regardless this does the Bond formula well fans will enjoy it and those that were turned off by Die Another Day will find it a welcome return to darker territory. So we have superhuman stunts, gadgets (albeit a practical self-defibrillator as opposed to a mini-helicopter) and the usual types of characters going the way we expect. Of course this isn't to say that the series has suddenly put out an introspective character piece, because the world of Bond is all still here. After this the film develops nicely with a solid plot that engaged me easily enough, with interesting characters along the way. Casting free-runner Foucan was a great move and this sequence was the high for me. The film then immediately marks itself out as a step away from the previous film by launching on a great action sequence that is as overblown as the series requires but yet is all the better for seeming real no ropy Die Another Day CGI here. Opening with a gritty, short and violent pre-credit sequence, the film moves through a cool title sequence with a typically Bondian (if only so-so) theme song.

And, in fairness it seems financially to be working for them but this is not to say that the drastically scaled back feel of Casino Royale is not a welcome change of direction for the series, because for me it most certainly was. After the poor CGI and overblown (if fun) affair that was Die Another Day, the series was at risk of just throwing more and more money at the screen in an attempt to exaggerate and increase the Bond formula to keep fans happy. Removed from the mission by M, Bond nevertheless follows the only lead he has to Miami where he finds himself working round the edges of a plot by criminal Le Chiffre to invest his clients money in the stock market just before an engineered event should send shares in a direction favourable for him. The mission could not go worse as Bond kills the man in an embassy in front of CCTV cameras.

Having just achieved his 00 status, James Bond is assigned to uncover a plot by tracking a bomber for hire.

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