Saturday, 29 November 2008 12:47 am
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deckardcanineMy family observed our sort of tradition of watching the latest Bond movie the day after Thanksgiving. (One year, we watched Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery on what the network called "Shagsgiving." I wonder what it is about the timing.)
We had mixed reactions. My mom agreed with a local reviewer that they had taken out every fun franchise trapping (mainly just gadgetry); found the plot too hard to follow, especially early on; and was unsatisfied with the depth reputedly added to Bond's character. My sister wished there were more sexy Daniel Craig moments, apparently her main reason for being excited to come.
But on the whole, the six of us liked it and consider it worthy of its current IMDb rating in the low 7's. It isn't too low on action like Casino Royale, but the superlative intensity of some chases and fights is mercifully not constant either. It offers a colorful opening credit sequence to rival CR's, with better music to boot. I knew to expect no gadgets, I've been ready for hard plots since GoldenEye (okay, that was mainly just unpredictable), and just having an emotive and occasionally sentimental Bond is good enough for me. Agent M has probably never been more fun.
Let's face it: Every Bond film is highly flawed. I've seen 14 of them, and the rest don't have great reputations. When an attempt at reinvention comes along, you can keep the past films in mind, but don't hold them as expectations. Just go and see what happens with your emotions. Accept that this one was not meant to be the next Goldfinger, despite at least one blatant tribute to it.
We had mixed reactions. My mom agreed with a local reviewer that they had taken out every fun franchise trapping (mainly just gadgetry); found the plot too hard to follow, especially early on; and was unsatisfied with the depth reputedly added to Bond's character. My sister wished there were more sexy Daniel Craig moments, apparently her main reason for being excited to come.
But on the whole, the six of us liked it and consider it worthy of its current IMDb rating in the low 7's. It isn't too low on action like Casino Royale, but the superlative intensity of some chases and fights is mercifully not constant either. It offers a colorful opening credit sequence to rival CR's, with better music to boot. I knew to expect no gadgets, I've been ready for hard plots since GoldenEye (okay, that was mainly just unpredictable), and just having an emotive and occasionally sentimental Bond is good enough for me. Agent M has probably never been more fun.
Let's face it: Every Bond film is highly flawed. I've seen 14 of them, and the rest don't have great reputations. When an attempt at reinvention comes along, you can keep the past films in mind, but don't hold them as expectations. Just go and see what happens with your emotions. Accept that this one was not meant to be the next Goldfinger, despite at least one blatant tribute to it.