The latest James Bond outing is a fun, if stale, formula piece which offers up little originality and yet has such a polished, flawless sheen that you can't help like it to a degree. Ideas were very thin on the ground here and the plot is a very loose one involving various traitorous characters swapping sides and shouting at each other a lot. It's all very confusing and to be honest not very interesting - mainly because none of the actors and actresses on screen appear to be getting into their roles, instead looking simply bored.
Pierce Brosnan has settled into the role nicely, but his portrayal here is nothing short of lazy. He is also let down by his supporting cast - although to be fair the script isn't really interested in giving depth to our characters, instead preferring to have them as one-dimensional stereotypes. Sophie Marceau was hyped up as the newest femme fatale yet I think she seems out of place and miscast here - she's too sophisticated to be a realistic villainess. Robert Carlyle makes the most of his over the top villain, but he is barely on screen and the script gives him only a few lines.
Various other supporting characters pop up, including Judi Dench, who looks even more out of place than usual when she gets trapped behind bars; Desmond Llewellyn is as mischievous as ever as Q, poignantly in his final role, and Robbie Coltrane overacts for all he's worth as a greasy Russian swine. The usual familiar British actors also pop up, including Michael Kitchen and John Cleese. But it's Denise Richards who stands out, for all the wrong reasons, as one of the most wooden Bond actresses out there - until Gemma Arterton came along in QUANTUM OF SOLACE, at least.
What this film does benefit from are a couple of show-stopping action sequences, especially the opening boat chase over the River Thames which is the best that Bond has ever been. Unfortunately, things lose their way a bit with a terribly clichéd and unbelievable ski chase and a silly moment where Bond and co defuse a bomb while flying down a pipe (!). Thankfully a moment where helicopters with circular saws demolish Bond's car and a building makes up for these minor mishaps. The ending feels rushed but is pretty good too. Altogether, this is not the best Bond I've seen, and I'd rate it alongside something like THUNDERBALL.
Pierce Brosnan has settled into the role nicely, but his portrayal here is nothing short of lazy. He is also let down by his supporting cast - although to be fair the script isn't really interested in giving depth to our characters, instead preferring to have them as one-dimensional stereotypes. Sophie Marceau was hyped up as the newest femme fatale yet I think she seems out of place and miscast here - she's too sophisticated to be a realistic villainess. Robert Carlyle makes the most of his over the top villain, but he is barely on screen and the script gives him only a few lines.
Various other supporting characters pop up, including Judi Dench, who looks even more out of place than usual when she gets trapped behind bars; Desmond Llewellyn is as mischievous as ever as Q, poignantly in his final role, and Robbie Coltrane overacts for all he's worth as a greasy Russian swine. The usual familiar British actors also pop up, including Michael Kitchen and John Cleese. But it's Denise Richards who stands out, for all the wrong reasons, as one of the most wooden Bond actresses out there - until Gemma Arterton came along in QUANTUM OF SOLACE, at least.
What this film does benefit from are a couple of show-stopping action sequences, especially the opening boat chase over the River Thames which is the best that Bond has ever been. Unfortunately, things lose their way a bit with a terribly clichéd and unbelievable ski chase and a silly moment where Bond and co defuse a bomb while flying down a pipe (!). Thankfully a moment where helicopters with circular saws demolish Bond's car and a building makes up for these minor mishaps. The ending feels rushed but is pretty good too. Altogether, this is not the best Bond I've seen, and I'd rate it alongside something like THUNDERBALL.