Daniel Craig's fourth James Bond adventure sees him shed his reputation for dourness and lighten up, swaggering through a movie that revels in the series' illustrious heritage.
Daniel Craig's fourth James Bond adventure sees him shed his reputation for dourness and lighten up, swaggering through a movie that revels in the series' illustrious heritage. Everywhere you look, there are nods, nudges and witty allusions to 007's past escapades - from a mountaintop retreat that recalls the Alpine lair in On Her Majesty's Secret Service to a bruising fight aboard a speeding train worthy of From Russia with Love. The plot is not that special, sending Bond on another globe-hopping quest in pursuit of the shadowy criminal organisation that has been dogging his previous three missions, while back home Ralph Fiennes' M battles Andrew Scott's smarmy government man, who's eager to scrap 00s and replace them with drones and satellites. However, the spectacular action set pieces make it so extravagantly entertaining that it's best to just go with the flow. Craig is in his element, Ben Whishaw is terrific as geeky Q, refreshingly down-to-earth even when he ventures out into the field, Christoph Waltz is the underused bad guy, Monica Bellucci is a widow Bond gets close to and love interest Léa Seydoux is smart, sexy and very handy with a gun.
