I wasn’t sure they could top Casino Royale, and I”m not sure they did, precisely. What they did with the new Bond movie is continue the story from Casino Royale without missing a beat or dropping the intensity. I won’t give too much away, but I will say I was damn impressed by how smoothly this transitioned from the first film. As a fan of the original Ian Fleming novels, I’m also amazed at how they were able to recapture the sense of no-nonsense (there is no Q, and very few gadgets) bad-assery in a post Cold War world. Make no mistake, this Bond doesn’t quip, doesn’t waste time mugging for the camera. These are serious professionals.
That said, some lessons learned.
- Do not build a building out of hydrogen fuel cells. You’re just asking for trouble. Oh, the humanity.
- If someone implies that they’re watching you, for god’s sake, don’t get up and storm out of the opera.
- Never, for any reason, pull over at a Bolivian traffic stop.
- Oh, and don’t give James Bond a reason to want you dead.
I don’t think it’s as good as Casino. (The initial chase scene in Casino is one of the coolest things in cinema.) However, I feel it is a better than average Bond film, possibly in the top 25%. Also, the quips are there, it’s just that the delivery is dryer than a martini.