Skyfall (2012)

We have finally reached the end; this, the culmination of an epic journey of Bondiness. I had hoped to see the film a second time before writing this, but given that my wife’s waters broke last night I don’t think that’s going to be an option! It is also therefore perfect timing for the end of Blogalongabond as I feel my blog posting maybe curtailed for a while. So without further ado, here’s what I thought of the film that 22 months of 00heaven have been leading up to.

I thought that the direction by Sam Mendes was top notch; the film was skillfully, subtly and deliberately made. For example there were several slow camera moves that would lead the eye from character to character or location, linking events together. In particular there is a great scene in the club in Macau, where Bond and Eve move around speaking to each other through their ear-pieces; but as they glide around the club separately, they really dance around each other. It’s these kind of moments that help guide the eye through a scene and make viewing a pleasure.

Not only that but Roger flippin’ Deacons was cinematographer! So of course the whole film looks gorgeous. There was a five second scene of 007 slouching on a bed, drinking a beer after banging some random woman, but it really stuck in my head because it was so beautifully composed: the light from the sunset/rise angles through onto Daniel Craig, just enough to illuminate the knackered (notched) fantastic headboard. Quite an insignificant scene, but etched in my head because it looked so fantastic. Of course everything in the final act of the film looked ace too, everyone’s faces lit up with the orange glow of a burning Skyfall.

It goes without saying that the cast are pretty perfect. Daniel Craig continues to be the best Bond; not just brilliant in action scenes and looking great in a Tom Ford suit, but an actual actor to boot. Ralph Fiennes is good as Mallory (an M with a name!), and Naomie Harris does well as Eve. Javier Bardem is a fine villain, the hairpiece alone proves it, though not the terrifying cold-blooded killing machine of No Country for Old Men. Good that he was able to own an island in Cobb’s subconscious though! Despite his escape from the MI6 secret bunker being a cross between Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs and Moriarty in BBC’s Sherlock, his single-mindedness in pursuing M is quite refreshing in the Bond villain hall of shame. No ludicrous “Necklace of Death”, or Sun-focussing death ray, or even playing arms-dealers money on the stock-market; Silva is all about simple revenge.

Speaking of M, let’s face it, this is really Judi Dench’s film. The bond girl isn’t Bérénice Marlohe’s Sévérine (whose trembling lips strangely reminded me of Rodrigo Santoro’s Xerxes in 300); it isn’t even Naomie Harris. No, Skyfall’s Bond girl is M; and Dench is great, finally getting the kind of scenes she has always deserved (though the misogynistic dinosaur bit in Goldeneye was pretty good too). We’ve always know that M has balls (despite her admission to the contrary in Tomorrow Never Dies), and she gets to show it here. She’s quite happy to tell those who consider themselves her superiors or those who are investigating her exactly what she thinks of them, and does her own thing anyway. A wonderful swansong performance from Dench.

We also get a new quartermaster too:

Well something like that. Anyway, Ben Wishaw is pretty good.

The song by Adele is a grower. It’s no You Know my Name, or Living Daylights, or even Live and Let Die. Come to think of it there are plenty of Bond tunes better than Skyfall. However, the song has a melancholy inevitability to it, which is a perfect reflection of the film - especially the startling events of the final act.

I think where Skyfall succeeds is that it doesn’t try too hard, it is almost naturally good. There are still some superfluous scenes, but for the most part everything has a purpose in the film. There are no completely unnecessary car chases, or hydrogen-fuelled exploding hotels, or insignificant characters covered in oil. I don’t think I really have a bad thing to say about it, I’ve only put it 3rd in my list because I think the story in Casino Royale is neater and it was such an incredible breath of fresh air; also I have a real soft spot for You Only Live Twice. A brilliant 007, excellent performances all round, more tremendous action, a straightforward revenge story (though on the other foot from Licence to Kill), and such a crowd-pleasing final scene you wouldn’t believe. All in all, a very fitting end to Blongalongabond.

Blogalongabond will return in... actually it probably won’t this time!

Final order of preference:

Casino Royale, You Only Live Twice, Skyfall, Goldfinger, The Living Daylights, Licence to Kill, Quantum of Solace, Tomorrow Never Dies, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Goldeneye, Live and Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only, From Russia with Love, Dr No, The World is Not Enough, The Man with the Golden Gun, Die Another Day, A View to a Kill, Octopussy, Moonraker, Diamonds are Forever, Thunderball

Quantum of Solace (2008)

A last and a first. The last 007 film that we already knew before Blogalongabond started, and the first ever true Bond sequel. Starting immediately after the events of Casino Royale, we see a battered and bruised Mr White stuffed in the boot of Bond’s car, as 007 tries to track down the organisation responsible for the death of Vespa. Overall QOS is a very fun film; brooding Daniel Craig, tremendous action and enough intrigue to hold your attention. I feel where it falls down is the lack of tangible villain. Of course the bad guy is actually Quantum; essentially SPECTRE for the 21st century. The trouble is, Mr Greene is no LeChiffre.

The very beginning has some lovely touches: slowly zooming into the mountain, intercut with glimpses of chrome, Aston Martin and Bond’s eyes before BANG we’re into a frenetic car chase. Actually this chase sets the tempo for a lot of the set pieces in the film; all of them are very energetic and tremendously exciting. The chase through Sienna, climaxing on the scaffolding is amazing and really brutal. Though further along the line, I can’t decide whether I like the way that the crescendo of the opera is cut with 007 taking out Quantum stooges in Zurich. No doubt it’s stylish, but I’m not sure it really works.

007 is perhaps even more bullish and arrogant than in Casino Royale, and he has no compunction about executing ex-coworkers, special forces or Bolivian Police. Daniel Craig continues to suit this hard-nose character perfectly. Though Jesper Christensen’s role as Mr White is very brief, I thought he was completely brilliant; superbly maniacal as he laughs that “You don’t know anything about us at all!” If only he’d been the main antagonist rather than a wishy washy Mr Greene.

The women are a bit rubbish. Camille isn’t really much of a bond girl (she only gets a kiss right at the end); instead she has her own revenge story to mirror Bond’s, which is a nice twist to a Bond girl’s character. Fields is even more pointless, her only function seems to be so that a nod can be made to Jill Masterson’s demise in Goldfinger. The trouble is, it’s not worth it! All that results is that M has even more contempt for Bond’s style, but I hardly think this is the pinnacle of Quantum’s machinations! The only woman worth her salt is Judi Dench; M is still a hard-ass with some great lines: “When someone says "We've got people everywhere", you expect it to be hyperbole! Lots of people say that. Florists use that expression. It doesn't mean that they've got somebody working for them inside the bloody room! “

The title song is cool, but the credit sequence is far too involved; there is so much going on it’s hard to make out any kind of narrative or symbolism. Worst of all there is no gun barrel anywhere near the beginning, it’s tacked on the end as if it was forgotten about and then suddenly discovered on the cutting room floor. Just in time for some lift music over the closing credits! In fact, I felt that David Arnold’s score was mostly invisible (or inaudible?) throughout the film.

Not as spectacular as the previous film, but still maintaining the gritty, brutal themes of Daniel Craig’s 007; Quantum of Solace continues the quality of the “reboot”. At least for one more film the self-parody is still absent and the realism is still there (unshielded hydrogen cells in every hotel room notwithstanding!). I can just see the brochure for the hotel: Come and visit the Perla des las Dunas. En suite bathrooms, minibar, free wifi, and a serious explosion risk in every room!

Order of Preference so far:

Casino Royale, You Only Live Twice, Goldfinger, The Living Daylights, Licence to Kill, Quantum of Solace, Tomorrow Never Dies, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Goldeneye, Live and Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only, From Russia with Love, Dr No, The World is Not Enough, The Man with the Golden Gun, Die Another Day, A View to a Kill, Octopussy, Moonraker, Diamonds are Forever, Thunderball

Casino Royale (2006)

I have reviewed Casino Royale before, but I felt that re-posting it would be a bit of a cop out for Blogalongabond; and since that review was a lot of synopsis I really had to write another one. Also, of course now I have my wealth of Blogalongabond knowledge to say more! *cough*

Where there were precious redeeming features in DAD, there are few things wrong with Casino Royale. The violence is bone-crunching, Daniel Craig and Mads Mikkelsen are superb, the plot doesn’t pander to the lowest common denominator and David Arnold’s music is again wonderful. In Daniel Craig the producers seem to have once again found someone who can act rather than just “do” Bond; in particular Craig’s scenes with Judi Dench and Eva Green bristle with wit and tension. Danish-born Mads Mikkelsen is brilliant as Le Chiffre, the gambling, knotted rope-wielding baddie. Rather than having any designs on world domination Le Chiffre is actually on the back foot for half of the film, trying to win his money back; and I think that this role-reversal (almost) makes the story all the more interesting.

The first 30 minutes of the film are absolutely brilliant, and some of the best of the entire series. The pre-credits scene depicting James Bond’s (no 00 yet) first two kills is sublime; the clinical straight lines of the office building in Prague clashing with the high-contrast gritty bathroom and the very messy scrap. Added to this is a moment of inspiration using the bathroom as the backdrop for the famous gun-barrel shot.

Straight into some of the coolest credits of the series and a great song by a man with such an ace voice; I’ve been a fan of Soundgarden and Audioslave for years, probably because I think Chris Cornell’s voice is brilliant. The title of the song is perfect too: “You Know my Name”. After a four year break and a change of Bond we don’t have it shoved in our faces - we know who he is, we know what he’s about and we know his name; very apt that the James Bond theme isn’t played until the final scene. Following the theme song there is a spectacular chase in Madagascar as Bond pursues a free-running bomb-maker through a building site; all of which is just amazing.

The only disappointment (other than the frankly baffling way that having directed this clever and sophisticated film, Martin Campbell goes on to direct the confusing, over-blown and frankly boring Green Lantern), is the sound. I don’t ever remember it when I saw Casino Royale in the cinema, but the three other times I’ve seen it (two different DVDs and on a plane) the sound keeps getting suddenly quiet, particularly in action scenes. A quick google tells me I am not alone in this, and that is terribly disappointing; it really spoils what is otherwise an excellent film.

Stunning set pieces, a very smart script/screenplay by Crash director Paul Haggis, excellent performances by the three main actors as well as a wealth of supporting cast make Casino Royale one of the best films in the series.

Order of Preference so far:

Casino Royale, You Only Live Twice, Goldfinger, The Living Daylights, Licence to Kill, Tomorrow Never Dies, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Goldeneye, Live and Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only, From Russia with Love, Dr No, The World is Not Enough, The Man with the Golden Gun, Die Another Day, A View to a Kill, Octopussy, Moonraker, Diamonds are Forever, Thunderball

Layer Cake (2004)

I saw Layer Cake for the first time years ago, and I'd forgotten how cool and slick it was. X-men: First Class and Kick Ass director Matthew Vaughn combines smart camera angles, long steady-cam sequences and very clever editing along with some brutal violence to create a visually striking and very clever film. The plot zips along at a goodly pace, and while it is not as convoluted as some of Guy Ritchie's gangster film, it has enough revelations and twists along the way to maintain the pace.

Another way to make this a really cool film, is to cast Daniel Craig as the leading character XXXX. Here he is effortlessly cool, always calm, and always wearing amazing clobber; I can't help but think that Barbara Broccoli et al saw him in Layer Cake and thought "That's the next 007". Surrounding Craig is a cast that can more than hold their own; Michael Gambon as crime boss Eddie Temple, Tom Hardy as one of XXXX's associates, George Harris, Colm Meaney, and an unrecognisable Sally Hawkins as a drugged-up girlfriend.

A very entertaining film from rising star director Matthew Vaughn. Clearly those days spent producing Lock, Stock & Snatch had a great impact on him, as Layer Cake is his take on the gangster heist; and as a director's debut film he really hit the ground running. Excellent cast, clever use of the camera, smart plot, some brutal violence and all topped with some lovely moments of black humour. I haven't seen Kick Ass yet, but now I'm very keen to.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

In true Hollywood style, as soon as a foreign film does well at the box office, a remake is scheduled so that the great unclean can watch a good story without having to expend any energy by reading subtitles. My initial reaction of “Oh FFS” was tempered when I heard that David Fincher was making the film, and I became intrigued upon hearing that Daniel Craig was to be playing Blomqvist. So it was that I eventually found myself looking forward to seeing the film when it was released.

The opening credits are tremendous. Very Bond-esque, there are lots of stylised tattoo-ink figures amongst other stuff, and the re-hashing of Led Zeppelin’s The Immigrant Song by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross fits really well.



Following all that, there is a general re-run of the original version, but in English. Don’t get me wrong, it is a very good film and I did enjoy it. It’s just, well, was it really worth doing? Rooney Mara is very good as Lisbeth Salander, though she’s almost a bit too pretty to be really gritty; there was just something about her face. Though she had obviously lost a lot of weight for the role her face was still too round and pretty. She’s certainly no Noomi Rapace who was just perfect, and Mara isn’t quite so brutal (though she has a mean swing with a golf club). Daniel Craig is also very good. He is the one thing I think is an improvement over the original. In the books Blomqvist is described as being quite a ladies man; however Michael Nyqvist in the original, has a face like a bag of spanners! Daniel Craig is definitely a better fit for this description, though he did spend a lot of the film wearing his glasses under his chin!

So, while I did enjoy the film I felt is didn’t offer much more than the original Swedish version. It wasn’t really a re-imagining, more a copy. The ending was changed slightly (if I remember correctly), but it’s of little significance. There is also quite an extended epilogue, I think spelling out what was more implied in the original; so those people who thought that Lord of the Rings had too many endings may be bored by this point. I didn’t think there were enough endings in LOTR so didn’t mind the epilogue. Overall it is a very good film, though perhaps redundant. If it ain't broke, don’t fix it.

The Adventures of Tintin, The Secret of the Unicorn (2011)

When Tintin buys a toy ship (The Unicorn) at a market, he soon discovers that he has stumbled into a mystery that traces back hundreds of years. The original Unicorn was deliberately destroyed by its captain, rather than let pirates capture the extraordinary amount of gold that he was transporting. The pirate captain was known as Red Rackham, and now his descendant, Ivanovich Sakharine (Daniel Craig), is trying to solve the riddle of the Unicorn to finally recover the lost treasure. However, Tintin (Jamie Bell), and his faithful dog Snowy, become acquainted with Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis), who just happens to the last descendant Sir Francis Haddock, captain of the Unicorn, and together try to stop Sakharine from recovering the lost treasure.

I have never read any of the Tintin stories before, but that didn’t stop me absolutely loving the film. I thought that it was pure Spielberg, and put me very much in mind of Raiders. Perhaps the plot wasn’t as crazy as Indy, but some of the action sequences, particularly that involving a motorbike, a tank and a falcon were absolutely outrageous; and I just sat that with a big grin on my face, loving every minute of it!

Of course essentially being a cartoon, there were several editing devices that were possible that wouldn’t be in live action (yet - based on this I’ll be interested to see how PJ interprets The Hobbit), including several inspired transitions between scenes/flashbacks etc. Of course great animation doesn’t make a good film, but it was phenomenal; lip syncing, and details around the eyes and hands was all tremendous. What does make a good film is a plot with excitement and intrigue, but without being completely ridiculous, and great characters. Clearly we should thank Hergé for the great characters, and the story; but the combined efforts of Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish and Steven Moffat should not be forgotten. I had feared that too many great cooks may spoil the broth, but that fear was unfounded; the scenes progressed naturally and nothing seemed contrived; well perhaps except for the mention of the Sumatran rat (monkey), which PJ manages to shoehorn in whenever he can. The voice cast are all perfect too; Jamie Bell as Tintin works really well, Daniel Craig is spot on as the smooth Sakharine, and of course only Andy Serkis could be the inebriated and enthusiastic Captain Haddock. A supporting cast featuring Toby Jones, Mackenzie Crook, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, all add to the scope of the film. Oh, and the 3D was fine, though I’d be interested to see it in 2D to see how much it really mattered.

Great adventure, amazing graphics, interesting story, the whole thing can really be summed up in two words: pure Spielberg! Now why wouldn’t you want to see that!

Cowboys and Aliens (2011)

When I first heard about Cowboys and Aliens I just assumed that it was the latest Pixar animation. Finding out that John Favreau was directing it piqued my interest; and upon discovering that Bond and Indy were it I became quite excited. Surely this couldn’t fail? Well, the critics have mostly lampooned this film; but I for one, found it very entertaining.

Daniel Craig’s character, Jake Lonergan, wakes up with a fancy new wristwatch, obviously not of this world. Very reminiscent of Bourne, he can’t remember anything. He slowly finds out that he is a wanted criminal; but before he can be taken away in the sheriff’s wagon, aliens attack! Several members of the community are abducted, including Percy Dolarhyde, son of the influential cattle herder Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). Many of the remaining men from the community of Absolution set off into the wild to track down the aliens and get their folks back. Lonergan goes too, as does the mysterious Ella Swenson...

I really enjoyed the first 20 minutes; the intrigue, Daniel Craig being gruff, the atmosphere of Absolution, the usual kind of Western stuff, I really love that. Once the aliens attack it is obviously less of a western, but the intrigue is still there (What are aliens wanting with these people? What has happened to Lonergan? Who is Ella?), Daniel Craig is still gruff, Harrison Ford is still cool, and Olivia Wilde is still good to look at. The aliens are cool and very well done, not really scary (this is only a 12a), but very well realised, especially since a lot of the action is in daylight.

Lonergan’s character is essentially atoning for his previous mistakes; though because he can’t remember any of it, he is getting a second chance to do the right thing. Daniel Craig is good in this role; thought Matt Damon did it a lot better as Bourne. Harrison is good as Dolarhyde, essentially a slightly villainous Han or Indy, who has some paternal and racist issues to get over. Lonergan and Dolarhyde also have history together which adds to some of the tension in the film. Also featuring in the cast are Sam Rockwell and Paul Dano, both of which are very underused and are capable of so much more. I’m not really sure why they were cast, their characters could have been played by anyone really.

Apart from the history of the main three characters the plot was fairly straightforward but didn’t clip along at the pace that you might expect; I did feel that there were sections where not very much happened. Then after a period of exposition it was time for the aliens to turn up again for some action; it all felt a bit formulaic. I thought that the cinematography could have been better. There were no expansive vistas to give that epic feel; though it was shot in New Mexico, so they could have done so much more.

The film isn’t without its silly moments either, particularly the clichés that have been used so many times before in so many middle of the road action films. Sam Rockwell can’t shoot for toffee, so he practises and practises; mmm do you think he’ll be a dead-shot at a really important part in the climax? “Hey son, take good care of that knife!”; do you think he might really need that knife later on? Despite Dolarhyde getting on with the Indians by the end of the film, it is still the one Indian in the party that sets out from Absolution who is the tracker! Another criticism would be that I never felt that any of the characters were in danger, I never felt that any of the main group wouldn’t make it.

On a more positive note: the music was very cool from Harry Gregson-Williams (the man who brought music to Kingdom of Heaven, Team America and The Tigger Movie - make your own mind up!), it’s very Westerny kind of music but modernised, and it works really well. Overall, I thought it was very enjoyable: a strong main cast, atmospheric, great effects, perhaps not the epic that the title may conjure up, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Dr.No

Having never forked out for a Bond boxed set (they just keep making 'em!) I watched Dr. No on video! Yes, one of those old fashioned mechanical type things with tape in them and everything! What's more it wasn't even a bought video, it was taped off TV years ago when ITV had a "Double O Heaven" season. Still, the quality wasn't all that bad, and it certainly didn't spoil my enjoyment of this classic film at all.

First thing to notice is that there is no title song. This of course makes sense being the first film, the songs wouldn't really get going in terms of James Bond themes until Goldfinger, though I'm certainly not forgetting the mellifluous voice of Matt Munro's From Russia with Love. The credits start with the James Bond theme, before degenerating (sorry) into some sort of Latin drum beat thing over which we see silhouettes of dancing women, soon to become a staple of 007 film intros. This then becomes a reggae version of Three Blind Mice!!! WTF?! Oh I see, the film starts with three "blind" guys. Still, a tenuous link, and a bit of a comedown from the dramatic James Bond theme of a minute ago.

There were two things that really struck me about this film. Firstly, how slick it was. The plot moved effortlessly on, gliding from one one location/encounter to the next. This was all helped by the fact that Bond is always one step ahead of the villains, and of the viewer I felt sometimes! Now I'm no expert in 60s films, but I imagine that in 1962 this slickness could have been quite striking, to me it is reminiscent of Bullitt, which would not be seen for another 6 years.

The second thing was just how perfect Sean Connery is as Bond. He just slips right in there like a hand into an expensive Italian leather shoe. No, just me? Moving swiftly on. It also made me realise that Daniel Craig's Bond is much more of a return to the "Thinking on his feet" Bond rather than the "Rely on invisible cars and explosive watches" Bond that we were becoming accustomed to. I had thought that this was a reflection of the popularity of the Bourne films, but now I see that is how Bond used to be (and he's better this way I think). In Dr. No, Bond is constantly reading every situation, monitoring all the players, and dispatches henchmen very efficiently, hardly breaking sweat; except for when a big hairy spider is crawling up him.

I also think it's great that Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) is no-one in particular (not a secret agent, or a nuclear physicist, or some billionaire's wife who's just being mischievous) she's just out, on the beach picking up shells; Honey: Are you looking for shells too? Bond: No, I'm just looking. That is of course before she gets caught up in all the adventure.

The other two things I thought were great were: the first time Bond says: "Bond, James Bond", it sounds completely natural and not clichéd or unnecessarily shoe-horned in. And also I'd forgotten what SPECTRE was an acronym for. SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion. Fantastic!

Casino Royale

Now before I start, I should state that I think of course Sean Connery was the best Bond. That doesn't mean that I don't enjoy any of the other Bonds; even of late I enjoyed Pierce Brosnan in Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies. However, after the terribleness that was Die Another Day, with some shocking cg, an instantly forgettable theme tune and plot, the world was crying out for Daniel Craig and Casino Royale. Well, I was anyway.

The plot is based around baddie Le Chiffre, a stock market player for the evil and corrupt. He invests money in an airline stock so that when the shares crash (he plans to blow the brand new flagship plane up to guarantee this) he will make a killing. However, when 007 prevents the plane from blowing up, Le Chiffre is $150m out of pocket. He plans to win this back in a high stakes poker game in Casino Royale in Montenegro. Of course Bond is financed by HM government to play in the game and wins all of the money.

Behind the scenes, everything is contrived by a criminal "Organisation", this is all we know it as. So when Le Chiffre kidnaps bond and his female accomplice (Vesper Lynd, played by Eva Green), after some pretty brutal torture, Mr White from the Organisation turns up and kills Le Chiffre, allowing Bond and Vesper to go free. However, as 007 and Vesper fall in love, we find out that the Organisation had previously contacted Vesper and her boyfriend, and the only way the boyfriend will be left alone is if Vesper was planted with Bond with a view to acquiring the poker winnings (I think, all very confusing!).

Anyway, James finds Vesper withdrawing all of the money from the winnings, and this leads to a final shootout in Venice wherein Vesper drowns. But before her death, she did leave a message on her phone to James, giving him the name Mr White and a phone number. The film ends with 007 tracking down Mr White, and saying his name is Bond, James Bond! Quantum of Solace follows on directly from here.

I really do think this is a cracking film. A very gritty begining showing Bond's first kill. Great title sequence with a great song from the man with and incredible voice: Chris Cornell. A tremendous action sequence at the beginning as 007 tries to keep up with a free-running gun-for-hire bomb-maker. A very nicely set up poker game, with enough intrigue in between hands, so we are not just watching a game of cards for 30 mins; and a very interesting plot, not your usual baddie looking for domination over something (world/media/oil).



Gone are all the gadgets, and instead 007 has to think on his feet a lot more; this is a reflection of the popularity of the Bourne series I think. I did like the gadgets (especially in the Sean Connery era), but I think the franchise ended up relying on them too much; on the feet thinking led to a much more fluid story, rather than one that was contrived around some fancy piece of tech. There are a few moments of more familiar bond: telling Vesper that her cover name is Stephanie Broadchest.

Judi Dench is still great as M, being initially indignant at Bond for finding out where she lived, her login for the MI6 network, and her name! But later she is more encouraging, and positively gets behind him in the next film. Daniel Craig as Bond I think is great. He has a roughness to him that a man who will do anything to get the job done should have. He also plays the arrogance part of the character well, as well as managing to be smooth enough when he has to be. I know some people think it's silly to have a blonde haired, blue eyed James Bond, but I don't care, why should it matter? And anyway, Daniel Craig is from the same city as me. Imagine that, I was born in the same city as James Bond! How cool is that?!