Kevin Donville

Not a perfect Bond, but better than most these days. Solid "C+" effort. The Good: I actually liked the story concept and the main character arch. Portraying an explosion to actually cause someone to be stunned was refreshing. The "I'm off the grid" concept was understandable too. The Bad: The portrayal of M was nonsensical. And you can tell Fiennes feels so too. His performance seems strained and painful. Moneypenny didn't need to be there. Who was this girl again? Why do I care about her? Oh, that's right... I don't. The Ugly: The actress of the new Bond... I can't tell if she was mis-cast, or if they just didn't give her anything to work with. The villain ... was there a villain? I mean, honestly? We didn't care... at all. AT. ALL. And he was about as scary as a crossing guard. Summary: It's fairly weak fair that's pleasurable enough to sit through, but not something you're going to be going on and on about for ages. It's got just enough to keep it from being terrible, but it keeps trying to get there despite its best efforts. The supporting characters AREN'T supporting and the story arch has about 3 characters too many in it to make it engaging. It tries to tie up loose ends to satisfy the fan base while creating new ones to open doors for new ones... and fails at both, leaving both audiences unsatisfied. I'm glad I went to the theatre to see it, but I'd rather not have paid full price for it. I saw it in IMAX "Laser" Dolby -- which I think made the visual nature of the movie and story-telling a little more impactful.