This is the last time Daniel Craig will be Bond, James Bond. And I have to admit, it’s time. Craig was a great Bond, masculine and wry, charming and stoic. But he’s clearly past the age for Bondian feats of derring do. These require too many rooftop jumps and car ejections for a man as age-hardened as Craig. Then there’s the girl. Played by Léa Seydoux, this love interest is supposed to be an accomplished psychiatrist. Unfortunately, Seydoux looks about half her 30-year age, which makes her seem improbable as either a psychiatrist or a match for Craig. This disconnect makes it a little harder than usual to turn on the ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ required to enjoy a Bond film. And the attempts to show an emotional softening of Bond through hints about his childhood and an embrace of ‘true love at last’ further erode the film’s fabric—they should stick to what Bond movies do best: entertaining explosions, chase scenes and intrigue, as the super spy foils a sinister master plan to control the world. And, in this movie, to quash MI6’s ‘double-O’ program, of which 007 is the most renowned product. Christoph Waltz is engaging as the arch villain, and Ralph Fiennes makes a wonderful M.
Should You See It? Of course! —D.W.
Viewed at Galleria 6 Cinemas