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Point the first: Don't mess with the classics. Whatever else, they shouldn't have changed the opening, with the techno riff on the Bond theme, Brosnan being all up-close and recognisable, and the bullet flying into the camera. A pox on them.
Next: Surf Ninja craziness in Korea, and the world's most expensive claymore mine. Keen.
Then: The theme tune. Oh my giddy god, the theme tune. What was up with that?
After that: Well, most of the action was good enough that it numbed the pain of the god-awful dialogue, which is as it should be in a James Bond film.
The 'twist' wasn't especially twisty, although the identity of the mole might have been less obvious if they hadn't been touting a Jinx spin-off for the last six weeks.
The CGI surfing scene in Iceland, was not only painfully flagged (supercar bonnet? That looks an awful lot like a shortened surfboard to me!), but painfully bad. I think the spray-free closeups of Brosnan might have been some kind of homage to the bad CSO skiing scenes of the Roger Moore era, but the long shots had the worst and most obtrusive CGI work since <i>every</i> fight scene in Blade II.
Gadget car duel: Very nice indeed.
General gadgetry: Pretty neat, although the invisible car was frankly silly. The 'no one will see me sneak in in my invisible car' scene was odd. I mean, couldn't they hear it? That's a big engine in that car. Also, not sure why he didn't pop the roof and drag her in, rather than smashing the window so that the central heating wouldn't work no more; especially since he'd already used the glass-breaky ring once.
Superweapon: Top notch. A little Diamonds are Forever-y, but basically solid. I mean, biological and chemical agents, secret codebreakers and fancy computer tricks are all very well, but there are two supervillain accessories that you just have to respect: nuclear weapons, and orbital death rays.
Villains: Solidly professional, at least as far as these things go. I mean, obviously the true professional doesn't faff around with exposition and subtle ice-palace death when he has a big solar laser at his disposal, and just stabs the NSA agent through the back of the pilot's chair, but at least - unlike, say, the villains in xXx - they weren't perpetually stoned, drunk or too busy watching the gratuitous writhing employees to get on with the actual world domination.
Plus, a really good villain/hero face-off in the incredibly angry swordfight.
So.
- A solid 9/10 for the superweapon
- An 8 for the villains.
- Let's say a 8 for the additional plot contrivance - the DNA replacement clinic, which would be a 6 except for the wonderfully creepy doctor (donors who won't be missed, indeed)
- Only a 6 for originality - the whole thing plot having shades of Diamonds are Forever, homages aside.
- 7 for the gadgets - points off for the invisible car sillyness; points on for the car duel.
- 9 for the action, and so close to a 10 but for that CGI surfing.
- A generous 6 for the dialogue.
- A 4 for the music, that appalling theme tune sadly dragging down the score.
- The acting nets a 7. Some good work, and no one cracks up, which is impressive.
- Finally, I'll give 6 for the Bond girls, neither of whom seems too pathetically enamoured with Bond - I mean, it's a huge plus that neither of them coos 'oh, James', in a simpering tone; or not in earnest anyway - and who get one of the better and least exploitative chick fights in recent film history, despite the silly top. The score might be higher if not for the increasing drippifying of Samantha Bond's Moneypenny, who originally showed a little backbone.
All of which makes a grand total of 70% on this particular arbitrary rating scale, which certainly means something.
Next: Surf Ninja craziness in Korea, and the world's most expensive claymore mine. Keen.
Then: The theme tune. Oh my giddy god, the theme tune. What was up with that?
After that: Well, most of the action was good enough that it numbed the pain of the god-awful dialogue, which is as it should be in a James Bond film.
The 'twist' wasn't especially twisty, although the identity of the mole might have been less obvious if they hadn't been touting a Jinx spin-off for the last six weeks.
The CGI surfing scene in Iceland, was not only painfully flagged (supercar bonnet? That looks an awful lot like a shortened surfboard to me!), but painfully bad. I think the spray-free closeups of Brosnan might have been some kind of homage to the bad CSO skiing scenes of the Roger Moore era, but the long shots had the worst and most obtrusive CGI work since <i>every</i> fight scene in Blade II.
Gadget car duel: Very nice indeed.
General gadgetry: Pretty neat, although the invisible car was frankly silly. The 'no one will see me sneak in in my invisible car' scene was odd. I mean, couldn't they hear it? That's a big engine in that car. Also, not sure why he didn't pop the roof and drag her in, rather than smashing the window so that the central heating wouldn't work no more; especially since he'd already used the glass-breaky ring once.
Superweapon: Top notch. A little Diamonds are Forever-y, but basically solid. I mean, biological and chemical agents, secret codebreakers and fancy computer tricks are all very well, but there are two supervillain accessories that you just have to respect: nuclear weapons, and orbital death rays.
Villains: Solidly professional, at least as far as these things go. I mean, obviously the true professional doesn't faff around with exposition and subtle ice-palace death when he has a big solar laser at his disposal, and just stabs the NSA agent through the back of the pilot's chair, but at least - unlike, say, the villains in xXx - they weren't perpetually stoned, drunk or too busy watching the gratuitous writhing employees to get on with the actual world domination.
Plus, a really good villain/hero face-off in the incredibly angry swordfight.
So.
- A solid 9/10 for the superweapon
- An 8 for the villains.
- Let's say a 8 for the additional plot contrivance - the DNA replacement clinic, which would be a 6 except for the wonderfully creepy doctor (donors who won't be missed, indeed)
- Only a 6 for originality - the whole thing plot having shades of Diamonds are Forever, homages aside.
- 7 for the gadgets - points off for the invisible car sillyness; points on for the car duel.
- 9 for the action, and so close to a 10 but for that CGI surfing.
- A generous 6 for the dialogue.
- A 4 for the music, that appalling theme tune sadly dragging down the score.
- The acting nets a 7. Some good work, and no one cracks up, which is impressive.
- Finally, I'll give 6 for the Bond girls, neither of whom seems too pathetically enamoured with Bond - I mean, it's a huge plus that neither of them coos 'oh, James', in a simpering tone; or not in earnest anyway - and who get one of the better and least exploitative chick fights in recent film history, despite the silly top. The score might be higher if not for the increasing drippifying of Samantha Bond's Moneypenny, who originally showed a little backbone.
All of which makes a grand total of 70% on this particular arbitrary rating scale, which certainly means something.
Posted: 10:06 Dec 02 2002 
