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Originally Posted by vibin247 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
After watching it a second time on DVD (since I liked it the first time and thought it merited a rental from Blockbuster), I thought Craig did a great job as the new 007. Yes, he doesn't have the charismatic, sophisticated swagger of the earlier Bonds, but he does have the cold, sharp attitude that really defines the secret agent appeal, something I think that Timothy Dalton tried to embody. Sure, it's a very modern remake of the original, but I think the newness is more fresh and appealing, especially since it's targeted for a wider audience (at least there's the Aston Martin DB5 that springs up the image of Connery in Goldfinger). The chemistry between Craig and Green is dull, but I suppose they couldn't find a better match with looks and talent. Dench is great as Bond's superior. She kind of adds that harsh maternal quality.
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IMO the lack of the "charismatic, sophisticated swagger" and the presence of a "cold sharp attitude" is the point of the movie, and Daniel Craig's blunt ferocity for the first two-thirds of the movie is exactly why this is one of the best films of the year. This is a newly-assigned 007, one who's still green, who's still more of a hard-guy thug, who only has two professional kills under his belt. "James Bond" the legend is under construction, a work in progress over the course of the film. The other actors who played 007, even Sean Connery, all gave us stagnant performances. They portrayed a man who was a flat 2-D caricature, who never really had any humanity to him—never grew and never changed. Daniel Craig's Bond is changing & in motion, moving towards becoming his iconic self. It blew me away.
That is why the actual 007 theme music is only hinted at, progressively more and more, over the course of the movie. The very first time the soundtrack hints at the 007 theme is almost halfway through the movie... when he first puts on the trademark tuxedo and examines himself in a mirror. Slowly, slowly, he's becoming the guy we know as "Bond"
And so it's only at the end where he finally puts on a suit and charismatically waylays Mr. White to claim Britain's money when he FINALLY introduces himself as: "Bond. James Bond." And then, finally, the 007 theme hits full-on for the first time in the entire movie. I got chills.
This is the best Bond film ever made.
But of course I wanted more... I do want a film where the 007 theme is actually used in action scenes; I want to see what Daniel Craig's Bond has become... It felt like a cliffhanger ending even though it wasn't.