After the more serious focus on character and motivation in SKYFALL, director Sam Mendes again lets the movie’s motivation drive the human side of James Bond (Daniel Craig). The plot is convoluted paranoia about worldwide surveillance, but it’s not especially threatening (neither is villain Christoph Waltz). There are international locales, but none are special. The woman aren’t memorable and the love scenes are underplayed. With the proliferation of action flix these days, it’s hard to make the action exciting or inventive. None of these deliver much new and some even evoke earlier Bond movies. Craig is steely serious and has almost no dialogue with the typical 007 smirk. At a running time of 148 minutes, the momentum winds down well before it’s over. There’s the typical franchise flash, but little of it ignites much fire or fun.
(2.5 / 5)
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