I am still trying to figure out why some Bond fans dislike this movie. I think it's nearly perfect. It has everything terrific about the franchise -- some real espionage (the plot isn't handed to Bond all at once, as in some of the inferior entries), it hangs together (no real dangling set pieces), it's great to look at, it has some dynamite explosions, some really sinister villains, an amusing ally, and very sexy women. Underneath it all, in this first post-Cold War Bond, is an examination of what the post-Soviet world of espionage and crime might really constitute, as all of the characters struggle to find their place in it. One telling scene takes place in what amounts to a Soviet graveyard -- a junkyard of old statues of Lenin and other Soviet icons.
The female lead, Izabella Scorupco, is especially notable. As computer analyst Natalya, she witnesses the mass murder of all her co-workers in a blaze of mayhem. Unlike the spy smoothies we're used to, Natalya weeps, screams, and mourns, before showing the steel she needs to rescue herself and eventually team up with our hero. I very much like how, in those early scenes, she's dressed as a computer analyst and not as a glamour girl. Her beauty shines through and later she gets a bikini.
The great cast includes Judi Dench, Robbie Coltraine, Sean Bean, Alan Cummings, Famke Jansen, and Joe Don Baker. 10/10
The female lead, Izabella Scorupco, is especially notable. As computer analyst Natalya, she witnesses the mass murder of all her co-workers in a blaze of mayhem. Unlike the spy smoothies we're used to, Natalya weeps, screams, and mourns, before showing the steel she needs to rescue herself and eventually team up with our hero. I very much like how, in those early scenes, she's dressed as a computer analyst and not as a glamour girl. Her beauty shines through and later she gets a bikini.
The great cast includes Judi Dench, Robbie Coltraine, Sean Bean, Alan Cummings, Famke Jansen, and Joe Don Baker. 10/10