Absolutely excellent film.
I wasn't so sure for the first 15 minutes or so, but I really started getting into it after that. That whole poker game chunk of the movie was very well done. (I do have to shed a tear over that car, though.
) It's a very different Bond than I've ever seen before, and I think it's hard to compare this film to any of the previous ones, but I greatly enjoyed it. I also liked the role that Judi Dench had in this one; just like Bond, M was much more humanized. Like other people said before, the lack of gadgetry and flashy save-the-world plot really focused things in on Bond's character and how it developed; he was a very different person at the end of things than when he started out. The actress who played Vesper was terrific too; for a while there, I could have sworn that she would turn out to be Moneypenney. Overall, I like this breath of fresh air for the franchise, and I can't wait to see where it goes next.
And yes, the torture scene kicked all kinds of ass. Balls of steel, indeed.
Multiple endings? Da hell? I didn't get that impression at all, and I certainly didn't find it overly confusing; everything got squared away when all was said and done. The only gripe I had with it was the fact that my bladder was absolutely bursting at that point; all I wanted to do was get out of there and in front of a urinal ASAP. (Damn oversized movie sodas.
) I absolutely loved Bond in that final scene, too.
(And, for the record, Return of the King only had "multiple endings" if you never read the story to begin with. For those of us who did, the way it finally ended was the only way it possibly could have.
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