We start in North Korea, where Bond (Brosnan) is undercover on some sort of diamonds-for-arms deal that goes horribly wrong, leading to literally 14 months of torture (perhaps the first Bond title sequence that actually advances the plot!). Once freed, Bond is now suspect--was he brainwashed by the Axis of Evil? But of course, he knows there's a massive plot afoot to take over the planet, and so he heads off to Havana, London, Iceland and back to Korea to catch billionaire madman Gustav Graves (Stephens) and his diamond-studded henchman Zao (Yune). Of course, he picks up two gorgeous and very feisty women along the way (Berry and Pike), each of whom play pivotal roles in the adventure.

Even with this more sober sensibility, the film is a lot of fun, unafraid to flirt with absurd humour and pure silliness, endless double entendre and outlandish stunts that really get our adrenaline pumping (only one looks digitally faked). In fact, the sword fight is one of the best ever put on film--awkward, rough and thrilling. In this sense it's the first Bond film in years that feels like a true classic of the genre. Production values are very high indeed, and Tamahori somehow manages to balance the film's over-the-top elements (a ludicrous hotel built out of ice*) with more believable down-to-earth tension.

These more dramatic aspects of the film make it feel long sometimes--it drags a bit, which is surprising, but usually means characters are being developed more than usual. Brosnan continues to mature as his own distinctive Bond--darker, more complex, not completely trustworthy. And the supporting cast actually get characters who make sense ... within the daft 007 world of course. All seem to be having a great time, taking the story seriously, but only to a point. It's pure class, along with lots of carefully crafted humour that's genuinely sharp and funny. Honestly, nobody does it better! Rob Cohen and Vin Diesel must cry themselves to sleep at night; XXX simply doesn't hold a candle to this.

* Note: Yes, I know there are a couple of actual hotels made of ice in the Arctic. But they're nothing like this, hence my use of the word 'ludicrous'. So please stop writing me about this, ok? See the movie first! --Ed.

"What an awful film. Should have been aware of this; the media hype has been unbelievable as have the supine British reviews. Turkey came early this year." --Peter Blogg, Bristol UK 21.Nov.02