It is apparently the first sequel of all of the British spy’s adventures on film, and is also surprisingly short.

The audience is immediately thrust into a high-speed car chase, with the film opening as James Bond (Daniel Craig) zips in and out of traffic on a winding road in Italy’s north on his way to meet his perennial task-setter M (Judi Dench).

This is merely a few hours since Bond lost Vesper Lynd (in previous film Casino Royale) – the only woman who had captured his heart – and M is genuinely concerned for him but Bond stays true to his steely persona and buries his feelings, even though he carries Vesper’s knotted necklace with him throughout the film.

Craig’s portrayal of Bond has the secret agent become more of a fighter than a lover but he has kicked some life back into the classic films which had, for some time, become soft and riddled with cliches.

Craig is a serious Bond. He goes about his duties with an aim to get the job done.

He beds some beauties along the way but it doesn’t sway his dedication to the task.

He rejuvenated the Bond persona in Casino Royale, made him more tech-savvy and not afraid of getting his hands dirty. And Craig is classy.

The latest Bond sees a return to the old-school films and the plot, albeit simple, is set among stunning backdrops in Italy, Haiti, Austria and South America.

And, as you’d only find in a Bond film, he is found by just the right person to lead him to the core of his mission.

This time it’s Camille (Olga Kurylenko, pictured with Craig) who literally stops outside Bond’s hotel and orders him into her car.

The two embark on a pursuit for Camille’s part-time lover Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), whose environmental organisation is a front for a water-boring conglomerate.

There are several incredible action-packed sequences. In one particularly engaging scene, Bond channels Spiderman, scales roofs and leaps from balconies to catch someone.

Bond’s journey is somewhat personal, and in the end, he finds what he was looking for.

He shows an unexpected vulnerability and a drive to move forward.

Craig’s Bond is much more real and one gets a sense of the tiresome and demanding job he has, no matter how fabulous it may seem.

He’s a raw Bond we’ve not seen before.