James Bond Writ Large

I went to see the new Bond movie this weekend, and came away impressed. It's dark, witty, suspenseful, and twists and turns like kudzu growing on abandoned monkeybars. (There was even a fantastic scene with famous parkour star Sebastien Foucan.)
But, little did I know it was really the way things work. Here are stories from today's newspaper:

• About the Saudi Royal family secretly making arms deals with the Swiss (Saudi arms deal inquiry closes in on secret papers)
• About an almost-morally poisoned British citizen and ex-KGB agent investigating the murder of a Soviet reporter who was investigating Vladimir Putin (Intrigue Swirls in Ex-K.G.B. Man’s Illness)
• About a Pakistani cleric was asassinated for being an "American spy" (Cleric killed for ‘spying’)

Update:

Excellent review of the film from the New Yorker, made better by the fact that it doesn't give anything away.