Sam Mendes to direct Bond 23

American Beauty director Sam Mendes is in talks to helm the new James Bond movie, with a 2011 release looking likely. So, what odds on 007 suffering a midlife crisis and knocking one off in the shower?

Remember the Bond series? It was great, then shit, then great again, then shit again, then briefly great again around the time of Casino Royale, and now it's shit once more, thanks to Quantum Of Solace.

Despite Daniel Craig's second outing as Bond boring critics to tears, it thrilled easily-pleased audiences and made a buttload of coin. Therefore, plans for Bond 23 have been well underway for a while now, with Frost/Nixon writer Peter Morgan on scripting duties, along with Bond regulars Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Contain your excitement.

Danny Boyle was previously floated as a potential candidate, but was presumably dismissed because producers didn't fancy a scene with Bond shooting up or drowning himself in liquid shit. Now, however, The Hollywood Reporter are claiming that director Sam Mendes has been roped into negotiations and is looking likely to chair the next 007 adventure for release in 2011.

Right. I'm a fan of Mendes' work, but Bond's universe is one of action and excitement. Mendes' last few movies have been about a pregnant couple in fancy coats going on a road trip, a depressed American couple going through a marriage breakdown and a war film in which the entire point is the soldiers don't see any action. Figures.

This does not inspire me. The biggest problem with Quantum Of Solace was that director Marc Forster had never directed action before; therefore, all of the action sequences were jittery as hell and impossible to follow. Asking a drama director to helm a Bond movie is like asking a decorator to paint a Michelangelo. You've got the right tools, now paint, monkey, paint!

What do you reckon? Has Mendes got a Bond movie in him? And does this mean Kate Winslet and her massive feet is a shoe-in for a Bond girl role?