Uneven (6.5)

Rating: 7/10 (18 November 2012)

My take on Skyfall is that while it has several truly iconic/beautiful cinematic moments, the plot is rather contrived in many places, and it feels somewhat uneven overall. So while it definitely is not bad, it is not all that great either.
Pros: The cast. Javier Bardem plays a very memorable, scene stealing villain, believably psychotic. I was pleasantly surprised to see Ben Winshaw (Bright Eyes) as Q. Some nice moments between Bond and M. The opening sequence is pretty good. The Shanghai building sequence and the nighttime Skyfall sequence are both wonderful cinematic stylizations, either of which could respectively house a great film. Adele is a nice choice to sing the theme song.
Cons: The theme song sequence is like a directing/editing identity crisis, rotating between beautiful, corny and so on. Several of the different settings feel like they came out of different films. Yes, I can make leaps, but it just seems that the whole is a bit noncohesive. And lastly, the plot at times feels like it goes the way it does not naturally, but just because it has to in order to set up whatever is coming next. Overall, I have seen worse, and I have seen better. Meh.