Very Disappointed!

Rating: 1/10 (1 January 2013)

My observations/opinions: (Contains spoilers)

The pre title sequence was the best part of the movie.

The opening credits were overly dark, complete with grave stones and skulls. Say what? Please bring back the nude silhouettes, minus this new nonsense.

Adele's theme song is decent, but not overly memorable.

"Q" is now a nerd that looks about 15 years old.

Bond's trademark charm seems to be completely absent these days.

Miss Moneypenny is now a full blown field operative prior to taking to her desk, which seems a bit wacky. She was one of the better characters in the film though.

So Bond gets a Walther PPK with a signature grip so only he can fire it. This was a cool concept... Back in 1989's License to Kill, where Bond had a custom rifle with a signature grip.

The villain, portrayed by Javier Bardem (with bleached blonde hair) is just down right creepy and disturbing, and not in a "good villain" sort of way.

The plot: A disgruntled former agent that feels betrayed and wants to expose undercover agents while exacting his revenge on "M". Not impressed.

Ralph Fiennes fits in quite well, but I kept thinking "how did the English Patient get in here?!"

Reintroducing the Aston Martin DB5. Cool from a nostalgic POV, but makes no sense whatsoever, being that the whole franchise has supposedly been rebooted. Then why would he have the exact same car (complete with ejector seat and twin machine guns) from Goldfinger, circa 1964? For reference, Daniel Craig was 4 at the time. Then to make it even worse, let's destroy the car just because we can!

For about 1/3 of the movie, Bond needs a shave and sports graying stubble. This succeeds in making him look considerably older than he should. More so when he's sharing the screen with the teenage Quartermaster, aka "Q".

Bond's short crew-cut dissolves even more of his Bond look, and makes Daniel Craig's elf ears overly prominent.

We get to visit Bond's childhood home! A dark and dreary estate on a moor in Scotland. The brilliant plan is to lead the bad guy(s) there for a climactic shootout, while enlisting the help of the gamekeeper. Always a great way to revisit the old homestead!

The title Skyfall simply refers to the name of the aforementioned estate. And here I initially thought it might refer to some intriguing plot. Silly me!

Bond's timing is completely off, which leads to the untimely death of a Bond Girl. Note to Bond: You're supposed to make your move before the girl dies, not directly after! And of course, this doesn't even slightly concern our robotic Bond.

Poor "M". What a lousy thing to do to Judi Dench's character.

Skyfail

In summary, I miss the Bond's of the past. I think this movie probably appeals more to viewers in their early 20's that haven't seen the majority of the previous films.
The franchise took a massive nose dive with Die Another Day (even Pierce Brosnan laughs about the absurdity of the movie). Things briefly recovered with Casino Royale, then the descent resumed with Quantum of Solace, and now Skyfall. In my opinion, they have made a mess with their reboot attempts. They seem to be trying too hard while making strange decisions in the process.
The movies are also coming across as exceedingly dark and Bond has very little charm these days. Having read most of the books, I think Timothy Dalton came closest to Ian Fleming's vision of James Bond.
If they are so determined to wipe the slate clean and start things from the beginning, then we need a younger Bond. They are replacing everyone else with younger actors, so pretty soon Bond will be the oldest member of MI6, and that is bound to be a bit awkward.
I won't hold my breath for the next installment. I may have to wait for the reboot of the franchise reboot, if that eventually happens. In the meantime, I'll pop in a DVD and enjoy one of my favorites, including For Your Eyes Only, The Living Daylights, Dr No, etc.