So Disappointed

Rating: 5/10 (1 November 2012)

I should preface this by saying that I absolutely loved QoS (more than most)and Casino Royale. I'll start from the top.
The Opening Credits:
Visually the opening sequence was absolutely brilliant. Perhaps the best yet. However the Adele song choice was a poor one in my opinion. It's pap. Neither sexy (Goldeneye, Goldfinger) nor adrenaline pumping (Casino Royale, QoS). Sure the girl can sing... but so can Madonna.
Friendly Fire:
He gets shot with an assault rifle, falls 100+ feet and ends up at the bottom of a 50ft+ waterfall. Of course Bond doesn't need to be realistic but let's at least have a far-fetched explanation for his survival please. A small Turkish boy with a first aid kit who happened to be fishing at the bottom of the waterfall. Anything!
Macau:
Why no proper shots of Macau? Even just a decent panned intro. It's such a perfect setting for bond scenes.
The Komodo Dragon Killing:
No need for an Attenborough lecture. As convincing as fanged unicorns.
The Bond Girl:
A sex slave who very quickly gets shot. What a big letdown after Casino Royale and QoS.
The London Feel
The film had very real shots of an overcast and murky looking London and the whole film felt inherently British. Really nice.
'Silva':
I'm all for a fruity bond villain but what an anti-climax. Great intro, cool teeth but otherwise fairly bland. Certainly no Ernst Blofield or 'Leshiffre'.
Weak Plot:
The biggest failing of this film was the plot. It went from a mission to recover a stolen hard-drive to a mission to protect an old dear (who could've easily been killed several times). As for the motive, fairly tenuous and uninteresting:
Blondie signed up for the Mi6 many years back, M sent him on a mission, things go wrong on the mission, Blondie gets captured (we don't get shown any of this) and years later Blondie feels as though he wants to kill an older, moodier and fairly unendearing M.
The House Siege:
This was cool. Easily on par with scenes from Shooter and The Bourne Identity (tall order).
The Chapel:
Be honest. When Silva walks into the chapel were you thinking:
'Please don't shoot moody old M!'
Or were you thinking:
'NOOOOOOO! Please don't shoot the cool old guy with a sawn-off shotgun who's been giving Bond some lip! He's the only new face that's been given a proper character!'
As for the axe to the back - not exactly bond-like.
Conclusion:
Ingredients for an epic film. But an extremely weak plot and an undeveloped villain made it difficult to care about the final outcome.