A Sad return of one-liners. The Ending Falls Flat.

Rating: 3/10 (8 November 2012)

The first half of the movie was fantastic. I would give that a 9 (I don't give 10s easily). Without giving away too many spoilers, there is a point in the movie however where you think the good guys finally got a leg up. I feel if I had left the theater at that moment in time, I would have been really happy with the film. As it is, at that point onward, the movie spirals into increasingly poor plot gimmicks, cheesy one liners and over the top (and unbelievable stunts) that plague this Bond in the same way they have plagued most Bond movies since the days of Timothy Dalton. The "climactic" ending, with the exception of some gratuitous explosions, was anything but. It felt very anti-climactic.
One of the things I enjoyed most about the last two Bond films, was that they took the story line a bit more seriously. The over exaggerated (and in my opinion cheesy) stunts were gone. But best of all, the sad one liners were gone too. I could actually make it through a Bond movie, and not end up rolling my eyes at some of the dialog. Sadly, both of these have made a bit of a return in this film.
Most of the stunts were very well done and are thoroughly enjoyable. But there are a couple that I think would have been better if they were made a bit more believable. And the painful one liners to me, do nothing more than pull me out of the emersion of the movie, and simply remind me that I am watching an actor portraying a character. The lines have never been that funny, and they aren't now either.
Almost as bad is the studio's attempt to satisfy fan boys, by putting Bond icons back into the movie in a half-hearted way. I think this movie will get more thumbs up and good reviews simply because bond's classic Aston Martin makes a return appearance.
If you enjoyed the Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan Bond films, you will likely enjoy this one too. If you are like me, and enjoyed Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace because they WERE NOT like the Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan Bond films, do yourself a favor and leave about 90 minutes into the film.