Not worth the hype or the monster marketing machine

Rating: 3/10 (30 October 2012)

I thought Casino Royal was outstanding and found QoS to be far better than a disconcerting number of other but I am shocked by the number positive reviews this Skyfall has received.
I found it to be weak on so many levels. Firstly and most disappointingly was the storyline, I found there to be none. The original premise of the retrieval of stolen files to protect undercover agents (fine, although not without a hint of irony considering recent tube train blunders) which is a reasonable, formulaic premise but this gets forgotten very quickly and turns into a bit of a nonsensical drama.
Secondly, the villain who could hack anything, crash PLCs, who planned his capture and inexplicable escape to such minute detail couldn't simply off M at his leisure, was farcically weak, with no depth to the character and so hammy I was incapable of finding anything of interest.
Thirdly, the craziness of the head of MI6 going off radar (although not quite) and to be used as bait (without support) to bring out the villain just, along with the dire (and oh-so overly used rocky-esque comeback from Bond - poorly time considering it had just been used by Dark Knight Rises to similarly inept results) illustrated just how poorly conceived this storyline and therefore this film was.
I feel as if I haven't just watched a film, I have simply watched an appallingly weak delivery method to off M and re-jig the cast-line (Moneypenny plus).
This film has been marketed to within an inch of its life and I can only cringe at the staggering amount of money they wasted on this and not put it where it should have been put, into the storyline and script. What did surprize me was a little negative marketing got slipped in, at the start, where a bunch of Volk Wagon Beetles got wrecked on the train and even got named in the script, why? What possible relevance unless some cheeky chappy put a couple of quid to belittle Veedub or Veedub couldn't find it in their hearts to donate to the Bond cause. It has been well publicised that Skyfall had some funding issues causing it to be delayed, quite badly (considering Casino was 2006 and QoS was 2008).
The signs were there that this was going to be a fail but like all Bond fans I chose to ignore it. This will definitely not be on my DVD to get list. For the next one, which looks to be Craig's final film, I would prefer a return to the tension, grittiness and style that Casino had in abundance and stood Craig as one of the best Bonds.