Was it wrong to be expecting too much?

Rating: 6/10 (10 November 2012)

With all the stellar reviews and cast, it's really hard to NOT be looking forward to this one. I don't wanna fault the critics, so I have only myself to blame for reading too many reviews. But it is puzzling...what is up the the tremendously wonderful reviews? Was OoS SO bad that it made Skyfall look spectacular? I really don't get it. What's with the box office in UK? Are the box office figures more representative of how people like the movie or is it really just a matter of more people flocking to the cinemas to catch Craig for a first time having heard so much about the first two?
Like someone mentioned, the plot is weak. The list, yeah, whatever happened to it? And I honestly don't quite get what Craig said in interviews about how this is Bond being able to have more fun. I don't see the fun really being explored in his character. In fact, I think there was so much more edgy fun in Casino Royale (which remains to date my favorite Bond movie). The lines which were suppose to be suave or witty weren't all that great and there were just too many moments where you were forced to suspend your belief a little and just deal with what's unfolding on the screen.
Instead of trying to create substance, I think they undermined the whole concept of Bond by trying to go back to the "old-fashioned" way. I like how that's their intention, but it just doesn't get translated nicely onto the screen. Whereas you see in Casino Royale, the mix of new and old is so fluid and beautifully done there aren't jarring moments when you go "huhhhh....". I felt like I was watching Craig in Defiance towards the end of the movie. Fire, grenade, traps...secret tunnel....I don't know. And having the last moment with M in the Chapel....that's just a little too clichéd for me. Now I'm a little worried about the next two Bonds honestly, now that John Logan will be penning them alone. If what I saw for Skyfall was a result of a script largely written by him, can't be sure what to expect for the next two.
Bottom line - don't go in with too high an expectation, and you'll enjoy it enough. Just be prepared to maybe step out after the movie and realize you can't really pinpoint a defining moment in the movie that worked for you.