Disappointing

Rating: 4/10 (28 December 2015)

As hinted at the end of Skyfall, Spectre seems to be intent on taking the Bond saga back to the classics and away from the Jason Bourne-type movies they've accustomed us to lately.
Something good could have come out of this, but unfortunately, that's not the case. The plot flows like a badly-made bechamel sauce--a mixture between inconsistent liquid that pours out of the pan too fast, and large blobs that stick to the bottom, burn and then fall out in large chunks.
It's really too bad, because "Casino Royale" set the bar high for the "new Bond" saga. And Christopher Waltz could have made a FANTASTIC Bond villain (you get the impression that he will at the start, but then it all gets diluted--by no fault of his--and he ends up being only short of amusing).
Plot elements are too sparsely tied together. Events from prior Bond films from this saga are conjured in an attempt to create an aura of conspiracy, which is supposed to be of the pivotal suspense subplots of the movie, but not enough time is dedicated to any of the threads, so they all end up coming through as vague and unrelatable, taking away from the climax they might have had. Same thing with the relationships between characters. All in all, it feels as if the screenplay may have had more going for it, but the film was later cut short and too many relevant scenes were deleted.
Even the action scenes seem somewhat out of place and balance...sometimes too linear, with no build-up, sometimes too short-lived to cause an impact, they seem to come out of nowhere, reach maximum intensity from the very start and then plateau and then end just as suddenly--often way too easily for 007.
As for the balance between modernity (current views on espionage, bad guys that fit out times, etc.) and classic Bond elements, Skyfall did a much better job. In general, it was more of a modern Bond, touching on issues like whether the 00 program is still pertinent in our times, but with subtle hints that promised to recover some of the classic Bond feel. Which really could have worked, if it had been done right.
Instead, they seem to have adopted all the wrong elements in ways that are neither appealing nor relateable to a viewer in 2015. A shame, really, as the last few Bond movies have been some of the best. Looks like the streak ran out...