revisionist, melancholic, searching for vintage, a bit slow

Rating: 7/10 (10 November 2015)

Went to see it four days after opening night, and there were already dozens of review on IMDb, so was somewhat alerted on what to look for with attention, and I must say, my fellow commentators and reviewers pretty much nailed it right.
Overall, it was a pleasant entertaining action flick. But it was not at the level of a memorable Bond flick. My expectations six months ago were much higher, as the title name suggested a return to revisit what started the Bond series in the first place. But at the end, there was mild disappointment.
Some of the commentary, the features, the objects, seem to be expressively chosen for an older audience of movie-goers, one that is melancholic of the 1960s Bond movies. So, several vintage mode of transportation are used, be it a train or a motor vehicle. And who is wearing wrist watches anymore? all small details that seemed to be specifically chosen to address an older audience. I found that curious.
Just like "From Russia With Love", there was a confined-space body-to-body combat, and just like "You Only Live Twice", there was a small-body-against-large-body combat. And many other features reminded of Odd Job, the villain's assistant in "Gold Finger". So, in a way, there many subtle homages to the Sean Connery series of 1960s Bond movies. I liked that.
Was somewhat surprised at some slow and dull moments. The film seemed to get into a slow quagmire and one wonders how did an action film get into it.
From a cinematography point of view, comparing with other films in the same genre, such as the Bourne series, there was some disappointment here, as it seemed less credible, over-stated and inflated, and utterly symbolic.