Exspectred more: Fun, fast and frantic but ultimately a flawed and disappointing result

Rating: 6/10 (30 October 2015)

After his critically acclaimed 'Skyfall' hit the cinemas in 2012, director Sam Mendes was eagerly looking to top the heights he hit with his the twenty third installment of James Bond but in seeking to be more spectacular and more ambitious, he ends up with only a half finished jigsaw in what may be the fabulous Daniel Craig's final outing as the double '0' agent.
Christoph Waltz steps into the fray as the latest Bond villain Franz Oberhauser and is undeniably excellent in his role. There is a downside however in that Mendes and the team of writers behind this film never involved him enough which is a shame as he is an intriguing character to unravel. Incidentally therefore, it's no coincidence that the film begins to pick up from his arrival after the rather laboured and sketchy first hour or so.
Not returning - barring in a brief video log at the start - is Judi Dench's now deceased M, seeing her shackles taken up by Ralph Fiennes as the new figure at the helm of MI6. Fiennes - as in 'Skyfall' - delivers solidly but you can't help but feel the absence of what was a highly entertaining mutualistic on-screen relationship between Dench and Craig. It was something that certainly drove 'Skyfall' through its core and it in turn allowed for an intriguing plot composed from their fine character developments. That being said, Craig, of course, is very good and almost plays his role with an arrogance now. He is the ultimate Bond and it's hard to see many doing better than him in this generation.
Generally, the early positivity surrounding this film has been about how it encapsulates classic Bond. Yet in the vintage era of Sean Connery when there wasn't hundreds of millions to throw at dazzling action sequences, it was imperative to build an atmosphere through dialogue, score, and character. It felt at time with the women, the rolling back of famous lines and the return of the classic criminal organisation of Spectre, that they were definitely going for that aim but they ultimately fell short amidst the collage of frantically thrown together explosions and mindless chases. I do say mindless yet I must note that the scenes alone were fabulously choreographed and patched together, representing easily some of the most eye catching moments ever in Bond folklore. But that's not the point I was making.
It would be a shame for Craig to bow out in a film which largely favours style over substance. It would certainly be nice if he feels obliged to delve into the franchise one final time to tie off the Quantum antics of his earlier movies. However, there is no denying he has help inspire a series that had been on the downhill beforehand and he must be saluted for that alone. In that respect he's already won and can call it a day with great pride. We wan't him to stay on though!