Old is New Again in Spectre

Rating: 8/10 (7 November 2015)

I know there has been a lot of mixed reaction from Spectre, but I have to say I don't understand a lot of the complaints. Personally, I found Spectre to be a brilliant mesh of the old and new bringing back classic elements from the Connery days as well as the brutality of Craig.
It seems to be that a lot of the complaints are that there was too large of a tonal shift from Skyfall, and that the tone was often inconsistent. And while the tone did definitely change from Skyfall, I found it to be pretty consistently mixed between old and new throughout the whole film. Meaning, the tone was steady, just blended. So why make the change to the more lighthearted tone following Skyfall? Well, the past few films have been setting up a real reboot of the franchise, and following Skyfall, it appeared to be that we were much closer to the original Connery Bond (male M, Q, etc.). And honestly, I was really pleased to see the tone go back to the old school. Skyfall was great, but there wasn't much fun to it.
(Minor spoiler below)
The other big complaint was in reference to the villains, and I do admit my biggest issue was how Waltz's character was portrayed in the film. I wouldn't say he was wasted, but I feel as though they could have made a few changes to give him more impact, or to possibly leave him more in the shadows. I'm not too worried about it though, because he'll very likely be back. But enough about the common complaints, there isn't enough talk about what this film excels at. For starters, the films intro was epic. One of the best opening sequences to any Bond film to date, and it definitely out did the Skyfall opening. Then there was the story which I felt flowed very nicely and tied up several lose ends from the previous films. Add that with clever Easter Eggs for fans of the previous films, and it makes for a very rewarding experience. Lea Seydoux was excellent as the Bond girl, and the rest of the classic 00 cast were very enjoyable. Plus the action was awesome. The increase of action might be overwhelming for some, but there was still plenty of spy-intrigue to go around.
All-in-all, I thought Spectre was a very good Bond film, and would put it around the same level as Skyfall (still both are below Casino Royale). Don't expect Skyfall 2.0, and you won't be disappointed. Also, don't listen to anyone that says that Quantum of Solace is better than Spectre. That's insane.
7.75/10