Is it Skyfall? No. But it's still one of the best Bond films

Rating: 8/10 (10 November 2015)

This film completes the genesis of the Bond world we knew before Craig, and there's good and bad that comes with that. Like Batman Begins, Casino Royale was a film that took an iconic franchise that featured more of a caricature than a character and gave them a grounded psychology. Casino Royale to Skyfall starred the great acting of Daniel Craig who took what has always been a two dimensional roll and gave it depth. From the beginning though, it seemed to be the goal of this reboot to connect the dots of new Bond to old Bond in some way. Why does Bond womanize, drink top shelf alcohol, fancy classy things, and get wrapped up with maniacal villains? It seemed that many of Craig's films were trying to find those roots in subtle and realistic ways, but what Spectre does is make the huge jump to bridge the rest of the gap. World controlling networks of villains, unstoppable henchmen, the elegant class in Bond's style, and a tight-knit MI6 that operates despite being an incredible liability are all classic Bond tropes that this film sets out to establish. In doing this, it loses a lot of the complex themes and character motivation the previous films had- a shortcoming that is inherent when trying to portray "classic" Bond. While trying to bridge the gap in between the two, it also doesn't take a leap far enough to completely feel like the campy but charming style of "classic" Bond. This can admittedly leave fans of either side wanting more.
After coming to terms with what the film is and isn't though, enjoying the film comes easy. The action set pieces are exciting, the plot intriguing, and the characters compelling. The film flows well, and appropriately keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. Don't expect any of the depth from Skyfall, it's just not there. But go to see all the traditional Bond tropes fall in to place as Craig edges closer to Classic Bond and starts living in the Bond world we all once knew.