The campiness that people mentioned the series was bringing in didn't really seem all that campy. At least, compared to Skyfall. Some of the jokes fell a bit flat, but it didn't really take away from the film.
The opening tracking shot in Mexico was stellar. But the scene overall really lacked the intensity, urgency and 'wow' moments that the opening scene in Turkey from Skyfall had. I don't know, perhaps it was just how the shakey and distant the action in the helicopter was that really prevented me from getting amped up. Practically speaking it would be impossible to get one of those cameras up close to an actual helicopter because they're doing practical stunts there, but the compared to the closeness of the train fight Skyfall, it definitely felt lacking. Or the intimacy of the Mumbai chase from CR.
Sam Smith's theme was much better in conjuction with the opening credits, and I think they themselves might have been the best of the Craig films so far. That being said, I absolutely love how the transition for the Skyfall credits were done.
I didn't know if it was just me but the action scenes, while spectacular, felt disconnected from the overall narrative. In Skyfall and CR I think they flow much better and feel more connected thematically to the story. The enhance the overall story.
Spectre's introduction was probably handled in the best way they could given the atmosphere of the Craig films, but it felt very meh. They didn't even address Mr.Hinx by name, I suppose we're left to assume he works for Oberhauser, but it just seemed really abrupt. His nails were good but if they were going for subtle ways to make the Bond villains and henchmen unique as the older films without being over the top, then something like Le Chiffre's blood tears were much more interesting. He was relatively badass though. I think the scene where he kills the man at the Spectre meeting could've been handled better though. Didn't have the impact I was hoping for. I imagined it to be more horrific.
The relationship between Bond/Oberhauser and Bond/Madeline Swann I think weren't given the full attention they deserved and in the end, I think both relationships suffered. I think a lot of it just had to do with how lackluster the dialogue was, especially between Daniel and Lea. It pales in comparison to Vesper and Bond's exchanges. Their conversations just lacked zest. But naturally since we want everyone invested in Bond/Swann, we can't really take the time to dig up stuff that was finished (poorly) in Quantum of Solace.
I did like Waltz's delivery of 'Ernst Starvo Blofeld' though. It was much better than 'My name is Khan.' But he was painfully underused. I get that the Craig films don't want everything to be overly camp but I think we wanted someone more involved, whereas Blofeld manipulated things from a distance. The scene where he tortures Bond was another one of those things that I felt like they did well given the tone of the Craig films, but I didn't like how they nonchalantly addressed the entire motive for Blofeld doing what he does to Bond, nor do I like how Bond reacted rather passively to all that. I get that he is Bond but I couldn't figure out if they wanted to go super gritty and deep into character or stay kinda light. It seems like they just had trouble juggling it all.
M's dialogue was absolutely terrible near the end. Ralph Fiennes doesn't deserve that. I also wished Moneypenny near the finale with Bond's MI6 crew.
The third act was by far the weakest part of the film. 2 digital timers is just unnecessary and just lacked the emotional oomph that even Quantum of Solace had with Olga Kurylenko's character in that third act. Waltz's scar looked good though.
The visual callbacks to previous films were very awesome though. Loved seeing Morocco, loved the turtleneck and white tux, loved seeing a mountainside facility reminscent of OHMSS etc. But this movie, like TDKR, was just waaay too bloated. Not bad, but average. Hard to top Skyfall, but a passable and not terrible entry like QoS.
