Sam Mendes came pretty close to ruining the newest James Bond outing a couple times. It seemed as if there might have been some kind of battle behind the scenes to make it either a classic superficial Bond film, or one of his characteristic weirdo/twisted character study dramas. The combination was barely pulled off in this case. Javier Bardem's Mendes-esque bizarreness and the long takes during his scenes were pluses as they made him an even more personally threatening and creepy villain. However, exposing Bond's bout with age and weakness was a kind of disheartening turn. In the last two he was such a steely killer that exposing his frailties felt like a betrayal. I understand they've been trying to take a different approach to the franchise since Craig's casting, but this time around they may have taken it a bit too far. Things did manage to slowly grow back to normal by the end though, with Bond's cool veneer shining again.
I'm also adding a full point to my rating because of Roger Deakins' amazing cinematography. I was in complete awe of the Shanghai tower scene, not to mention all the quality dusk/night shots. The Cohen brothers are fortunate to have him on call for their films.
Altogether it was an enjoyable Bond film, but for different reasons than the last two. 7/10.
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