Skyfall

I figured, worst case scenario: this'll err on the side of forgettably fluffy, possibly lacking in coherency, but still enjoyable. What happened was that by the second half, I started fighting the film so hard on the premises it was selling me that I couldn't stay immersed in what was happening onscreen. Turns out it's possible to fuck up the characterization in a James Bond film. WHO KNEW? Not me -- for the record, I saw every "modern" one (i.e. with Judy Dench as M) in the theatre from Goldeneye on down, and 80% of the older ones on home video. I have watched Octopussy. I have watched A View To A Kill. What I'm saying is, it's not that I haven't given the series critical thought -- I gave it tons, circa Casino Royale -- merely that I had no idea characterization could be a dealbreaker in this context. But somehow they managed it.

( Cut for not actually spoilers, but I knew nothing about it going in myself, so. )