Stephen Colbert and Daniel Craig in “Deleted” Spectre Scene

His confrontation with Bond devolves into an extremely boring, hour-long ordeal that gives viewers PTSD of “Quantum of Solace”, and which is reminiscent of the “Austin Powers” Dr. Evil, mostly for leaving James Bond in seemingly fool-proof traps that end up being far too easy to escape from. A James Bond movie is really only a success or failure when compared to other James Bond movies. Although the actor sparked controversy last month when he said in an interview that he’d rather slash his wrists than think about playing 007 again, the British actor told Matt Lauer on Today Thursday that Spectre wasn’t necessarily his farewell.

And it seems as though, for now at least, he wants to keep his options open. Before Craig, Bond was a corny, smug, womanizer whose job got in the way of yet another martini. It’s maybe the European version, and Ethan is more American in a way. We’re introduced to other players from 007’s past, namely Franz Oberhauser (played by Christoph Waltz), a super-villain who, apparently, controls all other super-villains. Bond covertly enlists Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Whishaw) to help him seek out Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), the daughter of his old nemesis Mr White (Jesper Christensen), who may hold the clue to untangling the web of SPECTRE. There’s also the little matter of the death of the original M (Judi Dench). The only exception is a brawl between Hinx and Bond on a train. But most of the action scenes aren’t anything to write home about. This film was no exception, director Sam Mendes did an impeccable job of it. However, admittedly Mendes may have made it a tad too dramatic with all of the twists and turns, but it certainly was a visionary masterclass. That shot offers the promise of something exciting. In fact, it gets to be an annoying fall-back of the film. You can still see the good qualities, and you wish him or her the best, but when it’s time to move on, it’s best to make the change.

First created 62 years ago by writer Ian Fleming, James Bond has become one of the most iconic action movie heroes of all time and is easily one of the UK’s most beloved fictional franchises. Bond and the MI6, knee deep in trouble, never allow their audience to take a breath; there is simply no time in the film’s weighty 148-minute run-time.