Skyfall is a 2012 spy film directed by Sam Mendes, written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan, and starring Daniel Craig as James Bond, Javier Bardem as Silva, Judi Dench as M, with Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Bérénice Marlohe and Albert Finney. It runs 143 minutes, was shot by Roger Deakins, and is by almost every available measure one of the most successful and acclaimed entries in the entire franchise.

I think there might be something wrong with me.

I say that sincerely, because I have just watched a film that ninety-two percent of critics loved, that won two Academy Awards, and that became the first Bond film in history to pass a billion dollars, and I spent a considerable portion of it quietly checking how much of it was left.

Perhaps I need to take a beat and return to this in a couple of years. But as of today, this was boring as heck. There is a lot of fan service here, and some genuinely enjoyable jabs at the older films, and I could see exactly what it was doing at all times. It was still a big old drag. Two hours and twenty-three minutes, and by my count there is roughly five minutes of something actually happening inside it.

I want to be completely transparent about the company I am keeping on this, which is almost nobody. Skyfall holds a ninety-two percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on three hundred and eighty-eight reviews, with the consensus calling it a triumph. On Metacritic it scores eighty-one from forty-nine critics, and of those forty-nine, not one is negative. Zero. It grossed $1.109 billion worldwide, remains the highest-grossing Bond film ever made, and at the time of release was the seventh highest-grossing film in history. It received five Oscar nominations and won two, including Best Original Song for Adele and Paul Epworth, the first time a Bond theme had ever won that award. It was even floated as a genuine Best Picture contender, which for a Bond film is remarkable in itself.

So I am aware of the size of the room I am arguing with.

That said, I am not entirely isolated, and the specific criticism that does exist is precisely mine. Even reviews that adore this film repeatedly flag the pacing. One noted that it flags noticeably in the middle, at a point where it badly needed an additional action sequence. Another observed that this is among the most character-driven Bond films ever made, with no significant parade of gadgets, no procession of love interests, and crucially no explosive action climax. That is my objection stated diplomatically by somebody who enjoyed it.