It's easy to forget in all the talk of plot and photography that Bond is essentially an action franchise. A highly classical one that adjusts with the times to offer a progressive experience, but an action franchise all the same. With that in mind, what really impressed with Skyfall was how Sam Mendes, a director who's most action-heavy previous film was Jarhead, managed to craft multiple adrenaline-pumping sequences without it ever looking like his first mission. The final house assault, with the lighting getting increasingly dark and Bond's hopes getting even more desperate, stands as one of the series' best sequences. The action in Spectre, on the other hand, is more what you'd expect from a director working with stunts for the first time. All the sequences are certainly on a larger scale, going on longer, covering more ground and featuring more elements that those in Skyfall (or any of Craig's films), but while Mendes has a sure hand on making them followable, they're not as tightly edited and feel ultimately a bit inconsequential - there's not always enough narrative weight to justify their length. Fun for what they are, but not really anything to rave about outside of certain cues. One of the odd choices in these is the use of music - it alternates between the booming score that almost drones out sound effects and dialogue (think Interstellar) or being totally diegetic - but what really threw me (although I'd be lying if it didn't work at points) were the lighter moments that break up the tension. Certainly more classic Bond, but sometimes executed out of place.
