the most talented Oscar bait director ever

Sam Mendes is frustrating in that, he is one of the most technically gifted directors working in Hollywood today, who also happens to mainly specialize in Oscar bait flicks, unfortunately. The guy has got such an incredible eye when it comes to framing, composition, blocking, and overall staging, but he wastes so much of it on bland, predictable Oscar bait schlock. With the exception of a few (American Beauty, his two Bond films), nearly all his films felt as though they were produced with the sole intention of winning Oscars.

He's another Stephen Daldry or Tom Hooper at heart, but one with the eye of a Steven Spielberg or an Alfonso Cuaron. Good technical director, but a bland storyteller who thrives way too hard to win Oscars with his bland, inoffensive sensibilities.