My take on it was much less charitable than yours, in that I don't think a mere rewrite could have saved it. Too many of its themes were warmed-over versions of conversations this series has already had, too many of its characters were introduced with backstories the narrative didn't really care about and dropped at the first opportunity (Monica Belluci's character being the earliest and more egregious example), the story failed to commit properly either to the Vast Shadowy Global Conspiracy angle or the Intimate Personal Connection angle, and Denbigh was the flattest, most obvious villain I've seen in years, with a plan that struck me as stupid even for a Bond film. Moneypenny, Q, M, and Tanner were about the only good part of it after that opening sequence.