The author forgets that Bond has "returned to its roots" multiple times. The film series has long swung between outlandish fantasy and gritty realism.
The outlandish, Star Wars-inspired Moonraker so upset Bond fans that Brocolli "returned to the roots" with the toned-down, realistic For Your Eyes Only
Then the series became increasingly silly again, until Timothy Dalton brought it down to earth.
Likewise, the first Bond epic, You Only Live Twice, was followed by the more emotionally grounded On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and then the more fanciful Diamonds Are Forever.
And thus the pendulum swings.
There's never been a proper Felix Leiter. Perhaps License to Kill had the best.
But they keep getting different actors to play Leiter. It makes the character difficult to follow. How many actors have played Leiter so far? And I think at least two have been black.