Spectre (2015)

Movie Info

Meet your nemesis!!!

There is a new M (Ralph Fiennes), and MI-6 is in disarray after the destruction of the headquarters.  As plans to merge MI-5 with MI-6 and form a global surveillance group develop with Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott) aka C as the leader, James Bond (Daniel Craig) is going rogue.  With evidence of a massive organization, 007 is hunting the mysterious leader and time is running out before it could rule the world.

Directed by Sam Mendes, Spectre is the twenty-fourth film in the James Bond series.  Following Skyfall in 2012, Spectre is the fourth film featuring Daniel Craig as Bond and the first to feature the SPECTRE organization after legal disputes with the filmmakers’ estates.  The movie features the theme song “Writing’s on the Wall” by Sam Smith which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.  The movie was released to mixed reviews but a strong showing at the box office.

I told you to quit calling me Jack Skellington!

There was tons of love for Skyfall.  It looked fantastic and had a great cast.  I really enjoyed the film but didn’t love the whole Home Alone ending sequence.  I thought Spectre has a lot of what made Skyfall good, but the film suffers from a real balance problem and defies logic at points even beyond the typical Bond movie.

SPECTRE is what James Bond needed.  The old 007 films were essentially stand-alone, but with  a bigger push on series, Bond had to evolve.  I like where it evolved to with these chain of films.  The fact that SPECTRE was always there in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Skyfall is a great build-up for this film.  A lot of the film is tied to the past and feels like a real ending to the series (or at least Craig’s run).

Sure, we destroyed half the train, but I don’t think anyone noticed

Despite this, Spectre does has problems.  There is a real dead point in the film just past the middle.  There are also some extreme jumps in logic throughout the movie.  Big events like the plane chase and car chase seem anticlimactic.  Parts like the fight between Bond and Dave Bautista’s Mr. Hinx in a train destroy much of the train…without anyone apparently noticing or caring.  One scene, Bond practically gets lobotomized, but he gets over it really quickly.  Also, Blofeld’s compound has some serious construction flaws when blowing up a connector destroys the whole place.

Daniel Craig is still a great Bond.  He is able to take a beating but still feels convincing as an action hero.  Christoph Waltz is a perfect modern Blofeld character and the only problem is that he’s not in more of the movie.  I like the boosted role of M (Ralph Fiennes), Q (Ben Whishaw), and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) who almost form a Mission:  Impossible team.  Monica Bellucci was noted as the “oldest” Bond girl (also underused) and Léa Seydoux plays a good lead Bond girl.  There is also a cameo by Judi Dench and multiple photo references to the previous Bond films.

Are you going to be ok to get up, run, and make really targeted shots in a couple seconds?

The movie looks fantastic.  The opening sequence in Mexico City is great and the style and beauty of Skyfall carries over here.  Like all James Bond movies it has good music and great locations…Spectre definitely pays out here.

I’ve really enjoyed Daniel Craig’s run on James Bond.  The film gets the right tone, but misses a lot of the potential thrills with its plot and pacing.  There are moments that are almost scary (like Bond’s infiltration to the SPECTRE meeting) and this segues into great action sequences.  I don’t know where Bond will go from here, but I always look forward to seeing what is next.  Spectre is followed by No Time to Die in 2021.

Preceded By:

Skyfall (2012)

Followed By:

No Time To Die (2021)