Movie Review – Spectre

Well here it is, folks! The movie that we've been waiting three years for to follow up on the spectacular Skyfall. Is this the end of Daniel Craig's tenure as agent 007? Does Spectre measure up to the high standards that Sam Mendes has us hoping for? Can I properly review this thing without spoiling it? Let's find out.

Following the orders of the previous M's (Judi Dench) cryptic beyond-the-grave message, James Bond follows the trail to uncovering a secret organization known as Spectre which has evidently (in one form or another) been behind all the really bad stuff that happened in the previous three films which Spectre refers to constantly (though not so much Quantum of Solace. Haha!). For the first time since 1971's Diamonds Are Forever we get to see the classic showdown of Bond vs. Blofeld and it is... pretty good. Yeah, it's not as intense as it was in the classic Bond films, but it's still a sight to behold. One thing that's atypical about Spectre's plot is that it has quite a bit of action involving the supporting characters. Collectively, M, Q, and Moneypenny have almost as much screen time as Bond. At times the plot seems pretty derivative; there are locations, plot points, and even whole scenes that are lifted directly from earlier 007 movies, whether intentional or not. And it all ends on a bittersweet ending, (most likely) closing up the Daniel Craig saga.

That's right, the ending makes it almost certain that this is Daniel Craig's last 007 film; I'd be very surprised if it wasn't. And his last performance is a fine one, as ruthless and intense as ever. The main Bond girl this time around is Madeline Swann, played by Lea Seydoux. She's OK, I guess. She's just not all that interesting and she doesn't end up doing a whole lot. Also the romance between her and Bond didn't seem all that convincing, not for this era of Bond films anyways. Nevertheless, Christoph Waltz is perfect as Ernst Blofeld. Quietly menacing and uncomfortably calm, he was the perfect choice to bring this classic villain back to life. Although his character is given a riveting introduction, I've got to say it seems that Bond defeats Blofeld too easily. And lastly we have WWE superstar Dave Bautista as Mr. Hinx, the first notable 007 henchman since 1999's The World is Not Enough. He hardly speaks – probably because he's not that great an actor – but he does an alright job here, even if his death is less than satisfactory. (Shut up! That's not a spoiler. Henchmen always die!)

Sam Mendes' direction is dazzling once again, with some great cinematography to boot. The action scenes are coherent enough while maintaining a high level of intensity. Also, Spectre's opening scene starts off with a really long continuous shot that follows characters around from all sorts of different angles for probably around three minutes. Amazing.

And since I'm a huge 007 fan, I'm just going to take some time here to gush/nitpick. It was great to finally see a Bond film that starts out with the classic gunbarrel sequence (haven't seen that since 2002's Die Another Day). I mean that part always gets me really pumped up so it makes sense that it should be at the beginning. It's just a shame that Craig isn't even trying to hide the gun that's clearly in his right hand as he walks to the left. (Note to self: you know you're really nitpicking when you're commenting on how someone holds a gun in a ten second nonsequitur shot.) Anyways, the theme song and opening credits were average. I didn't hate them, but they weren't all that impressive either. Is anyone else wondering why the previous M waited until after she'd died to give Bond these new orders? Why not just make it a regular mission for him while she was still alive and before MI6 was slated to be downsized and taken over? Also, what was up with the enemy mole who was so obviously a bad guy? It's like the film wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he was a bad guy. Lastly, is the Spectre organization still around at the end? If so, then there's still quite a lot of work for MI6 to do!

Regardless, Spectre is a pretty good Bond flick. It may not be as good as some of the other Craig-era movies, but it is a worthy addition to the series and a decent wrap-up to the whatever-they're-going-to-end-up-calling-it saga. My vote's for The Quantum Saga. Who's with me?

Rating: three and a half out of five.