Review: Spectre
Cinema: Spectre (2015)
Daniel Craig returns for possibly the final time as suave super spy James Bond, but does Spectre leave you shaken and stirred or is 007 losing his licence to thrill? I promise those will be the last Bond related puns in this review!
The movie follows on from Skyfall where MI6 and the 00 program are in danger of becoming obsolete thanks to Andrew Scott, who plays C. Bond receives information regarding a new target which leads him to Mexico City and that’s where I’ll leave the plot points. In fact I’m going to attempt to make this review as spoiler free as possible seeing as it’s a new release. You don’t need to have seen Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace or Skyfall to enjoy Spectre but there are links to those movies.
Lets talk about the positives. This is Daniel Craig’s fourth outing as Bond and he exudes a charm and charisma that is now second nature. This is also a double edged sword as familiarity breeds contempt which I’ll explain later on. He is charming, yet cold and completely dedicated to his mission but also able to show sensitivity, especially with excellent new leading lady Léa Seydoux. As he has demonstrated in his previous Bond movies he is also able to mix it up and brings a physicality to the role, this is perfectly displayed in one of the stand out moments of Spectre. One of the defining characteristics of Bond are his one liners. Craig has always shied away from this but in Spectre he seems more comfortable, delivering a dry and very British sense of humour.
Ben Whishaw is excellent as Q and gets more screen time than he received in Skyfall. He is playful making the role his own and a perfect replacement for the wonderful and greatly missed Desmond Llewelyn. I know John Cleese played Q but that always seemed like a parody of the role and I couldn’t get Basil Fawlty out of my head whenever I saw him on screen.
Ralph Fiennes is also great as the newly installed M. Judi Dench defined that role over the past 20 years and Fiennes could have struggled, but he displays authority and seems a perfect match for Bond, not only in an authoritative sense but also a physical sense. Fiennes has real gravitas and would be a perfect M for the next few years.
Naomie Harris, Rory Kinnear, Jesper Christensen and Andrew Scott are also excellent bringing old and new blood to the series.
I’m a big fan of Sam Mendes so I was pleased to hear that he was returning as director. The movie is beautifully shot and there are some thrilling moments throughout the film. The opening scene is spellbinding with a tracking shot following Bond walking through Mexico during the day of the dead carnival. It’s an amazing sequence that had me holding my breath in anticipation for what was to come and also marvelling at the technical ability of the cinematography.
The story falls into both camps in terms of it being generally very good and just ok. The majority of Spectre is entertaining and intriguing with some good action set pieces in-between the drama. It has familiar story lines in terms of changes in MI6 and Bond going rogue, but I felt that there was an emotional spark missing. Eva Green and Judi Dench gave Casino Royale and Skyfall an emotional anchor and a reason to care for Bond. Although Léa Seydoux is great in the leading lady role, there didn’t seem to be the relationship that I was looking for to make me really care. The movie is also too long in my opinion. 148 minutes is a long time to be engaged and Spectre just about managed it, but only just.
Now lets talk about some of the things that left me feeling a bit cold towards Spectre.
Bond movies are famous for their bad guys. Javier Bardem made a great impression in Skyfall so anyone following him had a real task on their hands. When Christoph Waltz was announced as the lead bad guy, a collective sigh of relief was felt amongst Bond fans. He’s an Oscar winning actor. In fact he is an amazing actor displaying incredible performances in Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained, which makes it even more incredulous and sad for me to say that he is a fairly weak bad guy.
I read an interview recently with Dave Bautista who said that he spoke to Sam Mendes before accepting the role in Spectre. He said that he asked Mendes about his character, Hinx, saying “he’s not just hired muscle, he’s smart right?” Mendes apparently said “yeah, he’s smart”. Well I’m sorry to say there is no evidence of this in the movie. Sure, Bautista is an imposing figure but that’s as far as it goes I’m afraid.
I’m being really picky now when I say this but the title song by Sam Smith; Writings on the Wall, is also completely forgettable.
For me, Spectre is a good Bond movie but not a great one. In terms of Daniel Craig Bond movies, it stands behind Skyfall and Casino Royale. Forget the anomaly that was Quantum of Solace. Spectre feels like the final movie in a series. It also feels like the last hurrah for Craig and Mendes. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing as they have helped to make Bond relevant again in a Jason Bourne world. We should also remember Martin Campbell, who did this TWICE rebooting the franchise with Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye and Craig in Casino Royale.
It’s probably as good a time as any for Craig to make this his last Bond movie. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve really enjoyed his time as Bond, but I think it is time that the series needs a shake up for fear of it becoming stale. Daniel Craig is a great actor and he’s brought his acting chops and physicality to the role, I just want someone else to utter the immortal line, “the name is Bond, James Bond”.
Lets face it, if you’re a 007 fan you’ve already seen Spectre and made up your own mind where it ranks in terms of your favourite Bond movie. Overall Spectre was very enjoyable and a worthy addition to the library. Perhaps I’m being overly critical and maybe the weight of expectation is a factor in my review, however, I genuinely think there is a lot to appreciate and admire.
Review by Chris (co-host of 60 Minutes With and The Same Coin).