Spectre (B or 3/4 stars)
'Spectre' (directed by Sam Mendes, American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Revolutionary Road, Skyfall) - The 24th Bond film - makes for passable entertainment. Mendes & co. take us on a wild globe-trotting joyride through such places as Mexico City, London, Rome, Austria, & Tangiers. 'Spectre' is not as intelligent, smooth, or emotionally-involving as Mendes' previous effort, Skyfall. But despite my issues with it (primarily a sluggish center), this big-budget, high-voltage actioner contains all the usual Bond signature moves to satiate audiences; more on that later. The film opens with a stunning set piece of James Bond (Daniel Craig), in a long tracking shot, taking down a terrorist group in Mexico City on the Day of the Dead festivities.
The sequence starts in one long take as the camera follows a man in a skull mask & a gorgeous brunette as they walk down the street, into a hotel room, where the man removes his mask to reveal Craig's face, who then exits said hotel room out the window & makes his way across several roofs. What follows are explosions, a chase, & a truly SPECTACULAR helicopter ride -- what an opening! Afterwards, the film settles in for 2 hrs. of plottt with the occasional action scene; some of 'em are great, but none of 'em live up to that opener. The plot: Back in London, Bond is grounded by the new M (Ralph Feinnes) for going to Mexico without consent. There's also an unpopular merger set-up by British intelligence (led by Andrew Scott) which combines both MI5 & MI6 and, instead of old-fashioned field agents, this new method would involve only electronic spy surveillance. What does that mean? It means the "double-00" program would be sidelined for good.
While the struggle btwn. the old way & the new way is being fought over, 007 is out in the field without orders {shocker}, hunting terrorists in Rome, bedding Monica Bellucci, witnessing the suicide of a shadowy operator known as the Pale King (Jesper Christensen), teaming up with (and romancing) his psychologist daughter, Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux), fighting a hulky henchman (Dave Bautista), & tracking a sinister organization called ... Spectre (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge & Extortion). He is sent on this mission by a tip on a final taped message sent from the deceased M (Judi Dench). His mission leads all him all over the world and, along the way, we learn that all of the events of Craig's earlier Bond flicks, have all been connected by the malevolent leader of Spectre, 'Franz Oberhauser' (Christoph Waltz); with whom Bond shares a past. (Tepid) drama unfolds amid a plethora of awesome set pieces.
'Spectre' is "more than fine". I was entertained. There is humor interspersed throughout. It looks amazing (superb technical aspects). I mentioned the great opening set piece is. I enjoyed the bizarre opening credits sequence (with Sam Smith's Writing's On the Wall song blaring in the background; though, it doesn't hold a candle to Adele's Skyfall). Set pieces including a train & a plane (in the Alps) are eye-popping. Despite citing franchise fatigue, Daniel Craig impresses, particularly with the action/stunts {he's clearly the most physically fit Bond of all}. In addition to Craig, Feinnes, Whishaw, & Naomie Harris (as Moneypenny), we have sexy Lea Seydoux (of Blue is the Warmest Color), whose Bond Girl won't wilt in the heat of battle, even if the role is still damsel-in-distressy, and Christoph Waltz, who provides menace, if not ferocity. And the action scenes offer plenty of thrills, which alllllmost justify the film's 140 + minute running time.
So yeah, 'Spectre' contains all the usuals: adventure, great locales, quips, gadgets, gizmos, gorgeous women, Aston Martins, Martinis, evil organizations, pyrotechnics, chases, fights, an insistency for 007 to save the day, etc. Problem is: though quite a bit better than Quantum of Solace, it's not nearly as good as Skyfall, and way too much of the running time (mostly the plot-heavy middle) drags; it needed a jolt. I mentioned that there is humor, here. There is. There's a wink-wink playfulness here & there. But 'Spectre' is also a heavy, fairly dour thing, as well. It doesn't sparkle, so to speak. And really, the plot, the narrative ... it's middling. I've seen better within this franchise. Having said all that, the aforementioned opening & the rousing conclusion provides great bookends to the overall impression of this movie.
The sequence starts in one long take as the camera follows a man in a skull mask & a gorgeous brunette as they walk down the street, into a hotel room, where the man removes his mask to reveal Craig's face, who then exits said hotel room out the window & makes his way across several roofs. What follows are explosions, a chase, & a truly SPECTACULAR helicopter ride -- what an opening! Afterwards, the film settles in for 2 hrs. of plottt with the occasional action scene; some of 'em are great, but none of 'em live up to that opener. The plot: Back in London, Bond is grounded by the new M (Ralph Feinnes) for going to Mexico without consent. There's also an unpopular merger set-up by British intelligence (led by Andrew Scott) which combines both MI5 & MI6 and, instead of old-fashioned field agents, this new method would involve only electronic spy surveillance. What does that mean? It means the "double-00" program would be sidelined for good.
While the struggle btwn. the old way & the new way is being fought over, 007 is out in the field without orders {shocker}, hunting terrorists in Rome, bedding Monica Bellucci, witnessing the suicide of a shadowy operator known as the Pale King (Jesper Christensen), teaming up with (and romancing) his psychologist daughter, Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux), fighting a hulky henchman (Dave Bautista), & tracking a sinister organization called ... Spectre (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge & Extortion). He is sent on this mission by a tip on a final taped message sent from the deceased M (Judi Dench). His mission leads all him all over the world and, along the way, we learn that all of the events of Craig's earlier Bond flicks, have all been connected by the malevolent leader of Spectre, 'Franz Oberhauser' (Christoph Waltz); with whom Bond shares a past. (Tepid) drama unfolds amid a plethora of awesome set pieces.
'Spectre' is "more than fine". I was entertained. There is humor interspersed throughout. It looks amazing (superb technical aspects). I mentioned the great opening set piece is. I enjoyed the bizarre opening credits sequence (with Sam Smith's Writing's On the Wall song blaring in the background; though, it doesn't hold a candle to Adele's Skyfall). Set pieces including a train & a plane (in the Alps) are eye-popping. Despite citing franchise fatigue, Daniel Craig impresses, particularly with the action/stunts {he's clearly the most physically fit Bond of all}. In addition to Craig, Feinnes, Whishaw, & Naomie Harris (as Moneypenny), we have sexy Lea Seydoux (of Blue is the Warmest Color), whose Bond Girl won't wilt in the heat of battle, even if the role is still damsel-in-distressy, and Christoph Waltz, who provides menace, if not ferocity. And the action scenes offer plenty of thrills, which alllllmost justify the film's 140 + minute running time.
So yeah, 'Spectre' contains all the usuals: adventure, great locales, quips, gadgets, gizmos, gorgeous women, Aston Martins, Martinis, evil organizations, pyrotechnics, chases, fights, an insistency for 007 to save the day, etc. Problem is: though quite a bit better than Quantum of Solace, it's not nearly as good as Skyfall, and way too much of the running time (mostly the plot-heavy middle) drags; it needed a jolt. I mentioned that there is humor, here. There is. There's a wink-wink playfulness here & there. But 'Spectre' is also a heavy, fairly dour thing, as well. It doesn't sparkle, so to speak. And really, the plot, the narrative ... it's middling. I've seen better within this franchise. Having said all that, the aforementioned opening & the rousing conclusion provides great bookends to the overall impression of this movie.