Spectre (2015) MGM-Columbia/Action-Adventure-Thriller RT: 148 minutes Rated PG-13 (intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images, sensuality, language) Director: Sam Mendes Screenplay: John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Jez Butterworth Music: Thomas Newman Cinematography: Hoyte van Hoytema Release date: October 26, 2015 (UK)/November 6, 2015 (US) Cast: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Dave Bautista, Andrew Scott, Rory Kinnear, Jesper Christensen, Monica Bellucci, Ralph Fiennes. Theme song: “Writing’s on the Wall” by Sam Smith. Box Office: $200.1M (US)/$880.7M (World)
Rating: *** ½
The James Bond movies have come a long way since the days of supervillains hatching their plans for world domination from their lairs inside hollowed-out volcanoes. Now they do it from dark, non-descript buildings where they hold secret meetings. The latest Bond movies reflect the changing times better than any other franchise, especially since Daniel Craig stepped into the iconic role almost a decade ago in Casino Royale (2006). Spectre, his fourth (and reportedly last) time playing 007, is the James Bond movie I’ve been waiting for since Pierce Brosnan took over the role in the 90s. For 20 years I’ve been saying that the series needs to bring back SPECTRE, the sinister criminal organization the suave British superspy went up against in the early movies. With Spectre, the dream becomes a reality and I couldn’t be more pleased. It’s very, very good.
Yet at the same time, I couldn’t help but notice how the Bond films have come to resemble the Die Hard movies with their elaborate action set pieces. I also observed that Bond himself is a kindred spirit to brooding Bruce Wayne/Batman minus the cape and cowl. Even the narrative shows influences of the Marvel Universe with the way Spectre ties together the Craig-as-Bond movies by revealing that one person, supervillain Franz Oberhauser (Waltz, Django Unchained), was behind it all.
In other words, Spectre isn’t the light-hearted kind of James Bond flick you watched on TV with your parents back in the day. It brings the character into the paranoid, tech-run 21st century, making the series relevant to modern audiences. Even though I’m purist at heart, I like the direction the series has taken. Returning director Sam Mendes set the bar high with the previous outing Skyfall, but Spectre rises to the challenge, delivering a solid 007 actioner containing the usual Bond tropes- i.e. chases, globetrotting, exotic locations, gorgeous women, younger love interest, the talking villain, crazed henchmen, shoot-outs, fights and martinis (shaken, not stirred)- with a 21st century slant.
Typically, the plots of Bond movies are too labyrinthine to describe in detail; it’s better to just give an overview, limiting the description to the salient points. BUT it has to be done in such a way to avoid dropping spoilers which puts me in a real quandary. Spectre has a few major plot surprises, one in particular that was more or less given away in the most recent trailer. It concerns Waltz’s character. SPOILER ALERT! One shot shows him sporting a Nehru jacket. Does this seem familiar to anybody? Does it remind you of somebody from the older Bond flicks? A certain cat-loving villain, perhaps? I’ll say no more, but am I the only one that saw it coming?
That being said, Spectre opens in the usual virtuoso style, this time in Mexico City during the annual Day of the Dead celebration. Our hero’s attempt to take out an assassin leads to a fight on an out-of-control helicopter that nearly crashes into the crowds of celebrants a few times. His reckless actions cause him to be suspended indefinitely from active service by his annoyed boss M (Fiennes, the Harry Potter movies). Has that ever stopped Bond from going after the bad guys? Are you kidding?
Despite having trackers implanted in his blood, 007 goes to Rome where the assassin’s widow (Bellucci, the last two Matrix films) points him towards a clandestine terrorist organization called SPECTRE. All members wear a ring bearing the same insignia, an octopus. He infiltrates a meeting, headed by Franz O., seen only in silhouette until a certain point, where he learns of a plan to eliminate somebody referred to as “The Pale Man”. That would be Mr. White (Christensen), a character we previously met in 2008’s Quantum of Solace. Bond finds him first and discovers he’s dying of thallium poisoning. He asks Bond to protect his daughter, Dr. Madeleine Swann (Seydoux, Blue Is the Warmest Color), who will lead him to SPECTRE headquarters. Meanwhile, smug government official C (Scott, Pride) informs M that he plans to shut down the double-O section of MI6 in favor of a worldwide intelligence organization, a huge computerized surveillance operation basically.
The whole Bond gang is back. In addition to M, gadget-maker Q (Whishaw, Suffragette) and M’s assistant Miss Moneypenny (Harris, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom) are on hand to aid 007 in his mission to bring an end to SPECTRE and the nefarious plan being hatched by Franz. WWE champ Dave Bautista (aka Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy) plays Mr. Hinx, a henchman/assassin who gives Bond a run for his money. The guy has sharpened metal thumbnails with which he pokes out the eyes of those dumb enough to challenge him. Seydoux, as the latest Bond babe, is quite good. As for the latest Bond villain, Waltz knocks it out of the park. Again without coming and saying it, he’s a good choice for the role, even better than I could have imagined.
Spectre scores very high on its “WOW!” factor. In keeping with the times, the action scenes are bigger, louder and more destructive. They’re cool, but notice I only said bigger, NOT better. There’s a lot to be said for the action scenes, like the ski chase in For Your Eyes Only (1981), from the older movies. Craig does a great job as the darker, colder, grittier Bond. He’s every bit the 21st century action hero, but I miss the suaveness of Sean Connery and Roger Moore, always quick with a quip. They always doled out violence with a wink and a smile. Again, Craig’s portrayal of the iconic character is in keeping with the times as is M’s moral dilemma regarding the safety of the world in the hands of technology. He argues that human agents have a license NOT to kill, to make a choice based on instinct.
While very good, Spectre isn’t flawless. It runs a bit longer than it needs to (nearly two-and-a-half hours). It slows down on a few occasions. The theme song by Sam Smith is weak and unmemorable, a pity since the opening credits sequence is kind of cool. Bellucci is underused. These are only minor problems. The rest of Spectre is solid work! Is it one of the best Bond movies? Let’s just say that it’s at the higher end of the list.
TRIVIA TIDBIT: SPECTRE is an acronym for SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion.
