Spectre: Movie Review
After the massive success with 2012’s “Skyfall”, director Sam Mendes was brought back to helm the follow-up 007 installment, “Spectre”. Daniel Craig also is back as James Bond for possibly the last time. If this is indeed Craig’s last outing, I feel somewhat conflicted about it. “Spectre” does a decent job tying up the storyline that began with “Casino Royal” and it would only make sense to reboot the franchise with a new actor at this point. On the other hand, “Spectre” as a whole is pretty weak and one of the most uninspired installments in recent memory. Part of me would like to see Craig have another crack at closing out his time as Bond on a high note, even though he seems pretty bored with the part.
“Spectre” opens up in the middle of Mexico’s “Day of the Dead” festival, where we see Bond on the tail of a target. After a misfire, Bond goes on the chase and ends up in a helicopter fight that looks utterly cheesy. Next, we cut to one of the worst 007 theme songs ever, preformed by Sam Smith before continuing on with the story. After the fall of 007 headquarters in “Skyfall” the secret service agency is now on the brink of being eliminated. While M (Ralph Fiennes) deals with the politics, Bond is traveling the globe looking for the organization that killed the former M (Judi Dench).
What Bond didn’t realize is that the villainous organization known as “Spectre” is headed by Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz), a man with close ties to Bond’s past. Although the agency is not able to assist Bond due to its own problems, he is still not alone. Along for the ride is Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), the daughter of a former “Spectre” member, that he swore to protect. Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Whishaw) also help when they can.
Like most 007 films, “Spectre” is filled with great locations. My personal favorite is the Oberhauser’s facility within a crater. The problem is that the action feels repetitive. We have a handful of chases that never feel thrilling. It feels like Bond makes his way into a helicopter way too often and the thing runs nearly 150 minutes without any really good reason. Mendes is a terrific filmmaker but with “Spectre” it feels like he took the job simply for the money or maybe to help him get a passion project greenlit. The magic is missing. Despite all the problems with the latest 007 release, I have to say that it’s still better than “Quantum of Solace”.
By: Marc Ferman