not as good as all the hype

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

This film is the 24th film in the James Bond 007 saga. As is traditional in the Bond films there were numerous exotic locations and characters. In particular Rome looked nice. The cinematography was visually pleasing with lots of clever, often shadowy, lighting.The espionage thriller with Daniel Craig as Bond and French actress Lea Seydoux as primary Bond Girl, psychologist Dr. Madeleine Swann, is a typical cocktail of adventure, action stunts, explosions and fighting. There are also cosy scenes such as those between Bond and Swann on a train in Morocco.So much for the pros of the film. What about the cons? It is long at well over 2 hours, hence the advantage of watching it at home if possible. There is a fair amount of gratuitous violence with nasty scenes where Bond suffers at the hands of the main villain Blofeld (alias Franz Oberhauser) played by Christoph Waltz. Unpleasant to say the least.

This might not be the best Daniel Craig Bond, but it is a great film none-the-less, a visual and auditory feast, which is let down by its script, which could have brought further clarity to what is an emotionally impactful story. Firstly, the film is technically and artistically stunning showpiece. It continues the Bond globe-trotting experience. Each location is worthy of acclaim. From the opening Day-of-the-Dead sequence in Mexico City, to the closing credits, Spectre is striking. I'm not just talking about the static scenery either. The action is well-choreographed, suspenseful. and, given Bond's penchant for against-the-odds survival, the set-piece moments finely toe the line between 007 and over-the-top outrageous. Even in it's most frenetic, the action is visceral and not reliant on obvious cgi, so 'believability' ultimately wins out. Similarly, the music elicits a awesome and suspenseful chord. There is a constant undercurrent that builds the films tone of looming, pervasive background threat. On that note, the villain of this film is a throwback to Bond of old but represents a greater universal fear, anxiety brought on by all-seeing-eye of the information age. MI6 too is under attack, by threat of irrelevance, by way of technological progress, and some key architects of this progress. Bond's character is shaped by this impending threat, and the villain looming in the background. HIs tragic existence as a 00 agent is brought into light here. Bond wrestles with the demon of profound loss, his loved ones jeopardized by the life he chose to lead as an agent. As we come to learn, the film's villain is somewhat like a puppeteer, pulling the strings behind Bond's life and loss. At first glance, this does a disservice to Bond's story, alleviating his guilt by giving him a clear scapegoat for his pent up grief. But, as we come to learn, this connection is not arbitrary, but crucial to Bond's upbringing. As in Skyfall, we are given just a glimpse into Bond's past, of a time when he more human than agent. If throughout the film Bond appears traditionally disconnected, stoic, and dangerous, defined by his desire for cheap thrills of women, drink, and violence, at the expense of those he cares for, that guise in more transparent than ever, and in the cracks in his facade, we glimpse the humanity he wrestles with. For despite his roguish actions, Bond's fondness for Money-Penny, Q, and M, as well as his reverence for country and honor, are on display as well. He brings the crew into his world by bestowing upon them trust. He allows them to help him, a rarity for a man who built his life and career upon distrust in the world and others. Though this display of trust, Bond reveals his true colors. These MI6 relationships are the backbone of the movie, heightened by excellent work from Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, and Ralph Fiennes. Ultimately, despite all that I enjoy about this film. I can't help but feel the the script relies too heavily on cliche and ambiguity. I ask: Would it have better served this film to make the storytelling a bit more transparent to the viewer through richer dialogue and character motivations? Spectre's deeper themes may rely too heavily on visual language and extended metaphor to usurp the one dimensional traditional Bond tropes on display . On the other hand, this film is a sensory experience, and perhaps the ambiguity of the scripting and superficial gloss serves to reinforce the themes at play. As one must look beyond Bond's obvious actions to understand the man inside, the viewer must search beyond the film's veneer to uncover the emotional resonance.

This is a sequel to SKYFALL. Bond battles "the author of all his pain" as his secret past is revealed. An international organization plans on uniting all the top intelligence agencies in order to combat terrorism. However their goals are not benign nor are their methods honorable. Bond has his hands tied by his own agency as he operates in a semi-rogue fashion.The film gives us plenty of over the top action, Bond girls, Bond lines, Bond car and the Bond drink. I don't recall the casino. It shows the evolution of a man. It also shows us why men like Bond are obsolete in the modern world of intelligence gathering and drones....or does it?Perhaps it is me, but the film seems to changed to have more action than drama.

'Spectre' is the 24th Bond film and Daniel Craig's fourth - and final - outing as 007. Is not the best Bond, but nor is it the worst. It does play a lot on nostalgia and the villains/plots (Spectre) of the Moore/Connery eras. It has a lot of classic Bond attributes going for it: worldwide locations (Mexico, Italy, Austria, Morocco), great cars & car chases, plane/helicopter stunts, some sly humour, martinis, explosions and disobeying orders, but it also feels a little tired in places.The plot does well to link in aspects of 'Casino Royale', 'Quantum of Solace' and 'Skyfall', but doesn't really offer much of a driving force, as does Blofeld (Waltz)'s motive as the villain - it's there, but poorly articulated and Waltz is not fully utilised as well as he could be, which is a shame, since we know he can be a great bad guy ('Inglorious Basterds' & 'Django Unchained'). Swann (Seydoux) is also adequate, but never 100% convincing.There's probably too many "down"/slow moments in a 2 & a half hour film, but at times the score - or lack of, before it kicks back in - is excellent. Q (Whishaw) and M (Fiennes) are both good and get a bit more screen time than usual. The fight scenes are well done and there's plenty of action, but I'm interested to see who the next Bond is - and hope they give us four or five years to anticipate it.