Movie Review
By David Josselyn
Director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Skyfall) returns to helm the fourth installment of Daniel Craig’s James Bond in Spectre. Mendes directed the very successful Skyfall which broke box office records for all James Bond movies. While Skyfall had its flaws, it was an excellent movie that would be hard to beat. As a reviewer, it is unfair to color the review based on the success of the predecessor, but it would also be disingenuous not to bring up a comparison, so let’s get that out of the way. Skyfall is arguably the best of Daniel Craig’s Bond career and so it shall remain. This is unfortunate, because Spectre is standing in Skyfall’s shadow and as a stand-alone James Bond movie, it is very good. I think recent reviews from critics would be very different had Spectre followed Quantum of Solace, rather than Skyfall. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, it’s time to really review the movie.
The Story
Spectre opens with James Bond, played by Daniel Craig (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Cowboys & Aliens, The Golden Compass), on a seemingly personal mission to assassinate a terrorist in Mexico City. Bond is successful, but it did not go cleanly and created an international incident between England and Mexico. After the main title sequence, it is revealed that this was not a personal mission, but rather Bond was under orders from the late M, played by Judi Dench (GoldenEye, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Philomena); a last request in the event of her death. The terrorist Bond assassinated is part of a larger organization, Spectre, which Bond wants to uncover and destroy to fulfill his mission from the late M. The current and living M, played by Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter movies IV-VIII, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Schindler’s List), is figuratively under siege by a shift in government power from the human assets of MI6 to the technological data mining of MI5. This shift is being conducted by Max Denbigh, code named C, played by Andrew Scott (Pride, Sherlock, Saving Private Ryan), and threatens to dismantle the 007 program. M counters by telling him “A license to kill is also a license to not kill,” conveying that human intuition cannot be replaced by technology. Regardless, Bond leaves on a mission to hunt down the head of Spectre with the blessing of M, Q, played by Ben Whishaw (Suffragette, Cloud Atlas, I’m Not There), and Moneypenny, played by Naomie Harris (Pirates of the Caribbean movies II-III, 28 Days Later, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom). The hunt for Spectre takes Bond to Austria, Tangiers, and Morocco. Along the way, Bond discovers that the head of Spectre, Franz Oberhauser, played by Christolph Waltz (Django Unchained, Inglourious Basterds, Carnage), a man presumed dead in an avalanche years before, has a connection to Bond’s own past. Bond also has the reluctant help of Madeleine Swann, played by Lea Seydoux (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Inglourious Basterds). Madeleine is a gun-toting, hand to hand combat fighting daughter of Mr. White, played by Jesper Christensen (Quantum of Solace, Casino Royale, Melancholia), who has been Bond’s behind-the-scenes nemesis on two prior outings. As the movie unfolds, it reveals that events in the prior three movies have all been scripted by Spectre.
The Good and the Bad
Mendes takes Bond through exotic locales and events which are reminiscent and true to the James Bond movie franchise. The opening sequence features a street festival celebrating the Day of the Dead with wonderful costumes, drums, and chaos, reminiscent of the Junkanoo street parade from Thunderball. There is a glorious shot of the Austrian Alps with a mountaintop clinic similar to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The desert beauty and isolationism of Morocco has hints of The Spy Who Loved Me and The Living Daylights. In fact, Mendes puts a whole lot of subtle nods to prior Bond locations and events into this one film without distracting from the plot. The whole movie is built upon Bond’s past, not only Daniel Craig, but the other five Bonds, played by Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan.
Christolph Waltz plays the villain with humor, energy, and psychotic driven revenge extremely well and I would hope this is what we get to see from villains of the future. Madeleine Swann is the modern version of a Bond woman who can just as easily hold her own as she can be easy on the eyes. I like that they are chipping away at the misogynistic Bond of the 1950s to bring him and his costars into the 21st century. Moneypenny rejects Bonds advances and innuendos easily and humorously; having a life of her own instead of pining away for the Bond who could never be hers. Spectre’s henchman, Hinx, played by Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Man with the Iron Fists, Chuck) is just this side of Jaws without the metal teeth. Bautista, known for professional wrestling, gets by with a single line and presents an imposing obstacle for Bond.
As with prior Craig Bond films, the goofiness and silliness of Moore’s and Brosnan’s Bonds is gone, replaced with a bit of realism and fun. When Bond is in danger, you feel it. Mendes brings Bond’s London cohorts, M, Q, and Moneypenny, into play and into the plot rather than using them as a plot device. There seems to be one piece missing, though. Where are the other double-oh agents? The power shuffle in London should bring all the double-ohs to the forefront in some manner. In past movies, other double-ohs were only seen to be killed or to become the villain. I would love to see another double-oh with the same talent and moxie as Bond who not only survives the movie, but does so on the side of the good guys.
When considering the flaws of the movie, you have to start with the main title sequence. The graphics are just as good as expected, a bit creepy, and a bit… irrelevant. You have shirtless Daniel Craig at first surrounded by beautiful women, but then being fondled by octopus tentacles. The symbol of the modern Spectre is an upside-down octopus, but the symbol seems to have no bearing on the actual organization and is never brought up in dialogue. Ultimately, the imagery of the title sequence is disconnected from the movie. Perhaps blame can lie in the song, Writing’s On the Wall, by Sam Smith. Smith attempts to make an emotional entry into the iconic Bond song legacy, but his over the top falsetto and slow, crooning orchestral music makes this a better reflective song for the end credits than to set the stage for the movie. In the end, the song vies for the worst of the Bond theme songs along with Jack White and Alicia Keys Another Way to Die and Madonna’s Die Another Day. It is telling when I cannot remember a melody, title, or lyric by the time I get home from the movie. Sorry Sam, you will not be remembered from this song.
The timing and editing of the movie is confusing. In the first half, Mendes gives the feeling of a logical passage of time between scenes which gives honor to the street festival among other things. The pacing changes abruptly in the second half, flipping between scenes without any impression that time passed. In repeat viewings, I think the first half will feel long and drawn out (like this review) and should have had more time with the editors. The movie clocks in at 148 minutes, making it the longest Bond movie. I have nothing against long movies if done well and for good reason, but this one will just be long.
The script builds up to an ultimate reveal that is just a shrug of the shoulders and a big ‘duh’ for the audience. It is no surprise if you have not seen the movie that Oberhauser has changed his name to Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the quintessential villain of the Connery Bond films. The Daniel Craig films have been about rebooting Bond into the 21st century and if you are going to give a movie the title Spectre, the audience will expect Blofeld. There is no mystery about who Blofeld is or will be as you watch Spectre, so the reveal comes across as a dull thud.
In Summary
Overall, Spectre is a great movie in the Bond franchise and will most likely be ranked among the top. It has already raked in more than $219 million in foreign ticket sales at the time of this writing. Mendes does justice to Bond and has successfully completed Daniel Craig’s journey from probationary double-oh to the suave, efficiently deadly, and debonair James Bond we are familiar with. Although Craig is contracted for five movies, this will most likely be his last based on his own desires to be done with the role, and it makes a good capstone for his era. The movie is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, disturbing images, sensuality and language. In other words, it is a Bond film, so be cautious with the youngsters. I rate this film four out of five diamond collars. Thanks to all the nods to previous films, my wonderful wife rates it four out of five kitty cats. My lovely daughter gives it four out of five interrupting Fiats.