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nSpectre (2015)
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nDirector: Sam Mendes
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nCast: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, RalphnFiennes, Monica Belluci, Naomie Harris, Dave Bautista, Ben Whishaw
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nSo here we are, the 24th Bond film. Let’s recap: thisnis Daniel Craig’s fourth run as Bond and in my opinion, the best rendition ofnBond ever. Skyfall (2012), directed by Sam Mendes, was without a doubt in mynmind one of the best Bond films ever and thankfully, Mendes is back behind thendirectors chair, closing the chapter on Daniel Craig’s run as Bond. The filmndoes feel like its definitely closing a cycle, it connects all the threenprevious films. It feels like the next Bond film will go in an entirely newndirection for the series. So anyhow, how was Spectre? Does it up the ante and maintainnthe same level of quality established by Skyfall? I’d say that yes, itndoes. This is after all the same creative team we had in Skyfall and we are talking about the most expensivenof the Bond films, so yeah, it gives us more of what we like about Bond films. Thisntime around Bond goes up against Spectre, a top secret society of powerfulnindividuals who rule the world. They are hell bent on destroying the 007 programnso they can establish a network that will know everything about everybody,neverywhere, all the time.
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nFor a while now, these Bond films have been trying tondestroy everything that has been established in the Bond universe.I mean, thenMI-6 headquarters was blown to smithereens and M died on the previous film! Wengot a new Q, and now for Spectre even the whole 007 program is now in shambles.nSo it’s clear to me that filmmakers are trying to destroy everything previouslynestablished so they can create again. Newnactors, new faces, basically, they’ve been hard at work at giving the wholenfranchise a face lift, and they are doing this systematically, from film tonfilm. These new movies have a continuity to them that’s working like magic. Yetnat the same time, even with all the face-lifts the franchise is getting, this isnstill the same old Bond. We still get an amazing credit sequence that’s used tongive us a glimpse at what we’ll be seeing in the film. We still get Bond askingnfor his Martini, “shaken but not stirred”. He still says his name is “Bond…JamesnBond”, and Q still gives him his gadgets. He still gets a cool car in everynmovie, followed by an awesome chase sequence in said car. So yeah, the seriesnis getting a face lift, but the new films still follow the formula closely. It’sna tried and true and the producers don’t want to mess with it.
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nStory wise the film is very contemporary, it plays with thatnidea that the powers that be are gathering data, they are studying our behavior,nour interests, where we go and what we buy. Basically, the film is addressingnthe loss of privacy due to the advancement of technology, which serves as andouble edged knife. On the one hand technology makes our lives easier, itnentertains us, yet at the same time, it opens a door wide open to whoever wantsnto scrutinize our lives. Sadly, this is the kind of world we are currentlynliving in. Interesting part about that we cannot put a face to whoever isngathering and analyzing all this data. What the film does is give a face and anname to “them”, to “they”. I loved that Bond manages to infiltrate thisnpowerful secret society and even gets to listen to one of these secret meetingsnin which “they” decide the fate of the world. Interestingly enough these allnpowerful individuals are heard talking about pharmaceutical companies, deceasesnand about how they can sell us the cure; which is another common “conspiracyntheory”. The idea that pharmaceutical companies are making us sick so we havento pay for their cure. So yeah, Spectre plays with some heavy themes.
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nMy only gripe with this new film is that it’s not originalnin the sense that the “Big Brother is Watching You” theme has been played tondeath, most recently in films like Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014),nhell, even the idea of eliminating the secret agent program was recently usednin Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015). Still, Spectre has enough subplotsnand action to keep you interested all the way through, in fact, it’s the most actionnpacked of the Daniel Craig movies. It opens with this amazing action sequence thatntakes place in Mexico during the Day of the Dead celebrations. It opens thenfilm with a huge bang! Action wise, you won’t be disappointed. I’m glad aboutnthis because I thought the first two Daniel Craig movies Casino Royale (2006)nand especially Quantum of Solace (2008) were severely lacking in action scenes.nThankfully Spectre does not disappoint in that department; in fact, thenfranchise even recovers its sense of humor with this entry, a welcomed elementnin my book. The previous three films were so serious and solemn, Spectrenmanages to squeeze in a joke or two which was much appreciated, I always likenit when Bond gets cocky and sarcastic. So I’m happy to report that the “fun” element has been brought back to the Bond films with Spectre, albeit in a controlled manner.
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nThen there’s the cast which is beyond amazing, this isnDaniel Craig at the top of his game. By now he’s got Bond down flat. ChristophnWaltz as the main villain is the icing on the cake. I mean, I love it when theynput a great actor to play the Bond villain, I mean, how cool was Javier Bardemnin Skyfall? Memorable in deed. On Spectre we get the cool andncalculating Christoph Waltz as the all seeing, all knowing Blowfeld. Sadly wensee very little of Monica Belucci in Spectre, she’s a cinematic goddess thatndeserved a better role, she seemed wasted. Finally, Spectre is a great Bondnfilm, with good action, beautiful dames, exotic locales and a fantastic cast.nImportant things happen to Bond on this film, this could be the last time wensee Daniel Craig as James Bond film, but considering how much money Spectrenwill make at the box office, I don’t doubt he’ll be back for “one last film”.nLooking forward to seeing Craig again, but if Craig and Mendes don’t return, itnwill be interesting to see who they give these roles to. Whoever they end upnbeing, they’ve got big shoes to fill! Spectre, like Skyfall, is a solid entrynin a franchise that is enjoying some of its best moments.
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nRating: 4 out of 5
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