Spectre starts out placing Bond in Mexico City during the Day of the Dead festival, an annual Mexican celebration. The long tracking shots in this scene are accompanied by some magnificent visuals. Mendes pays homage to the opening scene of Orson Wells' A Touch of Evil. Filmed as a one shot, the establishing tracking shot is a way for us to take all of this hugely scoped set in. Our eyes are drawn to every inch of the screen, as it is filled with vibrant costume and set design. There are a total of 1,500 extras at hand within this scene, to give an idea of the scale. 007 somehow passes off full body skeleton attire as suave and irresistible to the opposite sex. Bond is ever so briefly shown to seduce a young woman up into a hotel room, which in this case is like always, advantageous to his cause. Off he goes out of the window and its back to business. The scene as an opening condenses every convention of Bond into a rubber ball and allows it to bounce around on screen. The girls, the gadgets, the sarcastic humour and the intense action sequence. If this is how we're starting the film, we better prepare for some more heavy-hitters.
The opening credits follow with a mesmerising soundtrack by Sam Smith, and some jaw dropping visuals. Even in 2D the Octopus seemed to reach out of the screen and slap the audience with its rich colour and exquisite detail. Burnt pieces of paper float around on screen, representing the demons of Bonds past. Within them the faces of those he has killed, and those such as M and Vesper Lynd who were killed and taken from Bond.
Despite the opening 15-20 minutes looking extremely promising, what followed were some extremely drab scenes and dialogue. They almost look like they've been pulled from the deleted scenes of Skyfall. The aim of the film is quite obviously to pull together the previous three films; Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall into some form of closure. This works to an extent. A touching moment where Bond finds a tape of Vesper Lynds interrogation reminds us of the one who got away, and how he hasn't quite moved on from that. We are occasionally treat to some traditional Bond car chases and fight sequences. The Rome car chase in particular is very visually stimulating. The cinematography captures Rome in a dazzling fashion, showcasing some landmarks amidst the high pace chase between Bond and a Spectre henchman. This scene follows our introduction to the Spectre organisation, Christopher Waltz and his character Oberhauser.
Craig delivers as he always does as Bond. This time more than ever, as all of his previous endeavours are brought together to overshadow him. The supporting cast also deliver some remarkable performances. Lea Seydoux delivers a fantastic performance as Madeleine Swann, a child left alone in the world following the suicide of her father. A swift connection develops between Swann and Bond which was at points predictable. Dave Bautista is as intimidating as ever, even more so as a mute oddball. Whilst other members of the supporting cast shine, Ralph Fiennes struggles to fit the boots of M, as Dame Judy Dench leaves a gaping hole in the Bond universe, following her death in Skyfall. Christopher Waltz lacks screen time as Oberhauser. The film is 2 hours and 30 minutes long yet we see very little of our Bond villain. This is unfortunate as Waltz can quite clearly deliver breathtaking performances, boasting two oscars from his performances in Inglorious Basterds (2009) and Django: Unchained (2012). The points in which he was in throughout the film, seemed quite dry and lacked any real emphasis or dramatic execution.
Despite whisking us around the world to exotic and glamorised locations such as Mexico City, Rome, Morocco and Austria, we return to jolly old London for an old fashioned showdown, with no shortage of explosions. With this we return to the quintessentially British roots of Bond. The film also ends in a traditionally British manner, with Bond driving away in an old Aston Martin through the cold and colourless streets of London.
In conclusion, I would give Spectre a modest 7/10. At times extremely entertaining and visually spectacular, that does not make up for the lack of character depth or originality. Nor does it compare to Casino Royale or Skyfall. The things we have seen before (the car chases, the fight scenes, and the sex scenes) are drab and cliche even in the repetitive context of Bond movies. The supporting cast at times brilliant, in the long run do not live up to their potential. Reinforcing my previous point that Christopher Waltz' character Oberhauser was seemingly left out of the narrative. The film relies heavily on the traditional Bond formula for the most part. Despite this, the modern Bond films such as Spectre have moved away from winking killers such as Sean Connery, Roger Moore and the objectified Bond girls of yesteryear. Craig is a born killer as Bond, a brutally relentless agent, with real women like Madeleine Swann that are more than just two dimensional sex objects. I would like to see at-least one more Bond film starring Daniel Craig, but only time will tell.
Craig delivers as he always does as Bond. This time more than ever, as all of his previous endeavours are brought together to overshadow him. The supporting cast also deliver some remarkable performances. Lea Seydoux delivers a fantastic performance as Madeleine Swann, a child left alone in the world following the suicide of her father. A swift connection develops between Swann and Bond which was at points predictable. Dave Bautista is as intimidating as ever, even more so as a mute oddball. Whilst other members of the supporting cast shine, Ralph Fiennes struggles to fit the boots of M, as Dame Judy Dench leaves a gaping hole in the Bond universe, following her death in Skyfall. Christopher Waltz lacks screen time as Oberhauser. The film is 2 hours and 30 minutes long yet we see very little of our Bond villain. This is unfortunate as Waltz can quite clearly deliver breathtaking performances, boasting two oscars from his performances in Inglorious Basterds (2009) and Django: Unchained (2012). The points in which he was in throughout the film, seemed quite dry and lacked any real emphasis or dramatic execution.
Despite whisking us around the world to exotic and glamorised locations such as Mexico City, Rome, Morocco and Austria, we return to jolly old London for an old fashioned showdown, with no shortage of explosions. With this we return to the quintessentially British roots of Bond. The film also ends in a traditionally British manner, with Bond driving away in an old Aston Martin through the cold and colourless streets of London.
In conclusion, I would give Spectre a modest 7/10. At times extremely entertaining and visually spectacular, that does not make up for the lack of character depth or originality. Nor does it compare to Casino Royale or Skyfall. The things we have seen before (the car chases, the fight scenes, and the sex scenes) are drab and cliche even in the repetitive context of Bond movies. The supporting cast at times brilliant, in the long run do not live up to their potential. Reinforcing my previous point that Christopher Waltz' character Oberhauser was seemingly left out of the narrative. The film relies heavily on the traditional Bond formula for the most part. Despite this, the modern Bond films such as Spectre have moved away from winking killers such as Sean Connery, Roger Moore and the objectified Bond girls of yesteryear. Craig is a born killer as Bond, a brutally relentless agent, with real women like Madeleine Swann that are more than just two dimensional sex objects. I would like to see at-least one more Bond film starring Daniel Craig, but only time will tell.
