Spectre Review

SPOILER WARNING

The Spy Who Bored Me

Spectre

Director: Sam Mendes

Starring: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz,  Ralph Fiennes, Lea Seydoux

I want to begin this review by pointing out that I am a huge fan of James Bond. Ever since I was a child, Bond has been with me. After the blandness of Pierce Brosnan, Craig’s Bond in Casino Royale was a real breath of fresh air. Quantum of Solace was a little disappointing but Skyfall managed to distill that sense of fun that has won 007 fans around the world for decades with a smart script and some inventive touches. It set the bar higher for James Bond. So now we have Spectre, Daniel Craig’s fourth outing as the world’s most famous spy, and the second for director Sam Mendes. It does open very well: apart from the horrible Sam Smith song, which has to rank as one of the worst Bond themes ever, we see Bond seemingly taking time out in Mexico City during a colourful parade. However, all is not what it seems and he encounters a number of Spectre operatives. The film opens with a single tracking shot which is a wonder to behold on the big screen and Craig looks his coolest best. The problem is that it all goes downhill after this. The trailer has revealed that all of Bond’s recent adversaries have been members of international criminal organisation Spectre, headed by the mysterious Franz Oberhauser (Christophe Waltz) and accompanied by the daughter of Mr White (Jesper Christensen), Dr Swann, played by Lea Seydoux, Bond makes it his mission to find Oberhauser and stop Spectre from taking over the world’s security services. They intend to do this via a number of well-placed double agents in MI6.

The shadowy figure of Oberhauser (Waltz)

Widow Lucia Sciarra (Monica Belucci) with Bond

Estrella (Stephanie Sigman) who is Bond’s conquest in Mexico City

Bond in action in Austria

Spectre suffers from a number of big, insurmountable problems: every Bond has to follow a specific formula obviously but when they subvert that format a little or introduce script elements that are well-conceived, then they transcend the film they are included in. The action sequences here are too slick and lacking in humour, so they end up looking like a series of high-end car commercials and because Oberhauser isn’t really seen properly until near the end of the film, any tension that should exist between Bond and him really isn’t there as it hasn’t been built up throughout. Two and a half hours is far too long as well, especially for a film that has blown pretty much all of its best bits in its trailer. Craig looks a little bored sometimes here too and Waltz, who is a good actor, has little to do in Spectre. I won’t confirm whether the rumours about Oberhauser are true or not but it really doesn’t matter. Mendes has made a film which is basically a series of pretty but empty set pieces shot in exotic locations. Seydoux does look stunning but she doesn’t have a lot to do. There are rumblings that this is Craig’s swansong and while Spectre isn’t terrible, it’s a fairly empty enterprise. With Skyfall, Bond still felt relevant but here it feels like he’s been outsmarted by the likes of Bourne and Mission: Impossible. It is time for someone else to slip into the dinner suit and it is time for another rethink.

JOEL MEADOWS

James Bond – 22 Film Collection [Blu-ray] [1962]