After the critical and commercial success of Skyfall (it is the highest grossing James Bond movie of all-time, and it finally won an Oscar — for Best Song), following-up that masterpiece was going to be one tough endeavor.
Having Daniel Craig back as Bond and Sam Mendes returning as director should certainly help things. And knowing the 24-film long series’ passionate fan base, having Spectre being the title and all that entails surely had anticipation shooting through the roof. Perhaps, it was so high that there was no way it could be met?
Since Craig came onboard to the series with Casino Royale, it seemed that this was a modern Bond wired for the world that we all know currently. After two other films, that was something that seemed set in stone. After Skyfall, it appeared that the next film would be a true announcement of Bond being back. He had rid himself of his demons and was ready to serve On His Majesty’s Secret Service.
Then, we saw Spectre. It is almost a tribute to the older Bond films that is filled with him drinking martinis constantly, action sequences that are astounding, but don’t quite connect the dots of the plot and even a henchman (Dave Bautista) that doesn’t say a word and shows up at random times to fight Bond to the death. Their final mano-a-mano moment doesn’t even make any sense in the scope of the Spectre plot.
Spectre begins with a stellar action set piece set in Mexico City on the Day of the Dead. We learn that Bond has gone rogue and that is not sitting well with M (Ralph Fiennes, in his first full movie in the role). But, Bond is on a mission and it is to find someone from his past (a man named Oberhauser – played by Christoph Waltz) who is haunting his present and is clearly a danger to the entire world and its future.
There’s a whole subplot that involves a government official trying to shut down MI6 and close down the “double-00s” that also feels a bit old school. Didn’t we go through that with Pierce Brosnan’s Bond? And didn’t we go through that initially with Judi Dench’s M when Daniel Craig first started? Another thing that bothered this writer is the idea that information is threatening and therefore our security needs to be tightened and centralized. It’s a common plot line in too many movies and we’re kind of disappointed that that aspect drags down this otherwise decent Bond movie.
But, there is still plenty of good fun to be had. Bond movies, even mediocre ones, are still a blast and this 007 fan will take any opportunity to sit in the cinema and enjoy our action shaken and not stirred by our favorite man with a license to kill. Skyfall is still the best Craig Bond movie, but Spectre is not the worst. Skyfall increased expectations and that was a problem that in hindsight was a no-win for all those involved.
That being said, Spectre does introduce an old Bond foe, it uses the classic henchman baddie for the first time in decades, gives us a 007 car chase that is one of the best in years and the sight of Bond in a skeleton suit for the Day of the Dead alone is worth the price of admission.
Grade: B-