If nothing else, most of the James Bond films are some of the best-looking movies out there, and the ones starring Daniel Craig are no different. Director Sam Mendes knows how to shoot a film well—just watch “American Beauty” or “Road to Perdition.” The marriage of Mendes’ style and Ian Fleming’s suave secret agent made a lot of noise in 2012 with “Skyfall,” the Bond film many consider one of the best five.
This time around, Mendes makes sure “Spectre” does exactly what the follow-up to “Skyfall” should do, and that is not outdo “Skyfall.” With a new and more subdued story to tell, Mendes and his team make not only one of the best looking Bond films, but also one of the most chill and easy-paced action films in quite a while.
Sometimes that’s a good thing. Sometimes that’s a bad thing. Either way, Daniel Craig makes it worth every minute of the ride.
The story kicks off with 007 “on a holiday” in Mexico for Day of the Dead where he learns through a cryptic message that an old and mysterious enemy is still at large. But after the events of Skyfall, the death of the previous M and MI6 crumbling under the watchful eye of a new privately owned tech company, Bond is at the end of his rope and has just about had it with being a spy.
When Bond and his colleagues Q (played by Ben Whishaw) and Moneypenny (played by Naomie Harris) discover the enemy group, Spectre, has been cause of terrorist attacks across the globe, Bond travels to Rome and infiltrates a secret Spectre meeting.
He soon realizes he must seek the help of Dr. Madeleine Swan (played by Léa Seydoux), the daughter of an old enemy, Mr. White, who may hold the key piece of knowledge that can untangle the web Spectre has created and save MI6 from the corporate overlord in the process.
With the help of the new M (played by Ralph Fiennes), Bond ventures towards the heart of Spectre, where he learns an unnerving connection between himself and its leader, Franz Oberhauser (played by Christoph Waltz), that will make Bond reevaluate his career as 007 forever.
The entire opening action sequence oozes everything great about a good Bond film. Amazing camerawork, beautiful women in beautiful costumes, a suave 007 taking on bad guys in a calm and collected manor and a shocking climax to a fight scene that takes place in an out-of-control helicopter. This is how you start a Bond movie right. Unfortunately, in never really gets that great again.
But that’s not to say there aren’t great aspects of the movie that deserve to be praised. Everyone at MI6, from M to Moneypenny, are great characters portrayed by great actors who know how to make us care about them. But no one comes close to Q, the Double-O program’s tech wizard.
Every time Bond and Q interact, they’re the most entertaining, the most comical and the most believable parts of the movie. Craig and Ben Whishaw have the best chemistry of anyone in the last few Bond movies, and it’s never a waste when they’re on screen here.
As easily the best Bond since Sean Connery in 1962, Daniel Craig never disappoints. Even when the story seems to slow down to a near halt, Craig radiates charm and class off the screen while remaining relatable and approachable as a human character.
After the events of “Skyfall,” Bond is an emotionally scarred man with the physical scars to prove it, and his character here expands on that. He’s more fed up, he’s not as quick and sharp as he used to be and he really just wants to be done with the whole secret agent thing. Of all the 007s over the years, Craig’s goes through the biggest growth with the most development, and no one other than Craig could have pulled that off.
But with every great hero should come an equally great villain. Unfortunately, this villain had all the potential in the world to be great, but he ends up being severely underused and a waste of time. The leader of Spectre, Franz Oberhauser, has been around since the early Bond days, in both the books and movies.
Casting the great Christoph Waltz should have been cinema gold. But when he’s on screen for a total of four scenes that add up to maybe 15 minutes of screen time in a two-hour, 30-minute film, that’s a big mistake and the story suffers for it.
This is a Bond film for the fans of Craig and the more subdued installments of the series. The cinematography is phenomenal and the action scenes are brilliantly shot, but for the regular moviegoer the fights are few and far between.
With a lot more quiet scenes of discussion and detective work, non-super fans won’t think of this as a great Bond film. Maybe it’s not, but it’s at least worth seeing in theaters and then owning six months from now.
Quigley Films Unlimited 