Spectre Review

Starring: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes

Spectre marks Daniel Craig's fourth appearance as Agent 007, in one of the biggest movie franchises of all time. James Bond has always been able to get a good amount of interest, but now the stakes are even higher. Skyfall is an incredible act to follow. The 2012 Bond outing made over $1 billion worldwide, produced a hit single from Adele, and won an Oscar. Skyfall was so different from any James Bond movie before it, and reinvigorated an aging franchise. Now there's a new villain, and a new M, and Spectre has a lot to live up to. I can soundly assure you that if you're a 007 fan, this movie will satisfy all of your needs. It doesn't take many, if any, of the risks that Skyfall took. It instead is set up like a classic Bond espionage thriller, that reminds one of the Connery films.

Spectre is about James Bond attempting to find a criminal organization of the same name. After he's put on house arrest, he skips town and goes rogue to try and find and put a stop to the massive corrupt organization that is trying to take over the world. It's classic Bond. You may recall that Skyfall didn't really have a Bond girl. The one they teased in the trailers ended up being killed almost instantly in a twist, and the other one ended up being Eve Moneypenny, Bond's sidekick that had yet to appear in Craig's films. Spectre has a couple of sex scenes for Bond, but Madeleine Swann (Seydoux) definitely makes an impression as the definitive Bond girl of the film. She is a sexist trope at times, but she's also able to transcend that fight with the guys. The villain is Christoph Waltz, who is always amazing. I can't spoil his character, but if you're a fan you'll see it coming. Waltz is unlike the Bond villains of recent films. He's solely a malevolent force, and nothing more. This truly channels the campy old movies, but connects it with the new. He's not a fleshed out character at all, but he's still very dark.

Here's what I don't like about Spectre. There isn't much, I really enjoyed this movie. First, it is far too long. I can't say that I hate long movies, I've sat through a couple that I truly believe could not be shortened. But Spectre could have been 30 minutes shorter, and it would have made the movie seem more compact. Early scenes seem forced and unneeded when the final plans of Waltz's villain are revealed. And it takes away from the really good scenes. I also criticize the Bond franchise for not doing more with the leaps and bounds that Skyfall achieved. Skyfall truly crossed over into a new medium, and I wish Spectre continued with that momentum.

 I do admire director Sam Mendes attempt at making a classic Bond film, but I think audiences my age will not enjoy it. The sexism and cookie-cutter bad guys are fun for the old fans and the cinephiles, but I have a hard time believing Spectre will do nearly as well as Skyfall. Look at the box-office, and you can see it opened millions below, and isn't even faring well overseas. It's a shame, because it is a nice and entertaining film. I just don't think audiences will be talking about it for long.

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