007 has taken a vacation. Is spotted in Mexico City on the Day of the Dead, and in the heat of the street parades, finds his target plot a public incident in a private meeting, then chases him right into a helicopter that takes flight and takes out all other passengers on board, including the pilot. Just another day in James Bond's spy life? Not quite.
Film: Spectre
Director: Sam Mendes
Cast: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Dave Bautista, Andrew Scott, Monica Bellucci
Rating: ***
What's it about: 007 has taken a vacation. Is spotted in Mexico City on the Day of the Dead, and in the heat of the street parades, finds his target plot a public incident in a private meeting, then chases him right into a helicopter that takes flight and takes out all other passengers on board, including the pilot. Just another day in James Bond's spy life? Not quite.
He's there on M's orders (Dame Dench, not Mr Fiennes), to assassinate Marco Sciarra, attend his funeral, steal his ring, seduce his widow Lucia, find out about secret evil organisation Spectre. He then learns that he's grounded, that MI6 and MI5 are now one entity, effectively ending the 00 programme, on paper at least and that this film's villain Franz Oberhauser (Waltz) knows who he is and where he is.
A car chase with Franz's strongman Mr Hinx (Bautista) follows, which ends with a very expensive high-end spy car seeing a watery demise.
End of story? Not yet.
Bond has to find Franz, to find him he finds Mr White who leaves him clues and the responsibility to protect his daughter Madeleine Swann (Seydoux) from Spectre before offing himself. There's more? Duh! But I'll let you watch the film for that.
What's hot: Much of Bond's popularity with audiences hinges with the actor playing him. The rugged, magnetic and intensely physical man's man Daniel Craig makes a strong point for the franchise's continuing popularity. It's heartening to see Moneypenny (played by Harris here) 'have a life'. Dr Swann knows her mind, at least at the outset and in the middle. The performances and the eye-catching locations (lost count how many) are highlights of the film.
What's not: If it hasn't struck you yet, too much is crammed into one film. The current M in the supposed brave new world is not as charismatic as his predecessor. Subtlety has become the norm rather than the exception in the gadgetry and there's little by way of gags or chuckles. The plot is formulaic. Effective to a point, but a letdown in the end. Compare it to Craig's previous outings and you'll see why I'm saying that. The last few Bond villains (Le Chiffre and Silva in particular) are as brutal as they're menacing. Not so with Franz Oberhauser aka Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Thanks to some rather archaically constructed sequences (it'd actually be funny if this was a spoof or parody), Waltz, an otherwise fine actor, comes off a caricature. And don't even get me started on the rather silly back-and-forth between the two. I'd rather you watch it yourself and endure it.
What to do: Who are we kidding? It's a Bond entertainer starring Daniel Craig. Most of you are going to like it. For me, it was a rather safe, been-there-done-that outing. Suffice to say, it started well, but kinda lost steam in the middle. Overall, I was neither stirred, nor shaken.
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