A Bond film that occasionally shakes but doesn't stir

Rating: 7/10 (14 November 2015)

This is Daniel Craig's fourth outing as James Bond and it's true that he has resurrected the franchise. The previous Bond movie, Skyfall, probably showed Craig at his peak in a story that was deeply emotional yet filled with all the action scenes we have all come to expect from a Bond production. Bond number 24 has a fantastic introduction followed by quite a few boring bits before coming to life again in the final third of the movie. It's hampered by an epic running time of close to two and a half hours so a 20-25 minute cut would have done no harm. A middling James Bond however is still better than many films of this genre.
James Bond (Daniel Craig) is in Mexico City during the Day of the Dead Festival to track down an assassin. His pursuit leads him to a global threat called Spectre which is an acronym for Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion. This organization is headed by Franz Oberhauser (Chistoph Waltz), who is out to eliminate Bond and those closest to him. With the help of regulars M (Ralph Fiennes), Q (Ben Whishaw) and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), Bond must eliminate this organization to prevent a global disaster and to stop Franz from killing his new love interest, Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux). To complicate matters, a new British intelligence official with ulterior motives, C (Andrew Scott), proposes that Bond and his colleagues are becoming obsolete.
The opening is promising with one tracking shot that lasts about five minutes, showing Bond on the streets of the Day of the Dead Festival in Mexico City and taking him to the roof of a hotel where he is about to kill his target. Thousands of extras were used for this sequence in Mexico with the helicopter hovering above the crowd adding to the tension and excitement. The customary Bond opening titles then give way to many scenes that simply cannot sustain the brilliance of the introduction.
There's been a lot of talk about how Bond finally seduces a woman older than him. In a role that lasts only a couple of minutes, Monica Bellucci has the thankless task of being one of Bond's conquests and you do ask yourself if this fuss was warranted. Léa Seydoux plays the other Bond girl and is more central to the story although there isn't the emotional depth between the two characters. It's frankly difficult to believe that they could fall in love with each other and there's no way this relationship can compare with the one that Bond had with Vesper Lynd in Craig's first Bond film, Casino Royale.
Waltz is menacing as the villain but he's missing for huge chunks of the film. The story becomes exciting again whenever he's featured and the scene where he tortures Bond is gripping. One of Franz's henchmen, Mr Hinx (Dave Bautista), channels Jaws from The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker in portraying the thug with a limited vocabulary. The scene on the train where he is fighting Bond is also another highlight of the film.
Ralph Fiennes replaces Judi Dench as M and has quite a large role although the rapport between Craig and Dench is sorely missed. Fiennes adds authority to his role but isn't as convincing as Dench was in portraying M. The other two regulars in Harris and Whishaw have their moments to shine. Craig is a more serious Bond so he doesn't quote as many puns or one-liners as the previous Bonds. His dramatic skill comes to the fore in numerous scenes and he also capably fills the action requirements. There is a large number of stunt performers to showcase the action scenes which are handled superbly.
What is a Bond film without scenic locations? Places like Mexico, Morocco, Italy, Austria and England contribute to the visual aesthetics. The sound quality is also amazing with the sound effects bringing many of the action scenes to life. Thomas Newman has his first stint as a Bond composer with a welcome return to the John Barry days of lush orchestrations and the inclusion of Monty Norman's Bond theme.
Craig has been quoted as saying that he doesn't want to play Bond for too much longer. It will be sad to see him eventually vacate his post as he is reliable and doesn't let viewers down again in Spectre but it's the story that lets audiences down with its many superfluous scenes. For this reason, it doesn't rise to the pinnacle of Craig's Bond as exhibited in its predecessor, but it's still an entertaining follow-up.