An Improvement From the More Recent Bond Films

Rating: 7/10 (28 August 2016)

As the 24th addition to the James Bond franchise, "SPECTRE" is the highest budget in Bond history, but Daniel Craig is back in his forth role as James Bond and he's back for another high energetic, quick-paced spy thriller filled with gadgets, gizmos, hot women and dry martinis, shaken and not stirred. Aside from Ralph Fiennes returning as M and Ben Whishaw as Q and Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, Bond is also in fine company in the like of Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Monica Belluci and Dave Bautista, but the best of the bunch is Andrew Scott from the "Sherlock" series. But one has to wonder does "SPECTRE" have what it takes to be one of the best Bond films of the modern era?
"SPECTRE" starts of with an oblique message from the past that sends 007 on an initiative to Mexico City where he meets a beautiful middle-aged woman named Lucia (Monica Belluci) who also happens to the widowed wife of a notorious felon. Bond conducts an esoteric meeting and unravels a diabolical organization known only by the abbreviation of SPECTRE. We next go back to London, the head of Centre of National Security Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott) evaluates Bond's actions and looks into the relevancy from the MI6 led by M (Ralph Fiennes). Bond seeks help from Q (Ben Whislaw) and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) to find the whereabouts of Madeline Swann (Lea Seydoux), who is the daughter of an old rivalry Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) who may know how to decode and bring down the organization of SPECTRE. As the assassin's daughter, only she can understand what Bond is going through. As he clues in closer to what's behind SPECTRE, he gets a startling discovery that connects between himself and the enemy he's after.
From the beginning, "SPECTRE" is on the similar path from the earlier Jammes Bond that Craig was in as we explore the more personal relationships that we've been following over the years. Unlike the other Bond films, Craig's version has embodied more emotional attachments. For those loyal fans who have followed Bond and liked him for the more carefree character, it's quite refreshing we see Bond narrowly escaping potential death, a more brooding intense character like the Bond we see today is gladly a welcome addition even though unconventional. And while Christoph Waltz may not be as fearsome as Bond's arch enemy Blofeld may not embody the the more fearsome presence of Javier Bardem's Silva character from "Skyfall", but his domineering and yet stunning charisma can be just as equally intimidating. But the audience would've loved to see more physical battles between the two.
As for Bond girls as of late Lea Seydoux's Madeline Swann is 10x better than Olga Kurylenko from "Quantum of Solace" and Berenice Marlohe from "Skyfall". However, Eva Green from "Casino Royale" is the best Bond girl from the Daniel Craig Bond era. Andrew Scott who's been quite impressive in the "Sherlock" series is still as diabolical as ever in his role as C who wants to go to great lengths to disclose the 00 program. And even though the action scenes are quite scarce, they are the meal ticket to this great thriller. Former WWE superstar Dave Bautista makes his appearance as the towering big guy Mr. Hinx. Bautista's entry in the film may start as just an eye-opening teaser, but the confrontation he has with Bond on the train to Morocco was one of the greatest fisticuffs ever in a Bond movie. And even though Sam Mendes succeeds in weaving the four outings of Daniel Craig's Bond character over the years, the finished product does take in a more slower pace that's in contrast to the other Bond films.
Overall, "SPECTRE" still succeeds in providing its audience an endless array of exciting action, plenty of cool gadgets, spontaneous car chases, and gorgeous ladies. It would've been better if they found a better theme song than Sam Smith's "Writings on the Wall". But other than a few minor quips, "SPECTRE" is an awesome action espionage film.