Great Bond movie!!

Rating: 6/10 (17 November 2015)

I was very impressed with this latest installment in the Bond franchise, especially given that it followed the spectacular Skyfall. While Spectre wasn't quite as good as Skyfall this movie is exceptional given that the Bond series has a terrible history of making back to back quality films. Casino Royale was followed by the disappointing Quantum of Solace, Thuderball followed Goldfinger, and every Brosnan movie that isn't GoldenEye.
I don't usually compare Bond movies side by side like this but this movie forces me to, thanks to the many firsts this installment gave us. To start, Sam Mendes is the first person to direct back to back Bond movies, Martin Campbell has made two great Bond movies as well but they were 11 years apart from one another and featured different actors as 007. Also, this is the first movie to reflect on previous movies, tying in a continuity for the Daniel Craig series. Monica Bellucci is the first Bond girl over the age of 40, still looking stunning at 50.
While Sam Mendes is a fantastic filmmaker and this movie is far from garbage, this movie shows why the Bond series needs a new director for every installment (I wanted Nolan real bad). I enjoyed Spectre but I expected more given how Mendes knocked it out of the park with Skyfall. This movie feels like more of the same, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but each Bond movie should feel unique and distinguished from one another. This movie was like a 85% Skyfall. All the same things I loved about Skyfall are there but to a lesser degree.
The story was good but not great like Skyfall. Cristoph Waltz was great but Javier Bardem was amazing. The dialogue from Skyfall was intriguing and smooth whereas Spectre only had flashes of those moments. And Lea Seaydoux's character wasn't the damsel in distress Bond girl nor the butt kicking-involved in the action character, she was just kinda there for the third act.
Don't get me wrong. This is a good movie. Go see it in the theater and have a great time. The acting performances all around were top notch. Daniel Craig, in my mind, is coming real close to challenging Sean Connery as the best Bond ever. Maybe if his last turn as Bond brings his series to a nice conclusive end then he could take the crown. And I love Ralph Fiennes as M, I always felt like the M character should be the diplomat of MI-6 but at the same time can drop some hats when needed.
The story played out really well but the mystery of it all and "twist" at the end was completely expected. I feel that when something is revealed about the story and the filmmakers are questioned on it, their best bet is to offer no comment. Just like Benedict Cumberbatch being Khan and everyone knew it, the producers denied Cristoph Waltz being Blofeld and everyone knew they were lying. So the reveal that he was Blofeld didn't hit me as hard as the filmmakers had hoped. All the same it was great to see the character back and who better than Waltz to play him? The technical side of this movie was some of the best this franchise has ever seen. No, Roger Deakins did not shoot this one but the cinematography was great nevertheless, highlighted by the amazing long take that opened the movie. The action and editing of it was well paced and exciting. And I don't think there is really a Bond movie with a bad score.
All in all, I really enjoyed this Bond movie and it would rank up there amongst the top ten 007 films had it not followed Skyfall. Go see it with a friend, a date, a relative, anyone who wants to see good action but not in a sea of bad acting or shoddy writing.
7 out of 10