"...and I thought you came here to die"

Rating: 8/10 (7 November 2015)

James Bond is suspended from MI6 after assassinating a known terrorist in Mexico City whilst M, his superior, resists pressure from the powers-that-be to terminate the 00 programme. Going through personal effects recovered from Skyfall, 007 uncovers a dark secret about himself and heads to Rome where he comes face to face with one of the most terrifying criminal organisations in the world-SPECTRE. As more disturbing secrets regarding his past as well as his previous missions come to light, Bond realises that SPECTRE is pulling the strings behind the termination of the 00 section. This places many lives in danger which compels him to try and destroy SPECTRE'S plans...
The stratospheric success of the Bond franchise is continued with aplomb by Eon Productions, who place Sam Mendes in the director's chair once again. I'll get down to the nitty-gritty okay, Spectre continues a story arc from Daniel Craig's first three Bond movies. Before Craig's Casino Royale, such a plot factor had not been used since the glory days of the Connery era-in that it pitted the two 007s against the same villainous organisation, SPECTRE. Now I love when story arcs link the narrative together in movies and TV and in my opinion, they haven't been utilised with the same degree of effectiveness outside of the Bond franchise. This particular story arc is especially fruitful in that it adds depth and cohesion to the script. Alas, a plot device with so much potential seems problematic where this movie is concerned. As Bond fans will know, the decision to use SPECTRE as Bond's adversary in this film was born out of the death of the age-old Kevin McClory lawsuit, therefore the script is also cursed with some incoherence. It transpires that SPECTRE(the organisation)was responsible for the events of Casino Royale, Quantum Of Solace and Skyfall and that the villains of these three movies(Le Chiffre, Greene, Silva)were all SPECTRE operatives. Now the organisation of SPECTRE never entered my mind when watching these three films when they came out, thus I found it rather disappointing that the writer's decided to just "conveniently" tack SPECTRE on as a plot device in order to justify the events of Casino Royal, Quantum Of Solace and Skyfall. It just seemed like they turned to each other and said "hey the McClory lawsuit no longer exists and you know, since we've over-complicated things a little with the last three movies let's write SPECTRE into Bond 24 to make everything alright again". It's just that the plot's of Daniel's first three Bonds had so much depth and for the filmmakers to say "it was SPECTRE the whole time" is a bit of an anti-climax. Don't get me wrong though, I was more than delighted that SPECTRE was Bond's nemesis for this movie as I'd always anticipated that he would one day do battle with the organisation again following Diamonds Are Forever's mediocre finale and Charles Gray's lacklustre Blofeld. Apart from the problems mentioned above, I also found some elements of the script to be a tad convoluted. However this was one of the very few Bond movies where I found myself enjoying the storyline more than the action scenes. The sub-plot about Bond's past was intriguing which made the film truly gripping. There are also some great lines as well.
Spectre is definitely more story-driven with the action sequences being more sporadic than your average Bond. The action is pretty fine though and the movie itself is wrought with references to other Bond movies not only action sequence-wise and this was a fantastic touch. The pre-credits sequence echoes Roger Moore's airborne antics at the outset of For Your Eyes Only with Daniel Craig clinging onto the outside of an out-of-control helicopter. The CGI was rather cheap looking at times, although some of the special effects were spectacular!. Daniel Craig teems with sardonic Connery-esque humour, i'll definitely miss him if or when he leaves the franchise. The beautiful Lea Seydoux was brilliant as was Ralph Fiennes as M and pro wrestling champion Dave Bautista as Mr. Hinx. Tarantino favourite Christoph Waltz is the latest in a long line of magnificent Bond villain talent-joining titans like Telly Savalas, Robert Davi, Christopher Walken and Javier Bardem. Spectre boasts a gorgeous title sequence accompanied by Sam Smith's above average vocals.
This 24th instalment in the 007 franchise is without a doubt, a crowd pleaser. It's certainly dynamic and indeed highly enjoyable, even if the substance does wane a little. 8/10