A well rounded, well paced bond film that packs great action set pieces and characters

Rating: 8/10 (16 November 2015)

Saw this last week and thought it was a really good film. Yes I am a bond fan and think Craig is a superb all round 'physical' bond. Its a super take on what a modern bond film should be with all the ingredients now there - The gadgets, escapes, women, action, use of characters, villains, henchmen, double crossing and a few one liners dotted in and around. This film certainly bring backs the fun, which was not that apparent in Skyfall.
As I'm an action movie fan, I thought Spectre was better than Skyfall in this respect, but not as good as Casino Royale (partly due to being based on Flemings book). I even thought Quantum of Solace was a good bridge movie as it was part needed to allow for Bond's emotional closure on Vesper's betrayal. However, it being shot in shaky camera style was off-putting.
Back to Spectre, and the two and a half hour running time whizzed past for me. I did not feel I was in the cinema for that duration. The film felt well paced for me. I really thought Waltz's villain was well portrayed, menacing at times and integrated into the film nicely. I was expecting him to make a getaway at the end of the movie which would of left things really shaken up, but am looking forward to seeing him in future bond films. I would like to see Craig return for one last time, as I feel he has it in him to do one more. But having said that the film sends him off nicely and wraps up well for his 4 thus far.
This film ties in characters from the previous films which is nice as we feel and are reminded bond has battled considerably during the last ten years. The film opens with a very cool tracking shot sequence in Mexico to set up the films tone. The Rome car chase was OK and had a nice comic moment slotted in with the use of cool gadgets. Loved the whispering (and reactions to what was being whispered) during the Spectre board meetings, made me giggle and think what ominous event was about to happen! Loved the Austrian plane / car sequence showing Bond's determination which some super stunts and wide angle camera shots. Loved the train fight between Mr Hinx and Bond, especially the out of focus shots when Mr Hinx was missing his mark. Love that Bond gets visibly tired after repeat pounding as he is finally out muscled and comes close to death. I did think there was a small chance Mr Hinx may still be alive! He is a formidable baddie and yes I did see Dave Bautista wrestle during his WWE days! Loved the inside and strictness/order of Spectre's desert base, felt like classic Bond. Loved the huge explosion (was it real? certainly looked it!) of the Spectre base.
The film definitely benefits from the camera work by Mendes and his cinematographer. Lea and Craig work on screen together in a believable way, in what is a no holes barred, over the top storyline. I did root for them. Ralph Fiennes adds a good amount of gravitas to the movie with the rest of the cast doing their bits very well when they are on screen. Would of liked to have seen camera shots of Max Denbeigh's fall when he eventually kicks the bucket. The action music scoring at the end did get a tad repetitive, but to some extent raising the excitement factor. Yes the plot is quite ridiculous, but is building on ideas that are current in world news, so credit there. The cyber hacking / surveillance aspect was similar to Skyfall, but goes to extremes in this film. Some of the funny lines didn't make me laugh out loud, but as I will be watching this again when it arrives on BluRay, I may react differently.
For me this film was surprisingly engaging and quality escapist fun.