Close, but just doesn't quite hit the spot

Rating: 6/10 (27 October 2015)

Saying I didn't have high expectations for Spectre would be a massive understatement. Skyfall is my favourite Bond film to date and I was hoping that Sam Mendes and his team would be able to equal their success, maybe even top it.
The opening sequence lived up to these expectations. A 5 minute long, single rolling camera shot that portrayed Bond as what the character is meant to represent, women and weapons. But after this it all became a bit 'meh'. The credits scene was passable as the song is well written and is explained as you the film progresses, but I didn't really want to see Daniel Craig's shaven chest that early on in the film.
The script wasn't as well written as Skyfall' and the intensity just wasn't quite there, and the vast number of re-writes were visible in some places, but they had some very well choreographed action sequences. And only a small number of the jokes were misses, and Ben Whishaw's lovable Q was developed and used more in the overall story than any other Q I can remember, a great satisfaction for many viewers.
The villains, however, weren't up to my expectations. After Javier Bardem's Silva in Skyfall, you would've thought the next villain needed to be equally as menacing and have as much screen time. I cannot fault Christoph Waltz' acting, as his early scenes created an intense atmosphere that wasn't repeated again throughout the film. But he then only reappeared in two more scenes and was pretty underwritten for a main villain. The same happened to Mr Hinx, after a strong first appearance, even more terrifying than Jaws, he seemed to only be there as a voyeuristic playmate for Bond as they happily race through Rome in their fast cars. Yet Andrew Scott is very unpleasant as C, digging up his Moriaty past maybe?
Overall, I hope this isn't Daniel Craig's last Bond film because he portrays the character so well, his two facial expressions work wonders, and also I think he has a lot more to offer. Maybe for the next one if they strip down to the bare essentials, Monica Bellucci was pretty unnecessary, they may have rebooted a very interesting storyline.