Classic Bond (For Better and Worse)

Rating: 6/10 (31 December 2018)

Spectre was one of my most anticipated sequels of the last few years. With my complete love for Skyfall and the return of Sam Mendes I was convinced this film would replicate my love for that film but in the end Spectre was a mixed bag that did leave me disappointed.
On a technical level this film is almost perfect. Sam Mendes return as director did not disappoint, he maintained the level of skill he had in Skyfall. The action sequences are once again brilliant with a good pace and they occur at a more regular pace than its predecessor. The cinematography may not be on the level of Skyfall it's still fantastic in a different way. The opening tracking shot was the right way to start the film on and its a shame the rest of its runtime didn't live up to that.
Daniel Craig is again great as 007, he's not given as much of an arc as the last films but he still plays the characters dedication well. Waltz, while underused, has a great presence to him and plays of Craig very well. Fiennes, Whishaw and Harris all return as the MI6 staff and all play bigger roles than ever before and its good to see the filmmakers develop more of a team dynamic than Bond simply acting on his own for the entire runtime.
Where the film fails is its pacing and overlong runtime. Spectre is the longest bond film to date and its defiantly felt. There are so many portions of the film that drags and do not justify their need to be kept in the film. The subplot at MI6 don't mesh well with Bonds quest to hunt down Spectre and drags down the pace of the film.
The villains were also fairly disappointing. With the exception of Dave Batista, who played his character perfectly as a physical threat to bond and a fun character to see collide with Craig. Andrew Scott was a fairly one note character one doesn't truly have much screen time to get me invested in MI6 taking him down. Waltz is the perfect cast for a bind villains but he's barely in the movie. The film spends too much time building up to him and not enough time paying off. The decision to merge him and Bonds past didn't work and didn't add enough to either of their characters. I hope Waltz returns in the next film to give him a better script and more screen time to work with.
Spectre, while not without its enjoyable moments, was a disappointing movie for me. It's pacing was spotty and dragged on far too long and the villains do not live up to their true potential. It does benefit from its solid supporting cast, great visuals and a fantastic visual design. I do hope that the filmmakers improve upon the faults of this film and improve upon them to ensure that Craig's version of the character can end on a high note.
6.4/10 - B- (Middling)