Great way to follow Skyfall

Rating: 9/10 (7 November 2015)

Having watched SPECTRE twice now, I believe I can write about it more objectively, given that I'm a fan of the franchise and of Daniel Craig's, so the text may be a little biased.
Following the massive success of Skyfall, it is natural that SPECTRE would suffer with the comparison to its predecessor. The fact that Sam Mendes is back to direct it also adds a factor to the comparison. I'm not ready to say if it's better or worse. It's just different, but I enjoyed it quite a lot.
The epigraph "The Dead are Alive" already hints that this movie is going to talk about deceased people who might still influence those who remained (Bond, in this case). Cut to the opening sequence in Mexico City, precisely on the Day of the Dead, with the country's traditional celebration in costumes. That sequence is breathtaking not only because of the amount of extras and the gorgeous costumes involved, but also because of the way it was shot. It seems to be a long take with no edits, something like Birdman.
The opening credits are always entertaining, and it also let us know that we will hear about characters from Bond's past, as their faces appear while Sam Smith's "Writing's on the Wall" is playing precisely during the verses "A million shards of glass/ That haunt me from my past". A side note about the song: is it better than Adele's "Skyfall"? No, but it's much better than previous Bond themes... besides, the way the credits roll are so entertaining that it's worth it.
The movie itself is filled with references to other films from the franchise, some more subtle, others more evident. He does ask for his Martini shaken, not stirred, he says "Bond, James Bond", he has gadgets from Q (Ben Whishaw), he drives an Aston Martin and he flirts with Moneypenny (Naomi Harris).
What I liked about this film is that M, Q and Moneypenny have more involvement with the plot, putting their jobs on the line to help Bond. The scenes between Bond and Q are priceless and I laughed in almost every interaction they had.
Sam Mendes did a wonderful job again, in my opinion. The film is long, but the pacing was good. It's always changing places, from one stunning location to another. Thomas Newman's score bothered me a little bit, because it sounded much alike Skyfall's at times and I was expecting something more different.
I didn't like the ending the first time I saw it. However, after the second time it grew on me a little bit. What bothered me was that there was no explanation for the word SPECTRE. So, those who don't know that it means Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion will not learn that while watching this movie. It's also good to know that this organization, recurring in older films, was led by Ernst Blofeld, who always had a white cat (and satirized by Mike Myers in Austin Powers).
No one knows if Daniel Craig will be back for a 5th film (and I hope he does!) but, in case he doesn't, SPECTRE is a nice ending to his 10-year run as 007. It solves the mysteries of his previous movies in a good way and it establishes him forever as a completely different Bond: more physical, darker, less silly and more realistic (I'll never forget the crazy plot of Die Another Day).
Full review: http://wp.me/p5Rk4c-g0