Not the Grand Overarching climax I was hoping for

Rating: 8/10 (27 October 2015)

Spectre sits firmly in the middle of the four movies in the Craig era. It's not better than Skyfall, but it is better than Quantum. In any regards it's your typical Bond storyline. The lovable rogue he is disobeys orders following up on a personal lead, resulting in him having to work in the shadows without back-up. He meets some attractive young women, whom he beds, unravels the mystery surrounding him, and confronts the big, dastardly villain. There's big set-pieces, impressive explosions, and backdrops that span the globe from deserts to snowy mountainsides.
One of the big things though was Spectre's link to Casino, Quantum, and Skyfall. This was probably what I was looking forward to most; the idea that the last three Bond movies were episodic and building up to a massive conclusion. In some ways it's exactly what I wanted, in other ways, not so much. All the three previous movies are referenced and mentioned multiple times throughout, implying some grand plot weave planned out well in advance (or at least cleverly retrospective). Le Chiffre, Silva, and the deaths of M and Vesper are key talking points. Mr White (from the end of Casino and beginning of Quantum) makes a pivotal cameo, yet Greene is largely forgotten (he's mentioned in passing once, probably for the best). We even get a nice speech from Oberhauser about how he was behind everything that has vexed Bond over the last nine years. Things is, I'm still left wondering exactly what the connection was.
The action was largely unmemorable, unfortunately. We get a fantastic hand-to-hand fight between Bond and the Jaws-like Hinx, and the race through the old MI6 building was thrilling and intense. However the car chase was possibly the dullest car chase I've ever seen. It's literally just Bond driving around Rome in an Aston Martin prototype while an equally as expensive supercar tails him. There's no interesting manoeuvres or suspenseful obstacles (beyond a Fiat 500 slowing both cars down to a crawl...yawn). Then there was the chase between a convoy of jeeps down a snowy mountain, and Bond in a plane, where they basically play an extended game of chicken. And after the thrilling chase through the old MI6 building, the villain is thwarted by a single bullet (after a number of attempts) taking his helicopter down.
That's not to say Spectre is completely unmemorable and disappointing. The opening scene in Mexico City is one of the first longshots to feature in a Bond movie, and it's a damn good one at that; placed in the middle of Mexico's Day of the Dead celebrations, and it all culminates with considerable property damage and a very public helicopter display. Then there's Oberhauser's introduction at the Spectre meeting, as he sits in complete silhouette the whole time, and Hinx makes his mark as a replacement hit-man. And of course the torture scene that looks like Bond's most painful endurance since the ball-busting of Casino. And of course, no matter how obvious it was, it was still great seeing Oberhauser's identity get revealed. If Craig really does leave after this movie, which looks more and more likely, the biggest loss will be not seeing Oberhauser again.
On which note I'll talk about the acting, which is yet another mixed bag. Craig is still on top form as Bond. It's obvious from interviews that he's bored of it and wants to do something else, but this isn't apparent in the movie. He's still the suave yet aged spy out to save the world (or as is the case more recently, himself). Christoph Waltz brings his usual villain typecast to Oberhauser and it's actually perfect. I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to bring this iconic villain into the modern Bond era, even if it does feel like Hans Landa lite. Ben Whishaw is also, once again, a scene stealer as Bond's Quartermaster, providing much of the light-hearted, nerdy charm.
But then we get to the mixed bag; Monica Bellucci is spectacular. She oozes sexual tension and her and Craig shared a fantastic chemistry between them. Unfortunately she only features for about five minutes near the beginning and is never seen again, marking her claim as the oldest Bond girl a bit of a let down; she's severely under-utilised. Instead we get Lea Seydoux as Madeline Swann for the bulk of the movie, despite only being introduced halfway through. She's very much the more typical Bond girl; young and curvaceous with an independent streak that defies Bond's charms for all of about two minutes before falling head-over-heels in love with him. Could've worked if she and Craig had any chemistry at all. No matter how much they wanted her to be; she was no Vesper.
Spectre was not the grand climax to the Craig-era I was hoping for. It felt like just another instalment in the Bond machine; only loosely connected despite it's incessant references and mentions. The big twist was pretty obvious a year ago, and the personal rattling of Bond was ill- felt, if felt at all. It has it's saving graces in a couple of memorable scenes, and a couple of brilliant performances, and I mean, at least it tried to do something different in the franchise by attempting a shared universe amalgamation, even if it didn't pay off as I'd have liked. For a Bond movie, it's still creme de la creme, and Sam Mendes proves that he can add that special little sparkle that just makes it feel special. Part of me hopes Craig will have another stab, and Waltz will return to offer the big climax Spectre promised to be, but part of me thinks that it wrapped everything up and there's no more to tell anyway. I give Spectre a very good, albeit disappointing, 8/10.