A Bond Film For The True Bond Fan

Rating: 9/10 (31 October 2015)

Spectre is the Bond film the true Bond Fan will understand and enjoy. For me, it is the equal of any.
If you have read the books and understand what James Bond is, you will know why this film is such a marvellous modern-day interpretation of Ian Flemming's spy. Sure, there was never as much 'action' in the books but the essence of the character - his troubled background, his callous behaviour, the womanising, the drink, etc. - are not only handed to you but also explained in the best way it could be on film. Movies do not enjoy the time a novel has to develop a character.
Yes, there are loopholes in the plot and yes, we have seen a lot of the stunts, one-liners, villains and women before. The series is over fifty years old and twenty four films made. What do you expect? For the 'Non-Bond' fan, I'm sure Brosnan's predictable, shallow, no-brainer plots, ridiculous stunts and down right ludicrous gadgets were exactly the menu expected. What we have in Spectre is the move away from all that. We now have a story with some detail to it, something to think about, something to ponder where it will go next. In other words, we have a James Bond film with some depth.
And herein is where I think the problem is for some people. They wanted the simple stunt fest they are used to. The normal cocktail style plot leading to Bond killing the villain (in some unique way) at the end of the film, after a series of set pieces. Spectre certainly doesn't deliver that; and that is exactly what is confusing some people. They were expecting one thing and ended up getting something better. They just didn't see it coming and maybe they didn't want it?
Sam Mendes (and everyone on the production team) has done the most amazing job on Spectre (and Skyfall) and I will be sad to see him leave the franchise.