Not good by James Bond standards

Rating: 7/10 (29 November 2015)

After a lively opening in Mexico City with adroit camera work, we are treated to a splendid main title sequence. Thinking back to Adele's titular "Skyfall" and how it psyched me up, I found Sam Smith's "Writing's on the Wall" a letdown that foreshadowed further disappointment. (To my surprise—now three weeks later—I enjoyed "Writing's on the Wall" as performed by Jeremy Kushnier and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra; so, though not a favorite, I have come to appreciate it.)
Two problems are apparent early on: Firstly, we are used to seeing Daniel Craig's 007 bruised and bleeding after dynamic fight scenes, not looking like he had just wrapped up an Omega watch commercial (why undersell the danger?); secondly, 007's sexual dalliances are at first obligatorily forced and ultimately in the realm of self-parody. This worked for Sean Connery and Roger Moore, but is out of place in the Craig era.
It takes more than a gathering of talented people and an astronomical budget to make a great James Bond film. By comparison with the sophistication of Casino Royale and Skyfall, Spectre's screenplay is shallow, to put it charitably. The cast, supported by Christoph Waltz, Dave Bautista, Léa Seydoux, and Monica Bellucci, is indeed a plus, but Waltz is underused. This is a multilingual production, and it implies that Waltz's Oberhauser speaks German and Italian, but we get only English from him. If there was ever a time after Inglourious Basterds to capitalize on his linguistic abilities, this was it. Whether to avoid what may have been construed as a rehashing of Quentin Tarantino's work or an unwillingness to rewrite a character not originally intended for Waltz, it is a failure beyond description. As for Oberhauser, he is a Blofeldesque character complete with a white Persian cat. But to later proclaim that he is Blofeld is a meaningless wink and nod to the earlier films, because he appears to go by Oberhauser to all intents and purposes. Waltz himself did not get it.
Near the end, Bond finds himself in a compromising position at the hands of Oberhauser, who subjects him to a particular method of torture as described before he is to kill 007 outright. But lo and behold, we are asked to accept that 007's devotion to Seydoux's Madeleine Swann runs so deep that his evil genius arch-nemesis, the "author" of all his pain, does not really have his methods of torture nailed down after all. I think not. The filmmakers could have deviated from the formula without insulting anyone's intelligence. The watch Q provided should have gone off before Oberhauser's little experiment. Here again—and more to the point—why undersell the danger faced by our dashing hero? Furthermore, 007 and Swann arrive at Oberhauser's place in the desert as guests, not covertly, as would be the norm. This plan of theirs not surprisingly had its drawbacks.
With a budget estimated as high as $350 million, I would have appreciated location photography in Tokyo since they based a scene there, even if just an aerial shot and some Japanese influence on the proceedings. I realize that the scene only involved peripheral characters and was meant to move the plot forward, but nevertheless, it was too generic. Having lived there, Tokyo is in many ways my favorite city, so I found myself wanting some sense of the place.
Though better than Quantum of Solace, in my opinion, this the 24th official James Bond film is on the whole a disappointment. This is so for specific reasons stated and more generally the ludicrously far-fetched plot, whereby 007 had vanquished many megalomaniacal villains without realizing his adoptive and presumed dead brother was lurking in the shadows. What is more, the final act hinges too much on the supposed depth of emotion between 007 and Swann, a relationship rather ham-handedly developed for all the mileage they try to get out of it.
In despite of this being a predominantly negative review, the action sequences are solid, especially the fight on the train with Bautista's Hinx (arguably the best in the series), there are many beautiful location shots, and I was not at all bored during the 148 minute runtime.
Spectre is likely to be Daniel Craig's final turn as James Bond. They all have to move on eventually. He sure is a tough act to follow. I, however, remain more optimistic than apprehensive about the future of this franchise.