Bond's Arch Enemy

Rating: 8/10 (29 April 2016)

For four films now Daniel Craig has filled the shoes of the most famous of all spies, the man with the double O prefix to his number, James Bond. While at the end of the first film, "CASINO ROYALE", we were aware that a group was behind the death of the woman he loved and afterwards Bond went looking for those men it wasn't until the latest outing "SPECTRE" brought all the loose ends together. Now we know not only the name of the organization but who controls it as well.
The movie picks up with Bond in Mexico in another of the thrill packed chase sequences that have started each of the Craig films. The end result of this one is Bond's finding a ring with an insignia, an octopus looking symbol. Called to the carpet for his non-sanctioned escapade the new M (Ralph Fiennes) makes sure Bond is aware that MI6 is under attack by bureaucrats. At present one group is set to end the double 0 branch altogether by imposing a mega computer that will bring together every piece in intel there is.
But Bond is stubborn if nothing else. He knows there is more going on here than meets the eye and sets out to prove this. Following the few leads he has Bond contacts the widow of the man he killed in Mexico. She provides him with enough information for him to make his way to a secret meeting of the organization behind the ring: Spectre. While at this meeting he witnesses the killing of one of the members of the upper echelon at the hands of Hinx (Dave Bautista). He is also called out by the mysterious leader of the group and barely escapes with his life as Hinx chases him in the standard car chase seen in all Bond films.
With a few assists from Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Wishaw) Bond follows what new information he has to track down his ex-nemesis Mr. White who then leads him to White's daughter Madeline Swann (Lea Seydoux). She may hold the information that Bond needs to take down Spectre. All of this leads to kidnappings, trips to a top secret desert base and a confrontation with the man behind it all, a man from Bond's past who now calls himself Blofeld (Cristoph Waltz). But being a Bond film even that doesn't give us the end of the film as more going on behind the scenes is revealed before the film ends.
I've read some reviews that have raked this film over the coals but I found it to live up to any of the other films is what is the longest running series in film. It contained all of the action we've come to expect, a decent storyline that brings together the threads laid out in the previous three Craig films and reintroduces us to what Bond fans know to be the most evil bad guy in the series, Blofeld. Played in the past by actors like Anthony Dawson, Donald Pleasance, Charles Gray, Telly Savalas and Max Von Sydow, Waltz makes brings to life the formidable foe for Craig. Bautista as Hinx provides a physical enemy that ranks up there with Oddjob and Jaws.
Craig continues to embrace the role of Bond and I've come to accept him in the role which is a daunting task with fans of each of the various actors who've played Bond in the past claiming theirs is the best. As a child of the sixties I will always think of Sean Connery as the ultimate Bond. But Craig is a close second. There is still a thrill that gets me every time I sit down to watch a Bond film and see the familiar spiraling gunsight move across the screen knowing that Bond will soon shoot and the screen will turn red before a breathtaking visual display of credits will explode on screen. This film carries on all of the traditions of Bond and adds to them.
The big fear for fans now is that Craig might not return. He's made statements about being tired of playing Bond. I feel that to do so would be a career mistake but who listens to me? Craig could continue to play the role until he reaches an age where he can no longer physically do so while doing side projects in between. Let's hope that he continues to do so.