Spectre is Solid, but flawed

Rating: 7/10 (8 November 2015)

Spectre is the twenty-fourth James Bond movie and the fourth starring Daniel Craig. Spectre is also the second 007 film directed by Sam Mendes who also directed the critically and financially successful Bond film Skyfall. The combination of Craig's mysterious and charming Bond along with Mendes' confident direction and love for the franchise makes Spectre a solid, yet flawed, Bond film. The strengths of Spectre can be contributed mainly to Daniel Craig as James Bond. He once again delivers a great performance as the British spy, and does a solid job blending the grit of his previous performances with the campy, coolness of Sean Connery's Bond. Spectre also has many great action sequences. Its strongest moment, however, is found in its opening scene which could be considered one of the greatest any Bond film has to offer. It begins with a beautifully filmed single continuous shot and concludes with a spectacular action scene containing crumbling rooftops, frantic street chases, and an intense helicopter brawl between Bond and his enemy. It is truly the high point of the film which makes the rest of the film slightly forgettable. Most of the flaws in Spectre can be attributed to its script and story. Daniel Craig's Bond movies have always been far darker and more grounded in reality than previous installments in the franchise. However, it seemed as if the writers were attempting to bring back the Bond of old rather than continue to embrace Craig's new style. The conflicting tones of the new and old made way for some nostalgic moments for Bond fans, but overall lead to a film that never seemed know whether it was supposed to be fun and nostalgic, or dark and mysterious. The other major flaw in the film was the villain. Christoph Waltz plays the lead villain in the film, but his character is not revealed until at least forty-five minutes into the movie. This same strategy was used in the previous film, Skyfall, but once the villain in that film was revealed he unrelentingly battled Bond until the movie ended. In Spectre however, Waltz's villain is revealed and then isn't seen again until the final act of the film. This sloppy use of a potentially great villain is another reason Spectre can't quite reach the heights of movies like Goldfinger, Casino Royale, or Skyfall. Despite its flaws, Spectre is not a bad movie. An uneven tone and weak villain are really all that keeps it from being a great movie. Still, there's tons of entertaining action, cool stunts, great cinematography, nostalgic Bond moments, and Daniel Craig's performance to keep the viewer entertained and excited for the franchise's next installment.
Score: 8.0/10