Disappointing...

Rating: 6/10 (12 December 2015)

Minor Spoilers: The film starts wonderfully; it is shot beautifully and has genuinely thrilling riffs throughout with superb echoes of classic Bond (From Russia with Love, for example). The film's stall is clearly laid out as a completion of Daniel Craig's story arc, an arc which Rach and I have followed with relish over the past decade.
We have very much appreciated the 'realness' which Craig brought to Bond. Not just the Bourne-like fights but the emotional and modern 'British' realness of his characterization, along with the characterization of for example Vesper and the effect of her death on Bond.
That said, we have also yearned for a little of the silliness of Bond of old: The puns, the gadgets, the over the top bad guys and the hyper real potential of Bond's world.
We therefore went into the film confident that we'd love it. We knew that arc would be coming to a crescendo and that Mendes and Craig were hoping to introducing some of the old Bond-ish tropes promised in the final scenes of Skyfall (with old school M office, Money Penny etc) However, tragically, SPECTRE slightly disappoints on both fronts. It drops the arc somewhat, bringing characters to places (emotional and physical) which are necessary for the plot of the film but awkward and unbelievable for the characters. Indeed against stated character intentions within the film itself (keep an eye on 'Dr. Swan's' awkward story arc)! The twisting and cracking of people like marionettes into ill-fitting poses would be bearable if they had gone 'whole hog' with the reintroduction of the Bond tropes but the film never quite commits! There is, for example, gadgety promise at first but then a truly dull car chase through Rome with comical gadget moments but ultimately a lot of Bond on the phone and (I kid you not) no one actually in the rear view mirror! Just lots of sharp cornering – the bad guy just around the corner. Only one gadget actually works/ hits home. Bond is never really in danger, there's no thrill.
On a similar note, there is a strong nod to iconic bad guys of old, but it comes off as lip-service and despite the epic promise of 'Spectre', leaves even the baddies in a somewhat castrated and awkward position. There is an initially tense Bond torture scene at a super secret base, reminiscent of Gold finger and the laser but this too goes awry. We don't quite understand what the point of it was... Unambiguously stated 'effects' of the torture don't seem to manifest or matter. It ended up being inconsequential. Indeed, as did the visit to the base, it was gone as easily as it was introduced! There is the desire to give the impression that there's been a grand plan, but it's never quite earned.
Other criticisms which I have seen laid at this movies' doorstep didn't bother us too much. For example, despite what some reviewers say, the two main plot threads (ie Bond and M) are relevant to one another (even if they do get in each other's way at times).
Ultimately, the rush to reintroduce the iconic DB5 to SPECTRE after a spectacular and poignant role in Skyfall somewhat sums up the experience for us. This was slightly shallow, none committal and after taking confident strides for the series in recent years, there's a sense of wanting to undo some of the good stuff which they have achieved, particularly in Skyfall and Casino Royale. Not wanting to make too much of a mark (leave too much of a legacy) on the substance of Bond.
All in all a B+ a good effort and a not unenjoyable experience. For Bond of late though, that is very much a disappointment.