A Top Notch Addition to the Daniel Craig 007 Films

Rating: 10/10 (11 November 2015)

I have been a huge fan of Daniel Craig's portrayal of James Bond since 2006's "Casino Royale", but I also noticed that that film's immediate sequel, "Quantum of Solace", was a bit of a letdown after the former movie's strong performance. With the third film, "Skyfall", having reclaimed a great reputation for the franchise, I went into this fourth installment of the Craig movies with a bit of trepidation. Would "Spectre" live up to "Casino" and "Skyfall", or will the franchise be doomed to see-saw back and forth so that every even-numbered movie in the series is a letdown?
To my great pleasure, I can now report that "Spectre" is a wonderful 007 movie! In fact, that's so much the case that I've done a rare thing and rated this movie as a perfect 10/10 stars. I do that for very few films, and definitely not for very many sequels. But I've chosen to do so for "Spectre" because as much as I was fearful about the film and as much as my fear made me view it with a critical eye, I really couldn't find much not to like.
This was a classic Bond film in that it followed the series' formula for scripts quite well. Unlike "Skyfall", there wasn't a lot of back story or the introduction of elements of Bond's youth. And unlike "QoS", the script's story was well paced and told well. I felt like it all came together to produce a fantastic addition to the 007 movies.
If I had any lone minor criticism, it might simply be that unlike the 007 movies of the past, the Daniel Craig films do all share a common chronology, and so there are certainly hints of the three previous movies that pop up in "Spectre". As such, if you've not seen the other movies lately, you may want to go back and re-watch the three previous films if you want to get the most out of your entertainment dollar. Otherwise you may be a bit lost over things like the recent death of Judi Dench's "M", the mention of past villains, etc.
Still, this is simply to note that the film is in fact a sequel, not a standalone movie. It doesn't make it a bad film in the slightest, which is why I've maintained its perfect score. But it is worth noting that it wouldn't hurt to watch the other movies first.
Finally, I'd just add that Dave Bautista makes for an awesome Bond villain. The same can be said for Christoph Waltz, although that's only particularly true at the end of the movie. I don't know enough about the earliest 007 films to know if Waltz's character was meant to pay homage to Connery-era Bond villain, or if he was meant to actually be a reenactment of such a character, but he reminded me of some villain that I've seen in passing from that era even though I haven't watched those films.
But again, it's a great movie with a great cast and great characters! So, 10/10!