Classic bond movie - not without flaws

Rating: 7/10 (27 October 2015)

Spectre took Bond straight back to its 1960/70s roots. It included a gadget scene from Q, a classic hit-man side-story, all on top of an underlying secretive and mysterious adventure, from previous Skyfall (2012) director Sam Mendes. I did enjoy the film, it didn't quite exceed my expectations after watching the brilliant previous film, however I appreciated the route that the film tried to take.
I felt that character of Q was much more fleshed out in this film than in Skyfall, largely due to screen time, however also on the part of Ben Whishaw. He brought more quirkiness to the character than we've seen in Bond films of old, which was a brave move on Mendes's behalf. I feel Q is very much the Han Solo of the franchise, being sarcastic, funny and somewhat relatable. I also thought that the now cult opening sequence was exciting, not the best that we've seen in recent times but pleasing nonetheless. Despite being the weakest in the Craig era, Quantum of Solace (2008) had one of the most dramatic opening scenes!
The car chase was also a high point of the film. Well executed cinematics and choice of camera angles from Hoyte Van Hoytema created real tension during the whole sequence, and it all felt very realistic. The film handled action in general very capably and was always in control of what was happening; each shot was deliberate and tailored to give a different perspective. The film peaked for me at the debate room scene, where we first meet Oberhauser. The lack of soundtrack added to the whole atmosphere, and clever camera work did make you feel as if you were spectating; no one dared to breathe in the cinema at the eye gouging scene. A recurrent theme that I noticed was that the film was funny! I found myself laughing out loud at points, yet humour wasn't too ridiculous to take away from the seriousness of the whole film.
There was parts of the film that could have been improved, however. It was predictable, however I loved the plot twist in that Oberhauser was essentially Bond's brother, and that he was in fact not Oberhauser, but the sinister Blofeld. This, though, I felt was very much skipped over. It is a fairly large reveal in terms of plot development, and if you weren't concentrating on the film you could have easily missed it. It could have done with being hidden more throughout the film, only to reveal it more dramatically later in the film, instead of rushing the scene. Also, I expected more from the film I general. I can pinpoint many great moments, but there was no one scene or event that made me go "Wow!", or feel any strong emotion like in Skyfall and Casino Royale (2006).
Spectre is a thoroughly enjoyable yet flawed movie, that lives up to Bond film standards, but perhaps could have been better. One part of me wishes that this is Craig's last Bond movie as it was a satisfactory end to his era, however the other part of me loves him as Bond too much that one more 007 movie couldn't cause any harm!