"Saved the best for last"

Rating: 8/10 (7 November 2015)

As I walked into the cinema hall today I expected myself to be pleased with the action sequences at least at the end of the show. By the end of it I was taken aback by the brilliance of it. THEY DID IT AGAIN.
After the immensely thrilling "Skyfall" this Bond Movie delivered more than it promise as complex and multi-layered storyline which seem to have become a staple of "Craig Era" in James Bond movies.
First of all the gun barrel sequence is back and it is a pleasure to finally see Craig walk across the room with the scope pointing towards him and the screen turning red as he shoots back. For some reason they had not included in his last four outings but they did it at last. Sam Smith is as haunting as Adele in Skyfall and does justice to the stunning cast sequence.
We see some classic action set pieces and some moments to keep us chuckling with the a few antics of the new "Hacker Q". Talking of Q, even M and Moneypenny are equally good and it seems that MI6 is sort of a family with all of them facing situations together and even apart when necessary. We see M in talks with the government to not disband the MI6 and Q running around as he wants minimum interference as Moneypenny works as a Mole for a grounded Bond. As I said, complex and layered characters, thanks Mr. Mendes !
The gadgets also return (sort of) with a few hints of them here and there and of course we have the classic and the new Aston martin as shown in trailers equipped with them. Naturally Q has armed the car with certain modifications: but not quite the type Bond, or the audience, expect. The "Ammunition" switch will make you chuckle; the "Atmosphere" switch had the audience howling uproariously.
As for the acting chops, Craig is in top form. Nothing will ever top the unexpected brilliance of Craig's youthful debut but his performance in Spectre runs it close. On his fourth outing, Craig totally owns the role to the extent you pity his eventual replacement. Hopefully the fallacy about his lack of humor can finally be put to bed: his performance is wonderfully playful. Look out for a standout moment involving a gun and a mouse.
On the other hand we have Lea Seydoux so gorgeously owning her part you never know she arrives more than halfway through the film. Finally we have a Bond girl which kills away the void created by Vesper in both Bond's and our lives. It's time we gave this actress her due as well who ever so quietly has been owning critical roles in such big action movies since past year.
Christoph Waltz is well, Christoph Waltz. By which I mean he gives a predictably impeccable performance as the villainous Franz Oberhauser. Gleeful, charming, sinister and occasionally downright scary, Waltz is everything we knew he would be. Which leads to a minor problem: it is sometimes hard to see past the Waltz persona to the character he portrays. By following the Skyfall tactic of keeping the main threat largely off-screen, the film doesn't allow Waltz the time to truly define the role.
We also have a Dave Bautista in a hit-man role with no dialogs and a charming Andrew Scott as C who does justice to his role (he plays Moriarty in Sherlock ;) )
The climax is a bit underwhelming and that has been a going issue with Bond's recent outings. Even multiple viewings do not justify the story's turns in those cases and neither will they do here as well.
Closing thoughts. I was surprised by how amazing the movie's background score was, and it carried the movie on its shoulders, something I have only seen happen in movies like Star Wars, LoTR and Interstellar till date. An Oscar bid in this case seems valid enough. I guess this is the end of the "Craig Era" of Bond movies (or not, it's still left hanging) but it certainly has lived up to the "Moore Era" which I personally am a big fan of.