Disappointing

Rating: 5/10 (26 November 2015)

The movie opens with a great tracking shot following James Bond (Daniel Craig) through a Day of the Dead parade. The beginning scene is the movie's strongest because it has a great action sequence and establishes the tone of the film. Sadly, the rest of the movie pales in comparison to its introduction. The main plot is Bond's search for the mysterious organization Spectre. The subplot is about the takeover of Bond's agency M16 by people working for Spectre. The movie attempts to connect both plots; but, in the end they only work to take focus away from each other and ultimately diminishes the film. Many elements of the story meant to be surprises were predictable, and lessened the effectiveness of these reveals. The actors are good, but the roles they played belittled them. Both Lea Seydoux, who plays Bond's love interest, and Christoph Waltz, the film's villain, act well, but have too little screen time, relevance, or good scripting to let them stand out. Lastly, the action sequences after the opening one are also underwhelming; they are either too short or not particularly exciting. Overall, while the movie does have great moments, it lacks a focused plot or interesting characters, preventing it from being an intriguing film.