Decent Bond Installment Which Didn't Quite Measure Up to the Hype

Rating: 7/10 (7 December 2015)

In Superman II with Christopher Reeve, Superman has to outsmart the three super-villains because he realizes he can't just out-muscle them. Unfortunately, the outsmarting of the ultimate Bond villain, Spectre (Christopher Waltz, known for winning Oscars in two Tarantino films), doesn't quite occur to satisfaction although there is still much to find entertaining in this latest installment of the 007 franchise. Spectre has always been the unseen nemesis of James Bond, wielding havoc on Bond's inner circle, be they women he meets then loses, or his colleagues working for British Intelligence. Given this long-distant and never-ending rivalry, there really has to be a confrontation between the two which is not just about who can fire a better automatic weapon. The final dénouement needs to prove who is the true upper crust of intelligence. The weakest aspect of this film is the final confrontation which doesn't quite live up to expectations.
The film begins with a long action sequence in Mexico City during Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) followed by an endless intro to the newly written song "Writing's on the Wall" by Sam Smith. While the sequence in Mexico is part of the main storyline, it went on for way too long. And then when it was followed by the long title sequence with surrealistic images, Bond with women inter-spliced with images of an octopus, I found I was getting impatient to get on with the story. When I watch a film, I want to watch a film, not listen to a pop song with a music video, but this has become a staple of the latest Bond films with Craig, as if the filmmakers feel that box office receipts aren't enough; there should be a pop song associated with it which will make the music charts, or least be nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars. The tradition may have begun with the title song "For Your Eyes Only" sung by Sheena Easton in the 1980's, regarded as a mediocre Bond installment by critics and yet was a box office success.
Finally the main story kicks in, and we find that James Bond's (Daniel Craig) escapade in Mexico City was not a result of direct orders from MI-6. Instead, it appears to have been of Bond's own volition and not from orders from M (Ralph Fiennes), the new head of MI-6 replacing Judi Dench. Bond however won't reveal to M what he's up to, or why he was chasing an Italian baddie in Mexico City. Bond decides he can only trust Eve (Naomie Harris) at the agency, and he reveals, much to her astonishment, why he had gone to Mexico City.
The middle 3rd of the film I think was the strongest. Bond, using the help of Q behind the back of M, discovers an international crime syndicate which perpetrates terrorist acts as a means to entice governments to buy their intelligence services, not knowing the syndicate itself is behind these many acts of terror. At a board meeting between the members of the syndicate, Bond infiltrates the meeting trying to discover more information behind their operations. In an interesting scene, Bond watches the meeting from above in a balcony of spectators. Then an unseen figure enters the meeting, his face completely darkened, but we know he's the mastermind behind the entire organization. Then, seeming out of nowhere, he speaks to Bond directly by name, announcing he is among them. The obligatory chase then ensues. But Bond and the audience have to wonder, how did he know he was there?
Back on the home front in London, C-Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott of Moriarty fame in "Sherlock") is the new head of operations. He is planning to dismantle the current British Intelligence infrastructure and put into place a new security system. And of course part of the plan is to place on the governmental chopping block the "00" program of international British spies. At one point C tells M that he's a visionary, looking into the future, but that future doesn't include M. On the continent, Bond is following leads in terms of the crime syndicate which eventually leads to a young woman, Dr. Madeleine Swann, whose father had connections to the crime syndicate. She works at a clinic in the Alps. Bond wants to protect her as well as find and stop the syndicate. Of course, this leads straight to the mastermind's hideout with Swann. All the while, every time he tries to escape his pursuers, they seem to find their needle in the haystack...
From after the title sequence through the sequence at the baddie's "lair" is the best part of the film. It was compelling and the story keeps you guessing all the way as Bond and Dr. Swann try to understand the crime syndicate's true intentions. The final dénouement I felt was a bit weak. Still overall, a satisfying Bond entry, and still better than most of the Bond installments from the 1970's through 1990's. And Craig is still the best Bond since Connery, and he alone is worth the price of admission.