Dark, moving, edge of your seat drama

Rating: 8/10 (9 November 2015)

This film is a testament to all Bond films before it and has so many references to past films that I actually started counting them. The script may be a bit blurry but it held my attention and a packed house at the Ziegfeld on a quiet Sunday afternoon. People were literally jumping off their chairs in the opening sequence, which was tough, gritty and believable. It takes place in Mexico City on the Day of the Dead parade and has thousands of people on hand. How did Sam Mendes shoot this? When you think you can't possibly take anymore it jumps to a helicopter scene that is itself worth the price of admission. Craig as Bond is brutally tough. There is no play in him although there is a sense of vulnerability and humanity. Who needs him to be funny. He's a killer and he kills bad guys. Yea. Here are the locations: Mexico City, Rome, Alps of Austria, London, Tokyo, Morocco. Enough? It's like watching the Travel Channel along with a Bond film. And it's beautifully shot, with a wonderful score. Want to meet the origins of Blofield? Well, you do. Bond's past comes back to haunt him again and you need to have watched the Bond films from the start to catch all the references. Christoph Waltz is a great villain - needed more of him. Bautista the wrestler has a better train fight with Bond than in From Russia With Love, Spectre is spooky and formidable so why not delve more into it by showing us more characters for next film? Where are the other Double O's when they close down the Double O Division? Still Ralph Fiennes as M is great as he gives chase with his little team of Naomie Harris and Greg Kinnear. If you're not a Double O can you just have a license to wound really badly? The CASTING was great and the new Bond girl is Dr. Swan played by French actress Lea Seydoux. I thought she was brainy, beautiful and tough enough. Some didn't. She had a right to everything she felt and I think she was straightforward and honest in dealing with Bond. Sam Mendes deserves another shot at the Bond franchise. He made a beautiful and unforgettable film. No SKYFALL but that was a ten.