A Lesser Whole Than the Sum of its Parts

Rating: 5/10 (10 July 2017)

Daniel Craig's fourth mile on the Bond treadmill, and with each installment he's gradually become more gentleman spy and less Jason Bourne in a tux. This time he's squared up against a reimagined Blofeld, played by a characteristically snooty, Machiavellian Christoph Waltz. On the surface that seems like good casting, but in practice it's something of an awkward fit. Perhaps the villain's somewhat uninspired master plan has something to do with his struggles. I know the threats of leaked personal data and unwarranted surveillance are hot topics in today's political spectrum, but this hardly seems like a grand scheme worthy of a vast, international criminal enterprise and the dogged attention of MI-6. Still, Bond and Blofeld find a way to spin that into a deranged torture scene, giant fireballs in the desert and a helicopter chase through the heart of London, so props for navigating such a bizarre progression. In fact, each of Spectre's action scenes are spectacular when removed from the larger narrative. We're rarely more than ten or fifteen minutes from the next chase via land, sea or air, and though we revisit several vehicles and locations, each pursuit feels fresh and original. There's a great sense of power and impact in each, but also an impressive knack for scale and, surprisingly, grace that ties it all together. Too bad the accompanying plot is overlong and monotonous, somehow both thin and under-explained. We skim from one location to the next like a sightseeing tour, but that often seems like it's more for show than to further the story. It's a shame, because in some senses this is the franchise is at its best - Dave Bautista's Mr. Hinx, for example, fits in right alongside the franchise's classic henchmen - but in others it's an undercooked egg. A more daring conspiracy and better character motivation would've made this worlds better.