Ghosts From the Past

Rating: 7/10 (6 November 2015)

Coming off what is widely considered to be the best Bond film of all time, Skyfall, Spectre had big shoes to fill. While the film does not hit on as many notes as it wants us to, this is still a very solid entry in the longest running franchise in cinema history. Some critics are saying it's one of the worst Bond films in the series and Craig's weakest outing, I think that is absolutely rubbish. It never reaches the emotional heights of Skyfall nor the perfectly paced Casino Royale, but there's still a ton of fun and surprises to be had here.
Spectre, the infamous global criminal organization full of terrorism and world domination, is brought back to the franchise after roughly 40 years. Many hardcore fans may be upset by the direction they take that group and their leader but I think they handled it relatively well. That leader is played by the Oscar winner Christoph Waltz and wonderfully so, although criminally underused. I think that's one of the areas of Spectre that really bothered me. Skyfall was so focused and well strung together. Spectre tries to bring in too many elements and it doesn't all coalesce as much as it's predecessor. For example, MI6 is falling to shambles as there is hopes of creating a combined intelligence program between 9 different countries. I feel like this story line could have been cut down or out of the film and it could still be pretty much the same end product. It's nearly 2 and a half hours long, and there are times you feel the length. These scenes are definitely those times.
With every Bond film you have the Bond girls/women. Léa Seydoux plays Mr. White's (from Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace) daughter and link to some of what Waltz's character is doing. The Daniel Craig films have handled the so called 'Bond girls' incredibly well. This was the first time in Craig's tenure that I felt they went the formulaic route with the women. With Seydoux and Monica Bellucci, I din't buy into why Bond would sleep with them, or rather why they would with him. It just didn't make sense story wise. With that said, Seydoux is very good, and for the most part handles herself without the need of 007.
Bond did need some help taking down the Bond franchise staple, a villains henchman. This time it's Mr. Hinx, played by Dave Bautista. Hinx is a major highlight of Spectre as he shows shades of both Oddjob and Jaws, two of the best Bond villains of all time. With no dialogue and several incredible fight sequences, Bautista is right where he works best as an actor. He gave us yet another great train fight sequence, seems as though each of the best Bonds have one of those.
Spectre takes plenty of twists and turns that may either upset or excite people. I was somewhere in the middle. I loved the tribute this film paid to plenty of other entries in the franchise, but I think there were plenty of missed chances as well. It contains one of my favorite pre-credits sequence of the series as Sam Mendes starts out with one impeccable long take for 4-5 minutes. The credits are also well handled and Sam Smith's song played better in the film than on YouTube for me, but the film doesn't really pick up until its final act. Make no mistake, it is one great final 40 minutes though. So in all, you get plenty to love for hardcore Bond fans, but I can understand a lot of the complaints this film has been getting.
+Pre-credits sequence
+Hinx
+Some great action
+Waltz
+Seydoux
-Missed opportunities
-Formulaic at times
-Uneven, slow middle act
7.7/10
Full video Review here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKvQZHhyfYg