Not as Spectacular, nor as Ominous as its title suggests

Rating: 7/10 (9 November 2015)

The opening sequence in "Spectre", brims with sense-juddering action setpieces, as it has always been in every previous Bond film. Exploding amid the masses celebrating the day of the dead in Mexico City , the film sets its path ablaze with an exquisitely choreographed string of exhilarating events, featuring Bond carrying-out an asassination, and immediately followed by a massive, earth-shaking building collapse, a brutal foot chase atop rooftops, and a battle of fists in a spiraling helicopter—a jaw-dropping scene immaculately rendered in full technical glory, above a square, full of swarming crowd in panic. The recognition is right away. This is James Bond, no less than the man who swings back and forth adrift danger, one who could make an entire structure crumble with just few shots, so mind-blowing you would might as well believe he could topple the building with his bare hands. He is capable and mighty to confront death, and still come out unscratched, ready to wrestle against more. And as Sam Smith belts out "Writings on the Wall" for the inevitably lengthy title sequence, it gets easier to be convinced that a lot more of these explosive visual marvels are still to bombard the action-packed proceedings.
Yet, that's probably already the best thing in its two and a half hours. Nothing that follows ever comes close to it, even its explosive final chase sequence between James in a motorboat and Oberhausen/Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) in a helicopter, that ends up with Bond's gun pointed at his seemingly indestructible adversary. Sam Mendes, who also directed "Skyfall" in 2012, seems to maneuver his second attempt toward the classic mold of the 007 icon. Whereas Skyfall was more concerned reinventing Bond, Spectre is almost in full reverence of the character's traditional form, which isn't a bad thing at all, it's just overly done. At some point, the nostalgia is awe-inspiring, sensually inviting at others when naked women come again sharing its moments of sensuality—alas, women, something that was almost absent in Skyfall, is here, indelibly a part of Bond's sex god persona. And there is Q (Ben Whishaw), with his campy gadgets and cars, and Moneypenny (Naomi Harris), whose role here, is a far cry from her on-field stint in Skyfall, and now she is either just receiving calls from James or following orders from "M".
Arguably, Spectre has a more emotionally-charged plot than any of Craig's past 007 films, its heart mostly coming from the strangled father-daughter bond between Madeleine (Lea Seydoux) and his father, the inevitably brewing romance between her and Bond, and a link to Bond's past, all of which ultimately leading James to the sinister crime organization he is after. But it's hard to see whether these emotional arcs have filled up the narrative holes of the film. In Skyfall, James' campaign was primarily driven by an attempt to save the secret service, one that brought him back to his family's estate in Scotland—Skyfall. The emotional struggle was easier to absorb there, and the moments that led to Judi Dench's M's death was singularly propelled by one massive sentimental cause. In "Spectre" there are more bombs detonated into the narrative, but only few are capable enough to keep us on the edge of our seat. Ironically, Skyfall was actually a rise from the previous entries of the franchise, having both resurrected the classic form of the character and introduced an appropriate modern spin—Spectre, is sort of, a 'fall'. Not only it fails to make sense in its attempt to tie up the events in the last three films, together, it also undermines the capacity of its main villain, depriving him to display the full extent of his power to make his threat more palpable.
Be that as it may, it is hard to shrug off the commitment that Craig has put upon the role, having able to live up to its old and new requirements with the unmistakable verve and imposing manly elegance he has given for the character. Amid the near-impossible stunts he performs and everything with his presence in it, that thrusts into attention, it is arguably Craig's Bond, that lingers. So effectively, I almost couldn't believe this might be the last film he is playing the character—no, I don't think I am ready. 7/10