A tall order which is met !

Rating: Null/10 (28 December 2015)

'SPECTRE' has been mentioned time and again in previous Bond films.An ambitious title and an ambitious film. 'Skyfall' had an advantage in being a film about the great Judi Dench's M's retirement -Just like Diamonds are Forever had to find a different note to the great 'OHMSS','SPECTRE'has to do the same and it certainly does! The film starts in a spectacular fashion with a very slick one take of Bond tracking an agent through the Day of the Dead festival in Mexico;this is a lavishly produced teaser into the film proper. To describe the story would not take very long --In a nutshell, Bond brings down Spectre.The plot is superficially simple -- the execution and panache with which it is done is another thing altogether.This is expert film making of the highest order -it rivets the audience with highly inventive and detailed action set pieces including a fight on a train with Mr Hinx(surprisingly good turn from David Bautista)which has to be one of the most exciting sequences in the series. There are great performances too from Lea Seydoux as Madeline Swann -there is a beautifully directed and acted scene between her and Bond at the start of their relationship where they get to know one another as she falls asleep. The quieter moments like this are very strong and truthful. Daniel Craig gives his best performance to date making Bond's manner so effortless -- My favourite moment in the film has to be the moment in the carnage of a fight in a laboratory he tells a security guard to DON'T!-Craig is superb! Thomas Newman scores again giving the film an exciting pulse especially with the percussive beat in the teaser sequence and lastly Sam Mendes has done something incredible - he has topped SKYFALL with a leap by making us a gift of great entertainment.