Do you expect me to talk? No, Mr bond, I ex-spectre you to die.

Rating: 7/10 (3 November 2015)

Perhaps the most formulaic of the Craig outings but with a formula as enduring as the Bond franchise that's no bad thing. Where the previous Craig films have attempted to eschew the traditional Bondisms or put a contemporary spin on them, Spectre embraces the classic Bond tropes unabashedly. Sam Mendes and Daniel Craig (who gets a co-producer credit here) have clearly set out to deliver a bond movie in it's purest form and are for the most part successful although not without some missteps along the way.
Spectre takes place not long after the events of Skyfall but this is really a direct continuation of 2008's underrated Quantum of Solace, it ties up many of the plot threads from QoS and Casino Royal before that. Spectre's biggest disappointment is that the stakes just don't feel as high as the previous adventures. The villains aren't as threatening and the titular organisation just doesn't feel as sinister as it should. QoS created a genuine sense of intrigue and conspiracy whereas here, the Spectre organisation felt about as mysterious as your local Quaker group.
Craig puts everything into the role as we've come to expect but the same cannot be said for some of the supporting cast, it did seem like some of the big names were phoning in their performance (or should that be an encrypted video call?). Ben Whishaw turns in a good performance as Q, MI6's resident technology geek but considering the themes of the movie we don't see as much of him as you would expect.
In terms of the bread and butter Bond content, most boxes are ticked: spectacular set pieces, well executed fight sequences, gorgeous locations (which Bond seemingly teleports between) and of course the usual nauseating product placement.
Bond 24 is a fitting conclusion in the Daniel Craig cannon, the bar has been set high for the next lot of movies.
A strong 7 out of 10.