Good, but not amazing.

Rating: 7/10 (22 November 2015)

Spectre opens strong with the Day of the Dead sequence in Mexico. A great action set piece to start off the film, but then it sort of fizzles out.
I'll say this though, if we weren't spoiled by Casino Royale and Skyfall, I think this would have been a solid Bond film. Craig's 007, specifically Casino Royale and Skyfall always had just an extra layer of flare and depth. Of all the most I've seen, most 007 films don't really go out to flesh their hero like Craig's Bond, and in Spectre it relies on a redundant formula, bringing it closer to the glorious, action-driven spectacle of earlier entries.
Not to say that is a bad film, but it's not on the level of the previous entries. Definitely better than Quantum of Solace though. I felt that the biggest issue is the overall narrative focusing more on the romance rather than involving the villains. They are shrouded in mystery, which is interesting at first, but it glosses over that immediately and focuses on Bond and his new love interest, Lea Seydoux's Dr. Madeleine Swan, the daughter of one of Bond's former adversaries Mr. White. She is a brainy and feisty woman who can hold her own and about three days after she tells Bond she's not about to fall into his arms seeking solace, she's telling him, "I love you." It has a been there and done that feel, and it doesn't help when there are about twenty-three Bond films prior to Spectre. What made Skyfall great was how little to none romancing there was, as for Casino Royale, it brought a new dynamic since it was a reboot he was just promoted to 007 status, and he fell in love. I would argue to a certain extent Quantum of Solace doesn't bring too much emphasis over romance either.
The film once again focuses on the question if spies are still relevant and necessary. After a while it gets tiresome. It's kinda clear that the 00 program is needed. Without spoiling anything, the twist is cartoonishly convoluted and sort of cheats out the other adversaries Bond faced in his previous films.
Yet with that being said, what kinda Spectre does better than Quantum, just barely, are the villains. As previously stated above, I liked the idea of shadowy atmosphere that the Spectre organization produced, but the film barely offers just enough, not to mention the tried twist I mentioned above. To be honest the whole middle act could have been trimmed to make more time for Spectre. While Quantum had forgettable and unmemorable villains, Spectre does not, and when you can hire Christoph Waltz in the role of Ernst Stavro Blofeld you really cannot go wrong. Despite the lack of screen time, Waltz kills it and you attention is towards him whenever he's on screen. He's wonderfully insane, and constructs elaborate puzzles for Bond. I'd love to see more of him in the future.
The performances are fine, although I would have liked to see Dave Bautista's role have a little more to do than speak one line. I can dig Naomi Harris as Moneypenny and it's nice to see Ben Whishaw's Q out in the field. Ralph Fiennes does a commendable job as M and also gets to do more out on the field aiding Bond on his take down of Spectre. Sam Mendes doesn't hit a home run like he did with Skyfall, but he gets to home base. It's shot well and the action sequences never disappoint.
Daniel Craig at this point can play this role in his sleep. He's as good as ever and he's surrounded by an great cast. It might be a broken record or an overkill to say this, but he is my favorite James Bond and I hope to see him a couple more Bond movies. Ever since his casting in Casino Royale, all the doubters have shut their mouth and I do believe he has at least two more movies in him.
7.5/10