It's a big misfire.

Rating: 6/10 (8 July 2017)

Spectre is certainly not the best 007 film and I don't think it's Daniel Craig's fault entirely. He's just being the same 007 as he has in the three previous 007 films, bland, glum and brooding. So why did this film fail to capture the reason why 007 movies were once so fun? Mendes is good at orchestrating stunning cinematography, camera angles and such. But why does the whole 2.5 hours of film seem to drag on and on? My assertion to this flop is that everyone involved is misused. The characters' roles are either too brief, too underdeveloped or just poorly conceived. Lea Sedoux, although beautiful, is just too boring to watch. Bloefeld is too effeminate and odd to be taken seriously. That whole scene where he is torturing Bond is just goofy and insipid. Bloefeld just isn't sinister our cunning enough to engender much fear or awe. And what about Monica Bellucci? She was the best addition to this film and she's completely wasted. Her eight minutes of screen time are the best minutes of this movie and her role ends way too briefly. Her coy allure sets a stunning backdrop to the cold and desolate funeral procession. The chemistry between her and Craig is palpable and far more interesting than the, bland as goatmilk, Sedoux.
It's a shame they couldn't combine all the good aspects of this movie and construct something exciting. The result was a wasted opportunity.