Review: ‘Spectre’

SpectreDaniel Craig has spent much of the past few months answering questions to his future as the iconic super agent 007, and much of what we’ve heard is a tired actor ready to move on from the franchise, and maybe that’s not a bad idea. Coming off the biggest film in this storied franchise’s history, Skyfall, director Sam Mendes returns with star Craig with Spectre, and action packed thrill ride that feels more like a retread of past Bond films rather than it’s skillfully crafted predecessor.

Bond (Daniel Craig) runs along the rooftops in pursuit of Sciarra in Mexico City in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/Columbia Pictures/EON Productions’ action adventure SPECTRE.

Bond (Daniel Craig) runs along the rooftops in pursuit of Sciarra in Mexico City in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/Columbia Pictures/EON Productions’ action adventure SPECTRE.

Spectre begins with Bond (Craig) tracking a group of terrorists lead by an assassin named Marco Sciarra, who are planning to to blow up a stadium full of people during the Day of the Dead celebration in Mexico. The pursuit of Sciarra leads Bond to an ever larger revelation as he comes in possession of a ring with a mysterious octopus symbol on it. On his return to London, Bond is placed on indefinitely leave by M (Ralph Fiennes) after his actions in Mexico. We meet a new player in the Bond universe, C (Andrew Scott), the head of the Joint Intelligence Service, which consists of the recently merged MI5 and MI6. C is intent on disbanding the 00 program and replacing it with “Nine Eyes”, an intelligence co-operation agreement between nine countries set to provide unprecedented surveillance resources to these governments.

Ralph Fiennes in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/Columbia Pictures/EON Productions’ action adventure SPECTRE.

Ralph Fiennes in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/Columbia Pictures/EON Productions’ action adventure SPECTRE.

Bond goes dark and continues to investigate the mysterious organization that he comes to know as Spectre, an organization of powerful people headed by Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz), a man that seems all too familiar to Bond. To infiltrate Spectre, Bond must confront one of his previous foes, Mr White (Jesper Christensen), whose daughter, Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), can help Bond find the answers he’s searching for. The two must travel the globe to follow the clues they hope will lead them to uncover Spectre’s plan, but an assassin and a high-ranking member of Spectre named Mr Hinx (Dave Bautista) is in hot pursuit.

Dave Bautista in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/Columbia Pictures/EON Productions’ action adventure SPECTRE.

Dave Bautista in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/Columbia Pictures/EON Productions’ action adventure SPECTRE.

Overall, Spectre is a bit of a mess and it relies on way too many Bond cliches, but it’s still a Bond movie with a lot of enjoyable action sequences. The fun about Bond is, of course, seeing the character in action, but if you’re expecting something more groundbreaking than Skyfall, you’ll be left disappointed.

Stars:

3 out of 5

After Credit Scene?

No

Trailer:

Bond (Daniel Craig) runs along the rooftops in pursuit of Sciarra in Mexico City in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/Columbia Pictures/EON Productions’ action adventure SPECTRE.

Bond (Daniel Craig) runs along the rooftops in pursuit of Sciarra in Mexico City in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/Columbia Pictures/EON Productions’ action adventure SPECTRE.

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