007: Spectre REVIEW

So the new Bond film is out and dominating at the box office. It's already grossed over $500 million at the box office in just its first two weeks in theaters. But with this huge sucsess, one question arises...is it any good?

Well to start, this film is definitely a step down from Skyfall is and very mediocre for a Bond film. If we were looking at this film from the standpoint of just “spy movies”, we’d probably say it was exceptional, but in comparison to other Bond films, Spectre is a very weak outing for Sony. There are definitely redeeming qualities about this film so we’ll start with those.

Tone

The tone of this film is actually quite refreshing. It’s no secret that the Daniel Craig era of Bond films has been a very dark and brooding one. This all came to a head in the climax of Skyfall with the death of M and the dissolution of the old MI6. But this film regains the wit and style of classic Bond films. Ben Whishaw is absolutely entertaining to watch in this film as Q, with him and Craig playing off of each-other in a way almost reminiscent of Connery and Llewelyn. Naomie Harris’s new take on Ms. Moneypenny is even a pleasant surprise, although her character is less prominent in this film than in Skyfall.

The themes of mystery are even quite an interesting build up until the reveal of Spectre. It manages to be thrilling and classic without delving into campiness.

Cinematography

This film is perhaps the most beautifully shot Bond film in a long time. The film even opens with a thrilling chase scene shot in just one shot that masterfully immerses us into the tone of the film. Some shots throughout the film are obvious throwbacks to 60’s cinematography and this heavily contributes to the retro aesthetic of the film.

Now for the Bad...

Plot

The plot of this film starting of is actually very thrilling with a slow build up to an eventual reveal. By the time we are introduced to the character of Blofeld, we are halfway through the film but it is still surprisingly impressive. Blofeld is built up as this ultimate threat who has covered his footprints for years setting up for quite a villain. However, what we are given is a semi-charismatic psychopath who becomes laughably useless as the film progress. It almost seems like a disservice to Christoph Waltz to merely use him for so little of the film and this shows. There is even one laughable scene where Blofeld has kidnapped Bond and is prepared to use a mind-wiping machine on him. In some confusingly convenient twist, Bond is able to free himself and the machine is ineffective for reasons that are never explained. The film tries to hold up this idea that Blofeld is always one step ahead of Bond but Bond’s dumb luck and other random plot points stifle this very idea. The film' big twist, while a good idea, is exucted very poorly and struggles to pull weight as it only confuses viewers of the other Bond films. The twist is that Blofeld has been the puppet master behind all of the events we've seen in the last three films, all in some sick ploy to ruin Bond's life. This twist while bold makes very little sense. For one, there is never any indication that there is some supreme master of evil orcherstrating these events in the earlier films. And also, this film does not offer up any real explanation of its reveal almost making it pretty ineffective. It merely throws in this detail in some cheap scheme to garner actual emotional appeal from the audience in the midst of rushed and weak writing. However it fails in the sense that the viewer walks away without caring about the complexities of the twist.

In the final confrontation of Bond and Blofeld, Bond opts not to kill Blofeld instead leaving him with the authorities. For all those who have followed these new Bond films, you’d know that this a very uncharacteristic action on Bond’s part. Some will suggest that this scene is indicative of a change in his character but the reasons for this epiphany are never explained. The film almost suggests that his love-interest is his reason but this is incredibly far-fetched as the Bond girl does absolutely nothing to make this feasible. While her character is a very pleasant surprise, she does not distinguish herself from any other generic Bond girl, thus making his actions throughout the film very silly. In comparison, it was clear in Casino Royale that Vesper had actually changed him as the film spent the entire two hour run building up their romance, but this film doesn’t really offer us anything else other than a sexual relationship and some small talk.

Accidental Sexism

Now it's no secret that Bond is a ladies man. This is a major part of the Bond character. However, this film clearly shows that perhaps this character needs some revision. Now by no means am I saying strip Bond of his ladies man status, This would be changing the essence of the character. What I am suggesting is, perhaps there needs to be some revision to the female counterparts that doesn’t relegate them to the status of sexual plaything. For example, in Skyfall Eve Moneypenny was a fascinating female character, as she was outspoken and independent. While she may have flirted with Bond, she however did not lay in his bed just because the script said so. As a matter of fact, Moneypenny doesn’t even sleep with Bond. In Casion Royale, Vesper and Bond connect with eachother as they both are running from lives that they feel stuck in. In this film, Bond has sex with two women for the darndest reasons. The first is with Lucia Sciarra who is mourning after the death of her husband. After confirming Bond as the murderer, she still has some stupid, and albiet cinematically artistic, sex scene with him for reasons the script klunkly attempts to explain. This scene suffers from a bad case of “telling and not showing” as they rush through awful and pretentious dialogue to squeeze in a hot scence tthats unintentionally hilarious. While the second Bond girl in the film, played by Lea Seydoux, is a more multi-dimensional character, she also falls in love with Bond for inexplicable reasons. Furthermore, nothing about her is even remotely close to Vesper to the point that Bond would make drastic decisions with her in mind. As you watch the film, you'll constantly ask yourself why she is still around other than to fill the tradition of Bond girls being present. Needless to say, she becomes more of a trope than an actual story element.

Our Final Stance

All in all, the film is neither bad nor exceptional. If you see it in theaters, you’ll be mildly entertained for two hours and might walk away pleased with the action. However, dont expect anything brilliant about the film’s story. If you’re looking for something compelling, there are plenty of other movies out there that will fulfill your needs. Overall I give it a 6/10.