Movie review: Spectre

Action/Adventure/Thriller

Rated – M

Duration –148mins

Release – November 2015

Director – Sam Mendes

Cast – Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes


Mr Knight

To scare Bond fans out there of the Daniel Craig era, it is strongly suggested this will be his last. And like the Chris Nolan Batman trilogy starring Christian Bale, all good things must come to an end. Spectre rounds off the four part Daniel Craig story tying up each plot from the previous movies in a neat package.

Like the previous three films, (excluding Quantum of Solace, which was terrible) Spectre delivers action and high speed destruction on an epic scale, whilst delivering the cool swagger that Bond brings to the big screen. Think back to Daniel Craig crash landing with grace on the ass end of a destroyed train in Skyfall and calmly adjusting his shirtsleeve. That is the sort of feeling he delivers throughout Spectre.

Keep in mind this final chapter is a long one, coming just short of three hours including previews when in theatres, but the story has enough depth to keep flowing without dragging. Unless you’re a seasoned Bond campaigner though it may get a little long in the tooth. I know Mrs Knight forgot a few characters here and there.

What I did find myself doing throughout was comparing this new movie to Skyfall and the questions raised was, “Is it better?” and I would have to say NO. But only by a fraction. A bee’s dick in length. I think what gave Skyfall the edge over Spectre was Javier Bardem’s performance as Silva. I found Silva was more involved and constantly one step ahead against Bond, but always in the thick of the action.

Spectre I felt didn’t utilised its main villain until the last third of the film. Sure, it gave Christoph Waltz some mystery, but if you’re a lover of his work in Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained, you would want to see more of him and you just don’t get enough.

Ralph Fiennes’ M and Ben Whishaw’s Q become more involved which is a blessing now Dame Judy Dench is no longer with us, and Tanner and Moneypenny are also Bonds closest allies, not just minor roles in the movie.

As usual beautiful women take part and it may surprise you that Monica Bellucci is one, but despite her age, she could be compared to a fine wine, and appears to have only gotten better. Le’a Seydoux is the main starlet in Spectre as Doctor Madeleine Swann, who with her French accent an undeniable beauty give her a sultry and almost defiant feel before eventually (as they all do) falling for Bonds charms.

Spectre is large scale, well directed, well performed by its talented cast, and is as entertaining and enjoyable as its preview promises. If it is Daniel Craig’s last Bond flick, that will be disappointing news, but if he chooses to end on a high, this would be the best way to do it.

 

Mrs Knight

This review isn’t going to please everyone, but let me start by saying; I’m not and never have been a Bond fan. Skyfall is the exception – as it’s an awesome film and this was the only reason why I was excited for Spectre.

It started and ended strong but my popcorn seemed far more interesting than the middle of the film. It was long and slow without hardly any action or story line. There were slight moments of comedy, but I didn’t manage to crack a smile despite really trying to enjoy it.

A message from the past sends Bond on an unofficial mission to uncover a sinister organisation SPECTRE. We see him travel to Mexico, followed by Rome, where he meets his first ‘Bond girl’ Lucia, the beautiful Monica Bellucci. This moment of passion doesn’t last long as he moves on to helping to protect psychologist Madeleine Swann, the daughter of an old nemesis Mr White. We see Bond venture towards uncovering secrets of the organisation, SPECTRE and secrets of his own past. I must admit the majority of it went over my head as I couldn’t remember much of the past films… but I imagine for people who do remember them, Spectre will tie everything up nicely.

I felt it was a typical man’s movie with hot girls, fast cars and deadly guns. Which is basically what I was expecting, but I thought at the very least the action would captivate me… sadly it did not. I also wish Christoph Waltz character had a larger role. The scenes between him and Bond were the only suspenseful and interesting part of the film. I also enjoyed the gorgeous outfits worn by Madeleine Swann. Sitting through a three hour film for this, was hardly worth it.

As someone who has never cared about James Bond, Skyfall made me think differently, but now I’m back to not caring. Hate to say it, but that’s three long hours I will never get back. I do need to give a shout out to Dendy Premium Lounge as at least I was comfortable sipping my glass of Bollinger!