★ ★ ★ ½ ☆
Daniel Craig and Léa Seydoux charm their way through this
thrilling – if flimsy – ‘Best of Bond’ highlight reel. 007’s world is under
threat from the inside and out as intelligence higher-up Denbigh (Andrew Scott)
promises to scrap the Double-0 programme, while the mysterious Spectre
organisation and it’s enigmatic leader Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz) is
brought into the light.
If this is truly to be Craig’s final outing as Bond (one can
never be too sure given the erratic nature of his recent press outings) then I
can’t imagine we could have asked for better demonstration of his commitment to
the role. Craig’s Bond has been visibly moulded by the events of the previous
three films (yes, even Quantum of Solace!)
while still keeping his rough-hewn, bulldog appeal in full effect. His better
side is especially brought out during his scenes with Madeleine Swann
(Seydoux), a sly and shining character who injects a healthy dose of complexity
and depth to the Bond girl formula.
Christoph Waltz (even in movies that don’t deserve him)
never half-arses a performance, and Spectre
refuses to be the exception. He’s cool and calculating without simply forming a
carbon copy of his character from Inglorious
Basterds: Hans Landa had a twisted logic and code of ethics about him, but
Oberhauser is classic, unswayable Bond baddie. The unravelling plot that falls
upon his shoulders also does a very nice job of neatly tying together the story
of Craig’s Bond so far (again, even Quantum
of Solace factors into the equation without everything falling apart!).
Though the plot does well with pre-written material, the new
machinations established along the way suffer from 2015’s rampant strain of
over-complicated story threads, making the film feel stuffed even with 148
minutes in which to play. Age of
Ultron, Rogue Nation and now Spectre
feign complexity but in the end bring only confusion. Everything here moves
along at such a wallop that there’s not much time to pause and think, but
during those rare moments the whole thing threatens to fall in on itself.
The speed at which events transpire also has the undesired
side effect of underusing talented players: Monica Belluci is treated almost as
a throwaway, and Scott’s character (the butt of a very amusing running gag)
appears far too little for my liking.
With characters well-played and the plot sturdy to a
point, the rest resembles a greatest hits album of the Bond franchise,
repackaged for a new generation: as well as a brand spanking new car chase, we
get updated versions of The Spy Who Loved
Me’s train fight, the Casino Royale torture
scene plus an enlivening swig of snowbound On
Her Majesty’s Secret Service antics. There’s little tinkering with the
classic Bond formula even by composer Thomas Newman, who gives his best themes
from Skyfall a winning surge of
adrenaline while top-notch cinematography by Interstellar’s Hoyte Van Hoytema seals the deal.
Sam Smith’s much-maligned title song also got a pass (dare I
say even a recommendation) for weaving in nicely with both the score and the
trademark opening titles. It feels like a genuine Bond theme as much as Mendes’
latest feels like a genuine 007 adventure, warts and all. Because there is a
difference between a Bond film and a Bond film: Skyfall was the former, and Spectre
wears the latter title loudly and proudly.
