04 November 2015

Spectre, 2015 - ★★★½

I've never really been a fan of Bond; Casino Royale grabbed my interest before Quantum of Solace threw it away. I enjoyed Skyfall a lot and that was the main reason for wanting to see Spectre. I don't think Spectre is ever as satisfying as Skyfall but it is a film well made by a group of people who obviously know what they are doing.

There are a few problems though, for starters the film is far too long. Each set piece goes on a little longer than it should, it's unfair to call them boring because they don't lack excitement but they do feel like they drag on.

Then there's the women. Much was made of Monica Bellucci's casting but it's little more than a cameo and her scenes revert back to sleazy Bond of old. Lea Seydoux's character is much more interesting or at least she's initially set up that way and then wasted by reverting to a damsel in distress. I thought Bond (character and franchise) had matured and this seemed like a great opportunity to have a different type of relationship (although in real life Craig is younger than I thought at 47 and Seydoux is older at 30)

But is that what a Bond film is supposed to be? Apparently there are several nods to the rest of the Bond 'universe' (whatever that is - something else that never made any sense to me) so it's likely to appeal to fans more than it did to me. When trying to sum up how I felt about it all I was left thinking is it's good but is it as good as Kingsmen or Rogue Nation? And for me that answer is probably no.

November 03, 2015 at 11:52PM

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