Title: Spectre
Director: Sam Mendes
Starring: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci Ralph Fiennes.
James Bond turns 24 on screen. ‘Spectre’ marks the twenty-fourth movie about the 007 agent, produced by Eon Productions. Daniel Craig stars in his fourth performance as Mr Bond, as Christoph Waltz returns with the character of Ernst Stavro Blofeld that is re-introduced into the series.
The second Ian Fleming adaptation directed by Sam Mendes – following Skyfall – features James Bond’s first encounter with the global criminal organisation Spectre, as many recurring James Bond Characters return, with the new additions of Léa Seydoux as Dr Madeleine Swann, Dave Bautista as Mr. Hinx, and Monica Bellucci as Lucia Sciarra.
The film opens with a lavish Orson Welles inspired tracking shot, that leads us through Mexico City’s Day of the Dead parade, into a hotel lobby, up in a lift, out of a window and on to the rooftops before finally cutting as a gun sights its target. We start with a bang, as the scenic vistas are followed by collapsing buildings and helicopters circling acrobatically as they become the stage of a free for all.
What follows this spectacular introduction is a frustratingly unsatisfying experience. A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind Spectre. But despite the 007 agent’s efforts, travelling all over Europe and encountering his habitual charming women – we have Monica Bellucci as the Sciarra widow in Rome and Léa Seydoux as Dr. Swann in the Alps, joining Bond across Austria and Tunis – the outcome will feel as the failed attempt to retrieve an outmoded relic of a bygone age.
In defiance of its grand production value – including Sam Smith’s “Writing’s on the Wall” as new theme song – ‘Spectre’ is a little more than an anthology of previous James Bond movies.
Technical: A
Acting: B-
Story: C
Overall: B
Written by: Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi
