“Spectre” Reviewed
My favorite Bond is Sean Connery and my favorite Bond movie is “Goldfinger” and that might explain why I consider the complaint that Daniel Craig’s fourth outing as the spy with a license to kill is a disappointment ill judged. Rather this outing than the heavy handed “Skyfall”, the last one where “M” (Judi Dench) dies at the end, at least this is fun.
“Skyfall” was hardly the first Bond with a tragic death to polish it off, both “Casino Royale” and “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” had major knock offs at the end, but it was the first one to be a downer from one end to the other. “Spectre” picks up where “Skyfall” ends, with Ralph Fiennes as the new “M” and Bond off the grid AGAIN in search of the mysterious American and finding an organization ready to get all the world’s information in one place (with no back up files of course) and supervillain Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Walz) the man behind his woes.
While Bond travels round the world, M battles Denbeigh (his new boss, portrayed by Andrew Scott, aka the UK’s Moriarty so you know he’s a stinker) to keep the 00 program in one piece.Léa Seydoux makes a gorgeous Bond girl. And the four set pieces are all spectacular. Does it tie the movies up? Yeah, but it sure feels like an afterthought to me.
I am looking forward to a new Bond myself, somebody who isn’t so miserable all the time, but Craig has had a good run, put him second, and this is a good Bond -not great, not first tier, but a solid enjoyable time killer and rather than than the pseud Hamlet of “Skyfall”.
Grade: B+
