Spectre

Review By: John Delia

Slipping into theatres this weekend and beating the rush of blockbusters, Spectre the new James Bond thriller should garner a lot of box office bucks from its loyal fan base.  The movie; however, drags between action scenes and falls short in supporting roles.  That said, Spectre does entertain with cinematography that’s picturesque, explosive and slathered with CGI.  If you are a big fan of the series then get in line for a ticket to another big film featuring 007.

James Bond (Daniel Craig) goes rouge when he accidentally overhears a plan by Marco Sciarra (Alessandro Cremona), a member of SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion), about a bombing of a stadium during the feast of Day of the Dead in Mexico. In his attempt to take down the evil Sciarra, he destroys part of the city and disrupts the thousands that are celebrating the famous Mexican holiday. Upon returning to MI6 home base, M (Ralph Fiennes) is forced to dismiss Bond of his duties until he can get his head together.

Disobeying orders, Bond gets Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Whishaw) to work with him while he tracks down old nemesis and hitman Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) in an attempt to infiltrate SPECTRE and get a peek at their leader Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz).  When he agrees to protect White’s daughter Madeleine, (Léa Seydoux) the decision sends him on a quest that will dig up a vengeance from his past.

Traveling across the planet to locations that include Rome, Austria and Morocco, be expecting a whirlwind of sights and adventure as Bond seeks out the leader of SPECTRE.  Director Sam Mendes returns (Skyfall) for another episode of the famous spy.  Keeping things dark like most of Skyfall, Mendes turns the adventure into a brooding drama that stretches the movie to over two hours and draining the energy that the action scenes delivered.

As witnessed for his past performances as Bond in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace Daniel Craig can hold his own as the world’s favorite spy. But starting with Skyfall and now Spectre I am seeing a slow decay of what was once a vibrant, whimsical and determined character.  Here he even reveals a lot of aging as he lumbers across rooftops while avoiding a crumbling building and has little energy in fights with the ruthless Hinx (Dave Bautista) in a helicopter and on a train.

The performances by Mendes’ support actors are not very exciting, almost limp in fact and slowing down the film rather than ramping it up. I am a big fan of Ralph Fiennes, but he doesn’t make a very good M, the staunch chief of the special spy division of MI6. Even when he goes into the field, hiss persona is bit too ordinary as he comes to Bond’s rescue.  New character C (Max Denbigh) played by Andrew Scott has the same insipid problem.  I am not sure what Mendes was looking for in the role of the new head of the Centre for National Security, but the character presented by Scott is very blasé rather than a devious government ladder climber.

As for Christoph Waltz who plays Oberhauser, while he does show a wicked side in playing the evil computer genius, it’s really not his cup of tea.  Not very convincing as the main antagonist, I would have rather have seen a lot more likeness to his character Col. Hans Landa from Inglorious Basterds who brought the kind of sinister needed here.

Film savers include an exciting performance by Léa Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Color) as the daughter of hired killer Mr. White.  She may look all fluff and prissy on the outset, but she’s got a lot of pent up knowledge from her father to stand alongside Bond when the going gets tough.  She can be as evil as the bad guys she faces, but as soft and comely when it comes to seducing Bond.  In one fight scene she takes a few punches in her attempt to help Bond fight off the brutal Hinx played ably by Dave Bautista (Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy).

Spectre has been rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images, sensuality and language.  The target audience consists of the James Bond huge fan base and males teens to 45.

FINAL ANALYSIS:  Back to the drawing board in hopes for a more exciting and witty James Bond film in the future. (C+)