Spectre

After two great James Bond films and one a bit divisive, Daniel Craig had generally won the public over as a blonde(ish) take on Ian Fleming's MI6 spy. I had personally enjoyed all three of them but it would take nearly ten years from the release of Casino Royale in 2006 before we'd see Craig's forth outing in Spectre which featured a return from Skyfall's director, Sam Mendes. 

There was a lot of anticipation for this one following the critical as well as commercial success of the one before and because Eon Productions had now secured the rights to the Spectre name. This had been caught in legal rights turmoil for years but now we'd finally get to see Bond once again go up against the shadowy, villainous organisation which was a big deal for fans of the books. Craig's previous Bond films that hinted at Spectre under different names but now the series could finally break back into familiar territory. 

Following a trail left by Judi Dench's M, Bond pursues the sinister organisation and discovers he has his own links to their mysterious leader. Fans had been calling for Bond to stop always going rogue in Craig's films and to an extent what we get here is a far more traditional outing for the franchise. We get action in the pre-credits scene, a briefing by Ralph Fiennes' M, new gadgets and then Bond is off abroad in the usual sequence that wouldn't have felt out of place with Sir Sean Connery or Roger Moore. 

I remember being excited to see this at a London cinema but sadly coming away oddly deflated; the film didn't hit the mark for me. There was something off about what Mendes had made which failed to really satisfy. I then watched it again a year later at home with somewhat subdued expectations and found more to enjoy but now nearly five years has passed, what would I see in this a third time around? 

Starting with the positive, Daniel Craig is great as 007 and seems more comfortable in a role that has a better mix of humour and drama when compared to Skyfall. Some begrudged the darker elements from previous Bond films and Mendes achieves a much smoother balance that feels like classic Bond. While we are missing Roger Deakins' cinematography, Spectre is still pretty damn gorgeous to look at and the use of practical stunts/effects kept (most of) the action exciting. 

I can't say I loved the pre-credits scene in Mexico but it has its moments and the first two thirds of the film run along nicely in thanks to Mendes' direction. Dave Bautista also makes for an entertaining henchmen, and the scenes with M, Q and Moneypenny all add to my overall enjoyment. However, I do wish Léa Seydoux's 'Bond girl' had made more of an impression as there were some questionable character moments towards the end that seemed to only serve as plot conveniences for Bond to have to save her at the end. There were moments where her chemistry with Craig was good though and I do hope No Time to Die can build on this.

The real problems I find with Spectre come in the form of its main baddie, Christoph Waltz's Blofeld, who is just bland and his so-called villainous plan doesn't really carry any weight. Waltz is a great actor but is given very little to do, and the decision to tie this in with the three films that came before somehow cheapens them. The Sony hacking scandal from 2014 revealed that there were numerous rewrites for this and that executives were concerned over the latter half of the story. Spectre is a complicated film that becomes more convoluted as the story progresses but there is a good idea in here that needed more time in development.

Despite all of this, I still had some enjoyment revisiting Spectre even if this Craig's weakest entry in the film so far. General viewers will find more to enjoy than the hardcore Bond fans but given the possibilities the filmmakers had after securing the rights to the Spectre name, this could have been so much more than what we have here. I am glad that this wasn't to be Daniel Craig's last film as 007 and hope that No Time to Die can conclude his tenure on a high note.