There are few if any characters that have had as much of an impact in cinematic history as 007 himself, James Bond. From the very moment that Sean Connery ordered his first vodka martini as the secret agent in Dr. No (1962), the entire world knew they had found a new cinematic icon. A large part of it had to do with the charisma of Connery, of course, but as we’ve seen over the years, Ian Fleming’s Bond can live far beyond just one single actor. George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnon have all donned Bond’s neatly tailored threads over the years, sometimes in spectacular fashion and at other times in some rather mediocre ways. For a long running series like James Bond’s, it’s sometimes difficult to keep up the high quality from film to film, which has kept the Bond franchise consistently inconsistent. Each new actor does bring in fresh blood, but rarely do all of their movies become all time classics. Going over every Bond film, you can pick out at least one from each star that’s a classic, and for some of the more prolific like Connery and Moore, they may have two or more classics among them. George Lazenby lucked out with having his one and only outing as the character being the great and underrated On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). Basically, what I’ve seen from the Bond franchise is a very roller coaster like flow to it’s level of quality and that the longer an actor commits to the role, the more they leave themselves open to having a shakier record as the super spy.
Which leads me to where the series is at now, as we reach the latter part and possible end of the Daniel Craig era. Daniel Craig’s turn as Bond has been one of the most praised across the board, and it’s easy to see why. The Bond franchise had declined heavily towards the end of Pierce Brosnan’s reign. Brosnan started off strong with the classic Goldeneye (1995), but his three follow-ups got progressively worse, ending with the laughable Die Another Day (2002), the movie where Bond surfs on a tsunami and drives an invisible car. When it came time to choose a new actor for the role, parent company EON Productions wanted someone who could bring the series back to it’s roots, and the perfect man for the job ended up being Daniel Craig. Though not a household name at the time, Craig has since left his mark on the character, making Bond tougher and grittier, while at the same time not betraying the suave roots of Fleming’s original. Craig became the Bond of the 21st century and modernized him in a way that greatly appealed to audiences. Since being cast, Craig has appeared in four films total (contracted for five) and he holds the distinction of having one of the best batting averages of all the Bond actors. Of his movies, you can definitely consider two of them all time classics, his debut Casino Royale (2006) and the record breaking Skyfall (2012). Quantum of Solace (2008), while not bad by any means, does fall short of the other two, showing that even Craig is not immune to a dip in quality during his time. And after Skyfall, which could arguably be the best Bond movie ever made, it’s put a lot of pressure on what follows it after. So, this week, we finally see how Daniel Craig’s James Bond fares in his fourth outing; the hotly anticipated Spectre (2015).
The interesting thing about Daniel Craig’s Bond movies is that unlike all the others, they share the same story arc, each one connected to the other. Spectre picks up right where Skyfall left off, with James following a lead left to him by his recently deceased former boss M (Judi Dench), which leads him to take on rogue missions much to the chagrin of the new M in charge (Ralph Fiennes). With the assistance of hi-tech quartermaster Q (Ben Whishaw) and reliable desk operative Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), Bond is able to go undercover and infiltrate a shadow organization that he believes is responsible for terrorist attacks all over the world, called simply SPECTRE. Once he makes it inside, he soon learns that one man is in charge of the whole operation going by the name Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz), and that he is more aware of Bond’s presence than he realized. After escaping in a chase through the streets of Rome, pursued by Oberhauser’s henchman Hinx (Dave Bautista), Bond seeks out an old enemy, Mr. White (Jesper Christensen), who can give him more information about SPECTRE, which the old man does with the promise from James that he will protect White’s daughter Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux). All the while this is happening, M, Q, and Moneypenny are having to deal with the shutdown of the 00 program in favor of a computer driven surveillance system developed by a tech wizard code-named C (Andrew Scott), leaving Bond all on his own.
Spectre does something unique in the Bond franchise in that it ties up all the loose threads of each previous film, even the more standalone Skyfall. As a result, this movie has an interesting sense of closure for Daniel Craig’s version of the character, which would be fitting if this is indeed his final outing. But, the question is, does this movie live up to what has come before and become a third classic for the actor; or does it disappoint and only prove that it’s time for a change. Well, truth be told, when it comes to making all time great Bond movies, it seems you only live twice. But, that’s not a sign that this movie is bad. Spectre really is everything a Bond movie should be. It’s got great action set pieces, including a spectacular opening in Mexico City that I would consider one of the best in the series, and a great fight sequence between Craig and Bautista on a train. It’s also got the series’ trademark sense of humor that helps to keep the movie from ever becoming too heavy and self-important. Really, any other time this would be considered an all time great in the series, and as a standalone film, it’s easy to recommend to everyone. The unfortunate thing for it is that it’s coming right off the the heels of Skyfall, which is not only a franchise best, but arguably one of the best spy thrillers ever made. Because Skyfall is so close in my memory, it only made me think of what this film was missing, which might be a little unfair of me, but I would be lying at the same time if I said that I didn’t have a nagging couple issues with this movie either.
I’d say that my biggest fault with the film is that it suffers from a very underwhelming third act. Much of the film’s best scenes play out early on and the movie leads up to a very satisfying confrontation with Bond and the villain, including some revelations that will please die hard fans of the franchise as well as the Fleming novels. Unfortunately, the film goes on for another twenty minutes or so after it should’ve ended, with a pointless game of cat and mouse through the streets of London, adding nothing more to the movie other than another action sequence. Skyfall on the other hand built up to it’s climax in a perfect way, giving it the weight and tension that it needed. That’s what’s missing here. Spectre also suffers from periodic lulls in pacing. While the movie does come alive whenever there is an action sequence, it would slow down thereafter and lose my interest in some of the more dialogue heavy sequences. Not that the’re bad scenes, but I would at times start to loose attention to what was going on. And at 2 1/2 hours, Spectre is the longest Bond movie to date, which makes these down moments all the more problematic. But at the same time, the movie doesn’t fully suffer for it. There is still a great deal to enjoy about this movie. It may be flawed, but at the same time, you can say that about 80% of all the Bond films. Only a select handful have ever achieved masterpiece status. I would put Spectre on the high end of the “almost masterpieces”, which would include movies like Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), Octopussy (1983), Live and Let Die (1973), and From Russia With Love (1963).
What I did love, however, was James Bond himself in this film. Daniel Craig once again proves why he is one of the greatest actors to ever play the role. Only Connery could be considered better, given that he originated the character, and even that might be up for debate at some point. Craig has never been letdown in this series, even with the story faults here in Spectre and more so in Quantum of Solace. He’s believably tough whenever he gets into a fight, but also dashing enough to be charmingly suave. He also nails the sense of humor of the character perfectly as well. There’s a hilarious moment when Bond is staying in a seedy hotel in Morocco and he’s awoken to a mouse crawling across the floor in front of him. In a great bit of subtle humor, Bond quietly pulls out his gun, points it at the mouse, and jokingly starts to interrogate it. It’s one of the best character moments in the movie and it helped to make up for some of the movie’s other shortcomings. In addition, Christoph Waltz is ideal casting as the villain, and it makes perfect sense that he was cast once we learn more about him towards the end. I only wish that the movie had utilized more screen time for Waltz, because he doesn’t become a factor in the story until very late. But, once he’s present, he doesn’t waste anytime leaving an impact, which is exactly why you get an actor of his quality on board for something like this. I also liked the fact that Team Bond is more involved in this story. Q and Moneypenny are not wasted on the sidelines and are given much more to do in this movie than in most of the previous Bond films, which is refreshing. Even the new M helps out more, getting in a few well deserved fight scenes of his own. Spectre is definitely bolstered by it’s capable cast, and I’m happy to see that no role was wasted overall.
The movie also benefits from well constructed set pieces and edge of your seat action scenes. From what I’ve read, this is the most expensive Bond movie made to date, and you can see every penny put to use on screen. The eye-opening Mexico City prologue is indeed one of the standouts and you can tell that director Sam Mendes wanted to set the movie’s bombastic tone in a big way. The scale is perfectly conveyed immediately, especially given the nearly five minute tracking shot they used to open the movie. I’d say that the only thing that’s missing is the beautiful, painterly styled cinematography from Roger Deakins that we saw in Skyfall. Here the cinematography was done instead by Interstellar (2014) photographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, who goes for a grittier, more realistic style. But, that helps to give this movie it’s own unique visual imprint to set it apart, so it’s not a negative by any means. I also like the fact that this movie doesn’t overdo it with the visual effects. That’s what plagued many of the later Brosnon Bonds, which overused CGI to the point where Die Another Day felt like a cartoon at times. Here, the CGI supports the action rather than overwhelms it, which is what all the Craig Bonds have done exceptionally well. Though they have the capabilities now to have James Bond do anything possible on the big screen, it’s a good sign that the filmmakers are restraining themselves to keep their super spy earthbound. And this movie does an overall great job of retaining the tried and true feel of a Bond movie. The famous title sequences are brilliant works of pop art in their own right and this one adds yet another stunning entry, although the title song by Sam Smith does unfortunately sound like a karaoke version of a Bond theme, and doesn’t quite reach the heights of Adele’s Oscar-winning ballad from Skyfall.
Overall, it’s hard to be truly fair to a movie like Spectre. On it’s own, it is a very acceptable and downright enjoyable action thriller. Unfortunately, the movie must also carry the weight of the franchise that it represents, made even more complicated by the fact that it’s following in the footsteps of a masterpiece. But, at the same time, I do have to point out the flaws that are inherent, which do affect the overall quality of the movie. It was a smart move on EON Production’s part to retain the creative team from Skyfall, which included director Mendes and screenwriter John Logan. Unfortunately, success is a hard thing to repeat, so I do have to give them credit for doing as well as they did. If only they had stuck the landing in the third act. From what I’ve heard, this was one of the more troublesome productions for the series, leading star Daniel Craig to want to call it quits afterwards. He still has one more film on his contract, but it remains to be seen if they decide to part ways and move on despite this. The ending of this movie opens the door for both possibilities; it brings closure to Bond’s arc throughout all the Daniel Craig films, but at the same time, it also leaves room for further adventures. Only time will tell which avenue they choose. Regardless, as the end credits state, Bond will return and the franchise will continue to go on. If this is the end for Daniel Craig as 007, then it’s a fine farewell. He’s had one of the best runs ever as the character and though Casino Royale and Skyfall rank as solid 9’s, Spectre comes in as a respectable 8, with Quantum of Solace falling down to a 7. It’s an almost classic that will certainly be worth watching no matter what. And that’s all you need in the end from Bond, James Bond.
Rating: 8/10