"Spectre" Review

by Levi Hill

(WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SOME MINOR SPOILERS)

Spectre sees Daniel Craig return for his fourth go-round as special agent 007. In this film, as his past comes back to haunt him, James Bond hunts for a sinister terrorist organization while M (Ralph Fiennes) fights to keep MI6 in operation. The movie tries to craft a deeper personal look at Bond but lackluster storytelling holds it back from reaching its full potential. Acting and set pieces are solid though.

Spectre’s main issue is that the villain of the film, Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz), is severely underused. He doesn’t appear until well into the film, and once he does appear, he is completely hidden in shadow. When he surfaces a second time, near the very end of the film, he shows exactly how perfect of a Bond villain he is. However his three scenes are not nearly enough screen time for a cretin of his caliber.

The next issue I had with Spectre is that the relationship between Bond and Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) feels incredibly forced. Of course Bond isn’t known for taking things slow with his women, but by the end of the film their relationship feels rushed and unearned. Similar to Vesper in Casino Royale, Swann is set up to be a real love interest for Bond. However, the lack of chemistry between the two makes their relationship here hard to believe.

Despite these complaints, the film is still worth your while. The opening sequence is a masterpiece of continuous camera movement. The action scenes are exciting, and you can feel the impact of each blow, especially when Bond is fighting Mr. Hinx (Dave Bautista).

There are no bad performances in the film. Craig is fantastic as Bond, which should be expected with his fourth, and potentially final, outing as 007. Waltz is incredible in his limited screen time. Seydoux is convincing enough despite her character being rushed. The supporting cast, including Fiennes, Andrew Scott, Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw, also give solid performances. 

Overall, Spectre is a fun, enjoyable action film. It doesn’t live up to the post-Skyfall hype that surrounded it, but that doesn’t make it a complete failure.

B-