Skyfall was a knowing victory lap for the series, but also told a different type of story.Įven if this is less satisfying overall than Skyfall, there are sequences that rank with Bond’s best. A couple of the car chases - through weirdly depopulated nighttime cities - are oddly frictionless, and the one major gadget turns out to be a get-out-of-certain-death-free card on a par with Bond’s silliest habits. Hinx, is a formidable opponent in a From Russia With Love fight-on-a-train, but is otherwise a formula goon Léa Seydoux works wonders with thin material as one of the more passive Bond girls (her job is to be imperiled and rescued) and Monica Bellucci is in and out with little chance to show her fire. Other elements are too rote - the tentacular title sequence is cool but the song is a dud Dave Bautista’s Oddjob-like silent, smirking thug, Mr. There’s an unhelpful hangover from the ‘personal story’ angle in a contrived backstory that links Bond’s unhappy childhood with the creation of Spectre - as if subverting worldwide democracy and massive terrorist attacks weren’t evil enough to annoy the hero. This means Spectre has to play by the established rules rather than break or radically overhaul them. Skyfall was a knowing victory lap for the series, but also told a different type of story and spent its last half taking Bond home - to his grim childhood house but also, with Ralph Fiennes as a new M and Naomie Harris sitting at Miss Moneypenny’s desk, to the sit-com-like status quo circa Dr. Roger Moore would have arched an eyebrow, but Craig is funny because he doesn’t wink at the audience - but can also turn off the charm when it’s time to throw someone through a window.
When a beautiful woman mentions that the astonishing scenery (and art direction) of her mountaintop clinic can be a distraction, Craig’s smooth throwaway as he focuses intently on her (“Really? I hadn’t noticed”) is typical of the kind of laugh only he can get. Craig doesn’t get Connery-Moore quips, but allows much more wry humour to sneak into his hardman-in-a-suit hero. Since it’s part of the Bond remit to evoke the franchise’s past, this does for Craig what You Only Live Twice did for Sean Connery, down to the welcome return of the evil white cat stroked by the head of Spectre throughout the 1960s.Īfter three films more rooted in real-world worries than Pierce Brosnan’s mostly fantastical vehicles, Spectre relaxes a little (even if it debates the ethics of surveillance and the relevance of licensed-to-kill boots on the ground in an age of drones). Having handled Skyfall, the 50th anniversary entry in the 007 series, Sam Mendes is back for Spectre, a direct sequel to the earlier film - a vital clue is found in the burned-out ruins of Skyfall, Bond’s childhood home - which also picks up story threads (and the odd character) from Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace and retcons Daniel Craig’s run as James Bond into one slightly wonky super-saga.
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