Spectre James Bond 007 – Movie Review

Spectre James Bond 007 – Movie Review

Spectre James Bond 007 Daniel Craig

I have been a fan of Bond movies for as long as I can remember.

Of course, for me the best or the top five bond movies till date would be Dr.No, Goldfinger, From Russia with Love, Golden Eye and Skyfall.

So when the 24^th Bond movie hit the theatres this week, I made sure to book my seats.

There were three reasons I wanted to see it:

• It was a Bond movie!
• The locations in which the movie was shot were some of my personal favorite Travel spots: Rome & Austria.
• And it had the all new Aston Martin DB10 in it.

Please note:

This movie review would reveal plots, scenes and characters from the movie, so yes, “SPOILER ALERT”

The core plot of the movie is about a cryptic message from the past which sends Bond on a mission to Mexico City, Rome, Austria and London.

With the possession of the “symbolic Spectre RING”, Bond infiltrates a secret meeting and meets the greatest nemesis of Bond till date, Franz Oberhauser played by the two time Academy award winner Christoph Waltz, who heads a secret organization called SPECTRE.

There were certain scenes from the movie that truly brought forth the larger than life BOND extravaganza. For eg. the movie starts with the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Mexico city with spectacular costumes. The scene with Daniel Craig walking along the patio and edges of buildings as he leaps from one building to another is one of my favorite scenes from the movie.

Spectre Daniel Craig

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Mexico city Spectre James Bond 007

The cinematography is spectacular.

Then of course there is the breathtaking car chase scene in Rome as the super cars, Aston Martin DB10 and Jaguar C-X75 shred through the silence of the night in the beautiful city of Rome. My heart skipped a beat as the gorgeous vehicle whizzed past the magnificent Colosseum and Piazza.  The two gorgeous vehicles, one driven by Daniel Craig as Bond and the other by Dave Bautista as Hinx smash through the streets at startling speeds as they whiz past the narrow streets of Rome at night, finally ending the pulse racing car chase along the banks of the Tiber river.

Aston Martin DB10 and Jaguar C-X75

Aston Martin DB10 Spectre

Aston Martin DB10

The villain is discussed and showcased throughout the movie to be a daunting enemy but somehow the weak story-line fails to capture the essence of it.

Certain scenes in the movie were a little too ludicrous, even for a die-hard bond fan such as myself. There were flying choppers out of nowhere and just too many bullets were dodged throughout the movie.

In between the movie, during some of the scenes, I could hear myself saying, ‘What is happening?’ and ‘How is this even remotely possible unless he is Batman?’ even for a fictional character like James Bond, especially since Sam Mendes had done such a wonderful job of humanizing him in the greatest bond movie made till date, which is Skyfall. These were the moments when the movie felt completely out of place even when juxtaposed with the larger than life stunts and locations.

For me, a star cast such as Christoph Waltz, Daniel Craig, the beautiful Lea Seydoux, the gorgeous Naomie Harris and the stunningly beautiful Monica Bellucci each of whom have over the years shown they can do great justice if the role is relevant to the scene and the movie, have been underutilized in Spectre. Don’t get me wrong, Craig yet again proves critics wrong and reassures his place in the podium as one of the greatest bond heroes of all time after Sean Connery, but somehow, the movie falls short of expectations.

For eg. throughout the movie, Waltz, who plays the role of the villain as Oberhauser is introduced as a rogue who is unstoppable with an invincible force. In the movie, as the plot gradually reveals (the secret and dark past – brothers not by blood but by fate) relationship of Bond and Oberhauser, your expectations of the finale are further shot up.  But the movie fails to enthrall his ferocity as the audience is left befuddled at the end.

But the movie has its usual Bond moments too.

Cool gadgets, cars, bond’s famous ‘drink quote’, the Mexico scene (the entire scene) at the start of the movie, the humor with Bond and Q, the spectacular scenic locations coupled with action sequences, some nostalgic moments, quite a few characters, plots and story lines which connect us back to the old bond movies every now and then and the fabulous music does ensure you are entertained for most part of the movie.

When Oscar winners and nominees are cast in a Bond movie, you automatically expect a lot and with a star cast as massively impressive as this one, I had a lot of expectations for sure.

PROS: Locations, music, background score, costume, humor, fight sequences and breathtaking car chasing scenes.

 CONS: Poor story-line especially with the Villain. And the way the villain gets caught at the end, was just not right! (Massive SPOILER ALERT: The Villain in this movie plays the ‘past story-line’ of one of the greatest bond villains of all time. HINT: Scar across the face and a cat in the lap from one of the old bond movies. If you can guess who it is, share your answers in the comments below).

Overall: If you are a bond fan, do not miss this and for the rest of you, well, I think it’s definitely worth a one-time watch, at least for the spectacular cinematography and the action scenes.

Some of my favorite lines from this movie are:

“You are a kite dancing around in a hurricane, Mr Bond”

&

“Cuckoo!”

~ both quoted by Christoph Waltz playing the role of Oberhauser.

My Rating: 6.5/10

(My views expressed above are simply my personal opinion)

• SPECTRE – Directed by – Sam Mendes
• Main Cast: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Monica Bellucci, Naomie Harris, Dave Bautista

Some interesting JAMES BOND FACTS:

SPECTRE is the 24th James Bond film and the final installment of Daniel Craig playing the role of 007

All the James Bond’s till date:

Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig

About the ASTON MARTIN:

The Aston Martin has appeared as the Bond Car in the following movies across the timeline as shared below over the years:

• Model: DB5 (1963) in – Bond Movie: Goldfinger (1964) & Thunderball (1965)
• Model: DBS (1968) in – Bond Movie: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
• Model: V8 Vantage Volante (1985) in – Bond Movie: The Living Daylights (1987)
• Model: DB5 (1963) in – Bond Movie: Goldeneye (1995) & Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
• Model: V12 Vanquish (2002) in – Bond Movie: Die Another Day (2002)
• Model: DBS V12 (2006) in – Bond Movie: Casino Royale (2006) & Quantum of Solace (2008)
• Model: DB5 (1963) – Bond Movie: Casino Royale (2006) & Skyfall (2012)
• Model: DB10 (2015) – Bond Movie: SPECTRE

Yes and off the topic, I do love cars and I am not going to miss this chance of sharing my pics in this post especially since these pics were clicked in ROME and AUSTRIA the same year when Spectre was filmed (in ROME and Austria) and yes, I happen to be standing besides beautiful cars and that too in a suit!

I hope you enjoyed the Review.

Do share your comments and views about the movie and the Bond Franchise?

Who do you think will be the next James Bond?

Would love to hear from you.

Have an amazing day ahead.

Related Movie & Img Src links:

• http://www.astonmartin.com/en/cars/db10
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4AlnCav2XM
• http://www.astonmartin.com/en/cars/db10#gallery
• http://www.007.com
• http://www.007.com/spectre

Be Well

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Ananth V