Random Access

Saturday – 19 March 2016
I have just finished watching the latest/last (?) Daniel Craig outing as James Bond: Spectre.

James Bond: Spectre

I enjoyed Craig’s Bond, as usual, but something seemed a little… off. Not so much in the performance, mind you. It felt like something in the script itself was missing. Christoph Waltz as Blofeld – I was quite fine with that casting… although, much like Star Trek Into Darkness‘ John Harrison/Khan, it might have been better to let him be someone else. Lea Seydoux’s Dr. Madeleine Swan was alright, but given the way that her character was introduced – a direct and intelligent woman – it later felt like she was just “kind of there.” (I know, some will just say “Bond girl” and shrug it off.) I appreciated Ralph Fiennes’ M more in this movie than in his previous appearance. And the movie scored bonus marks for the inclusion of Dave Bautista and Moriarty Andrew Scott.

I did like the nods to Bond history. I also appreciated the way that they made Bond’s connection to Spectre personal – it was a touch that I wasn’t quite expecting them to execute in the manner that they did.

On the whole, it wasn’t a horrible movie, but it didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat in the manner that I expect from a Bond film. It didn’t feel like a waste of a movie night, but I think that my expectations might have been a bit high after Sam Mendes’ outing with Skyfall. If I had to rate it against the recent round of movies, it would look like this:

1. Skyfall
2. Casino Royale
3. Spectre
4. Quantum of Solace

Something else that didn’t work for me was the theme, Writing’s on the Wall. I wasn’t sold on the lyric content or the performance by Sam Smith. By the same token, I wasn’t taken with Jack White and Alicia Keys’ theme for Quantum of Solace (Another Way to Die), while Casino Royale and Skyfall‘s themes – You Know My Name and Skyfall, respectively – felt just fine.

All things considered, I give the movie six (6) Spectres.

Namaste.