A cryptic message from the past sends James Bond (Daniel Craig) on a rogue mission to Mexico City and eventually Rome, where he meets Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci), the attractive and forbidden widow of an infamous criminal. With somehow a certain tone, he declared, “I think we’ve got Daniel Craig”.
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All the familiar tropes of a James Bond film are present, meet with Q, get a toy, ignore your boss’ orders, get the girls, have a martini, etc.
In the newest installment to the franchise, Bond is up against Spectre, an organization that Bond’s previous foes were all members of.
Despite raking in an impressive $200 million globally in its opening weekend, Spectre hasn’t quite surpassed its predecessor Skyfall.
Surely that’s enough to tempt him back for Bond 25? And so along came Casino Royale, which reimagined Bond as something akin to the Jason Bourne series. The fight between Bond and a memorable henchman played by Dave Bautista on a train is a great combination of the visceral and the elegant.
“In the end it comes right down to making films for the crowd they love seeing and encounter delight that’s that which we strive to do with Bond”.
If that is true, he goes out in spectacular fashion and while this film doesn’t reach the near-perfect heights of “Skyfall”, it still remains an enjoyable effort most of the time. Two of the most complex and intelligent women in the recent Bond films – Vesper Lynd and M – died in “Casino Royale” and “Skyfall” respectively.
As Bond ventures towards the heart of SPECTRE, he learns of a chilling connection between himself and the enemy he seeks, played by Christoph Waltz.
And, toying with the idea of his replacement, he added about what makes a good Bond: ‘It’s a struggle.
Part of the problem is Oberhauser, who is unimaginative and typical (his character, too, is a nod to a ’60s Bond villain). “Mendes was asked about his remarks, saying: “…my analogy is, you’re running your first marathon, and 200 yards from the finish line, a few guy shouts, “Are you going to run another one straight away?”
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Spectre is one of the biggest misfires in Bond history.
