Movie Review: SPECTRE
Spectre isn’t the best James Bond film featuring Daniel Craig, but it’s also not the worst either (those honors go to Skyfall and Quantum of Solace, respectively). However Spectre serves as a decent conclusion to Craig’s arc as Bond because its story unifies his movies and gives Bond a reason to walk away from life as a secret agent (for a little while anyway).
In Spectre, a message from Bond’s past sends him on an unsanctioned mission to Mexico City and then to Rome, where a widow (Monica Bellucci) directs him to the secret sitdown of a shadowy syndicate called SPECTRE. Back in London, Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott), the new head of the Centre of National Security, questions Bond’s actions and challenges the relevance of MI6. So Bond slyly enlists Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Whishaw) to help him find Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), the daughter of his former nemesis Mr. White (Jesper Christensen), who may hold a clue to illuminating SPECTRE’s plans.
The most fascinating element of Spectre is its story, which is convenient since its action scenes are so rote. Spectre opens with a neat long take that stalks Bond from a street celebration in Mexico City to a hotel rooftop where he attempts an assassination. Its following helicopter fight is initially tense, but is too familiar and becomes utterly ridiculous with the chopper’s numerous barrel rolls. The film’s car chases are even less inspired, lifting ideas from other Bond flicks and lazily replacing action with swelling music to make their events seem exciting. Its best sequence is a hand-to-hand fight between Bond and a hulking henchman played by Dave Bautista, which is claustrophobic because it’s inside a train, and scary because Bautista’s character Mr. Hinx seems almost invincible.
Thankfully, there are two aspects to Spectre’s narrative that make it engaging: Bond’s investigation into SPECTRE and the debate about whether MI6 is still relevant. The former provides a good way to conclude Daniel Craig’s arc as Bond: tying the events of his films to a single conspirator. The latter is interesting in our current social context since Max Denbigh argues that MI6 is no longer relevant because electronic surveillance can provide better intelligence. Neither aspect of the narrative is explored to its true potential however. There is too little explanation for why the picture’s villain Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) is the puppetmaster behind former Bond baddies. And in an era where privacy concerns are at an all-time high, not enough energy is expended on the ethics of electronic surveillance, especially in connection to SPECTRE’s use of it in its operations.
A slightly refreshing part of Spectre, is its “Bond girl,” Madeleine Swann, who doesn’t fit the typical mold. However the filmmakers blow an opportunity to deviate from the “Bond girl” formula with her. She is immune to Bond’s charms at first (even threatening to kill him if he lays hands on her) and she can take care of herself in a fight. Unfortunately her immunity doesn’t last for long, and she ends up in bed with him after they defeat Mr. Hinx. Then she declares her love for him soon after when Blofeld is torturing him, which makes no sense, other than to give Bond a justification to run off with her and leave his life as a secret agent later.
Madeleine’s inexplicable infatuation with Bond comes to an ugly head when she assures him that he’s a “good guy.” If you’re paying attention to the film though, you’ll remember all of his reckless and dishonorable behavior that makes these words untrue. In addition to the massive collateral damage that he causes in his chases, Bond kills a man and then callously seduces his widow. Then he promises a dying Mr. White that he will protect Madeleine, but constantly places her in danger before having sex with her. Since Bond has a track record across multiple films for similar sleazy behavior, maybe it’s good that this movie implies he’ll be in retirement for a bit. Perhaps when he comes back, the writers and directors for his next outing will take some time to revamp his character. Or at the bare minimum, they won’t try to pretend he’s a virtuous person.
✭✭✭
