2015: The Year in Film: "Spectre" Review

Daniel Craig's run on James Bond has been pretty darn great, guys. It includes the absolute best Bond film of all (Skyfall) and absolutely raised the bar for what the franchise could be. Combining Bond with director Sam Mendes (who's responsible for American Beauty among other terrific work) led to the triumph that was Skyfall, a film that managed to pay homage to decades of Bond films while creating a visually stunning, emotionally powerful masterpiece of the action genre. So when it was announced that the follow-up to Skyfall would return Craig, Mendes, and all of the principals responsible, expectations were sky high, along with fan anticipation.

Spectre finds agent 007 going off the books in an effort to avenge the events of the previous films in Craig's Bond run and track down the people he believes to be truly responsible for all that has happened and been done to him since Casino Royale. In typical Bond fashion, he's trotting the globe from exotic locale to exotic locale as he discovers that the plot may go far deeper, and far older, than he ever could have thought.

The Good: Craig was born to play Bond, and he slips into the role effortlessly. Even the worst Bond film imaginable would be watchable if it featured Daniel Craig in the lead. Mendes brings his trademark polish and beauty to the film, and it features a few spectacular scenes, particularly the opening 20 minutes or so in Mexico City.



The Bad: in many ways, I'm convinced that the people involved took everything good about Skyfall and drew the exact OPPOSITE conclusions that they should have from how well-received the previous film had been. Skyfall features an enemy with ties to Bond and the British secret intelligence service. So does Spectre. The previous film features threats to Bond's continued operation and the survival of his program. So does Spectre. Skyfall features a battle close to home as everything that an outgunned Bond holds dear is under siege. So does Spectre. The problem is that everything Skyfall did so well, Spectre does in a meandering, roundabout, reductive and unfortunately all-too often boring way. It's overlong, overstuffed, features needless twists and turns and features lazy and preposterous action sequences. In a lot of ways Bond is, at its heart, absurd. However, Spectre takes this absurdity and runs 1000 miles in the opposite direction from the more realistic and Bourne-esque action sequences that had characterized the best part of Craig's Bond run up to this point. JAMES BOND SHOOTS DOWN A HELICOPTER WITH HIS PISTOL. It is as stupid as it sounds. The film took the time to cast the usually outstanding Christoph Waltz as Bond's potential nemesis and he turns out to be a whiny, entitled brat. Yawn. Fresh off of a charismatic, often hilarious and star-making turn in Guardians of the Galaxy, former WWE star Dave Bautista is cast as... a wordless brute. Ultimately, the potentially exciting status quo that existed at the end of Skyfall is wasted in a rehashed snooze-fest that seeks to culminate Craig's Bond run and instead throws the whole thing into doubt.

Ultimately, what we have here is a movie that's been "mailed in" from the top on down and as a result isn't even fun to watch. Mendes, Craig, and everyone else has made a Bond movie that commits the worst of all possible movie sins: it's boring. It's time for new Bond blood. Or even better, let's just stop making Bond flicks for a while, guys.

5/10.

2012: The Year in Film: "Skyfall" Review

So it's pretty fair to say that Daniel Craig has been a damn fine Bond. One of, if not THE best is the general consensus.  It certainly helps that the film series has aged beyond the silly sci fi gadget-obsessed nonsense of the latter Bronson films and into a gritty quasi-realism MUCH more befitting a post-9/11, post-Bourne film world.  "Casino Royale" is a real gem among Bond films and does an amazing job both establishing Craig as the new 007 and updating his world into a modern, believable post Cold War spyscape.  The Craig series was briefly derailed with a slight misstep with Quantum of Solace, which lacked a charismatic villain or an easily comprehend-able plot, both hallmarks of the Bond series, and along with a bankruptcy from MGM, left the Bond series in hiatus for a time.  In steps Sam Mendes, unarguably one of the finest filmmakers working today, to resurrect 007 just in time for the 50th Anniversary of the series.  Mendes might have directed some things you've heard of, having done movies called "American Beauty", "Road to Perdition" (in which Daniel Craig played a supporting role oddly enough), "Jarhead" and "Revolutionary Road".  So popular action is a serious departure for a filmmaker whose career to this point has consisted primarily of awards bait.

Skyfall opens with Bond on mission with another agent.  At this point he's the finest agent in all of MI6 and a close confident of director M (Judi Dench).  After a botched mission results in the presumed death of Bond and the scandalous release of the identities of undercover operatives of NATO intelligence services, M and MI6 in general find themselves up against the wall.  A revenge-obsessed former agent left for dead begins an all-out assault on M and MI6 as Bond struggles to get himself back to full strength.

The Good: First, as I said above, Craig is absolutely pitch-perfect as James Bond.  He brings a needed gravitas and physicality to the role while retaining the charm and humor that we've come to expect from 007. The supporting cast is great as well, with Javier Bardem being alternately frightening, charming and unhinged as a former MI6 agent obsessed with bringing down M, and Judi Dench slipping into the comfortable shoes of M without a hitch.  Newcomer Ralph Fiennes (low level HoB "boy status") assumes a role that will have him returning for other films is, as always, great.  Visually this film is spectacular.  There are a number of shots in Shanghai that are simply incredible... a battle in a glass high rise in particular.  Mendes brings an artist's eye that really brings a new element to what could have been a relatively straightforward action flick.  The plot, by and large, makes sense and is plausible, even despite employing the old Hollywood trope of being able to control everything via "hacker skills".  Casting Bond and MI6 as outgunned and outmanned was an interesting turn, and allowed Bond to really shine as an innovator and all-around badass.  Plus, this being the 50th anniversary of Bond, this one really referenced some classic Bond moments and scenes in a fun and deferential way.



The bad: Casino Royale was only 6 years ago, and it was presented as a Bond origin story.  In this flick, Bond is presented as old and getting towards washed up.  Is the operational effective life of an MI6 agent really only 6 years?  I know that Craig as an actor is getting older, in his mid 40's, but if that's the case, why present him as a new agent in Casino Royale?  Either way, that's seriously my only big criticism.

All in all this is a film that is visually thrilling, well crafted, well written, tremendously acted and an all-around good time at the movies.  Craig and Bardem really bring their A-games, and for my money, this is the best Bond flick of them all.  We really need to continue this trend of combining top flight directors with action scripts, Hollywood.

8.5/10.