SPECTRE-MOVIE REVIEW

 

Name’s Bond, James Bond!

 

 

Spectre is a storm of action after the relatively sedate and dark Skyfall.

It has been made as per a formula scenario–Number of –cars sunk; bullets fired; women bedded; castles/labs in desert/ snowscapes; martinis shaken; gadgets with bombs exploded; villains with strange disfigurations and rockets/planes fired into oblivion. Chase through crowded market in cars/scooter/autos or rickshaws and descending hundreds of stairs on wheels during it. One sea shot of a woman emerging or Bond submerging.

The smart quips are lacking or perhaps missed in all that noise in a surround sound cinema.

To tell you honestly Spectre looks like a copy of a Hindi action movie which was actually a copy of many Bond movies and the Man from U.N.C.L.E. rolled into one.

The beginning of the movie set up in Mexico reminded me of the beautiful beginning of the book Mexico Set by Len Deighton. In Spectre the initial chase of Bond after Sciara is laced through the parade of El Dia de Muertos festival which celebrates the dead ominously.

The brand Daniel Craig has become almost as powerful as Sean Connery in the selling of James Bond.

Spectre is a relentless rollercoaster ride of action. Perhaps I would have yelled to please let me off. Christoph Waltz without a beard, I found as threatening as a pussy cat. The ending scene with Blofeld missing one eye was rather laughable (ain’t we seen The Terminator).

The Emperor’s New Clothes

The damn thing is who will tell this Spectre movie that it is walking around naked like the fabled Emperor. Bond I am afraid is naked in this one. The bottle is delightful but the whisky inside is rather a raw spirit.

Monica Bellucci poor lady was taken out of wraps to display her creased and sagging looks in merciless close-ups.

I have seen Lea Seydoux in The Grand Budapest Hotel and Mission Impossible-Ghost Protocol but I  fell in love with her sleepy looks in Spectre.

London City Hall is used as a setting for the Centre for National Security in the movie. I suspect it may have been used earlier by a Bollywood movie too as the den of the villain.

Overall a great opportunity to have a large tub of popcorn with a big coke and perhaps ear plugs would be a welcome accessory.

Like it but still can’t figure out why? Love the new Moneypenny (Naomie Harris introduced thus in Skyfall).