Yet another James Bond film. I should admit that I have never been a big fan of James Bond. I find the movies entertaining and the cars sexy but the movies are not my favorite. I'm in a love/hate relationship with these films.
Spectre tries to tie all of the Daniel Craig Bond films together. We have James following a group of assassins all over Europe, trying to untie their secret society web. My favorite part of the whole movie is the opening scene. The beginning scenes take place in Mexico City. These scenes have some of the best cinematography I've seen in a while. James goes to Mexico city during the Day of the Dead. There are people dressed in skeleton costumes and huge skeleton figures all over the city. It gives this magical field to a city that is always portrayed as a drug and cartel run slum. It was a wonderful change to see. There are also kick ass explosions and awesome fight scenes.
I'm always surprised at how many brilliant actors appear in James Bond films. Spectre has no shortage of brilliantly talented actors. We have Daniel Craig who is very good that playing the cool and collected James Bond. Ralph Fiennes is the new M and he is an old school spy who hates that he has to follow the rules. Ben Whishaw is the lovable and brilliant Q. Q has no problem putting James in his place but also trusts him with his life. Monica Bellucci was in the movie for 10 minutes as a "Bond Girl". They really wasted a talented actress as a minor character with no character development. The second Bond Girl was Lea Seydoux as Madeleine. She is a smart girl on the run from some villains. Christoph Waltz plays the big bad villain who runs the secret society. My personal favorite actor in the entire movie is Andrew Scott as Max. Max is the new head of MI6 and he is trying to bring the spies into the modern age. To be very honest, Andrew Scott was not used as much as he should be. Personally, I would have loved to see Andrew as the villain. He has such a talent for tapping into the dark side of a character.
I loved the cars in the movie. There are so many classic and expensive vehicles. These cars were sexier than the women and the men put together. Every James Bond film has to have sexy cars that James blows up or breaks. He shouldn't be allowed to have nice things because he can't take care of them!
Ok here are a few problems I have with the film. My biggest problem is that not matter how hard James gets hit, he walks away. There is no possible way that he could be beaten between an edge of his life and not walk away with a mark. The man would be in the hospital or in a coma! He wouldn't be jumping into the sack with some chick. It bothers me so much!
I also am annoyed at how much of the film is a cliche. So many cheesy one liners followed by the James Bond Theme playing in the background. I think the special effects and stunts are brilliant. The cars are lovely and the actors are beautiful. If you like Bond films, you will love this movie.
