Spectre (12A)

Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring Daniel Craig, Lea Seydoux, Christoph Waltz, Monica Bellucci, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Wishaw, Andrew Scott, Naomie Harris

If this is to be the last Bond for Daniel Craig and Sam Mendes, it is a bit of a limp one. After a dazzlingly impressive tracking shot through Mexico's day of the dead festival, it is all downhill from there. Poor Monica Belluci gets the worst Bond girl role in years, literally shagging James minutes after meeting him and prancing around in lingerie with Bond on the day of her husband's funeral. Lea Seydoux promises to be more interesting when she declares her hostility but 20mins later is falling into bed with him! The lack of chemistry between the actors means the supposedly romantic ending really isn't convincing.

Missing Judi Dench's gravitas, Ben Wishaw is about the most fun. While anyone who has seen Sherlock knows Andrew Scott is not to be trusted. Christoph Waltz has a fantastic entrance but the big reveal of his true identity was not that gripping and he pretty much plays the charismatic psycho we've seen him do for Tarentino better.

Yes, the travelogue action is entertaining and there are some great moments, but the plot is rather muddled and characters poorly defined. Craig is always watchable, but SPECTRE lacks Skyfall's assurance. 6/10

October 2015


Back to Movies page
Back to main page