With Spectre, Nobody Does It Better Than James Bond

With Spectre, Nobody Does It Better Than James Bond

With Spectre, Nobody Does It Better Than James Bond

ON the heels of the billion dollar box office
receipts for Skyfall, Sam Mendes’ excellent,
bittersweet Bond debut, it became rather
inevitable that for the next merry go round, Eon
Productions and MGM would spare no expense to
give Her Majesty’s favourite spy a befitting
outing.
For 007 number 24, Mendes is back at
the helm — the first person to direct
back to back James Bond films since John
Glen cracked five out in the eighties,
beginning with For Your Eyes Only —
and he has been handed a war chest
worth of $300 million to make things
happen.
Daniel Craig, the brooding, unsmiling
English actor is back for his fourth (and
maybe final) turn as Bond. The
screenwriting team behind Skyfall also
makes a return here with the addition of
playwright, Jez Butterworth.
Other Bond returnees here are Ralph
Fiennes, replacing Dame Judi Dench as
spymaster M, Naomie Harris as
Moneypenny, and Ben Whishaw as Q.
Playing the compulsory larger than life
villain is two-time Oscar winner,
Christoph Waltz.
Every dollar of Spectre’s ostentatious
budget shows up on screen. From the
multi-continent locations (Mexico,
Austria, Morocco) to the death defying
stunt sequences, inventive gadgetry on
display and sartorial splendour, no
expense has been spared. But more
money doesn’t always translate to
superior quality and while Spectre packs
all the glory, thrills and excitement of a
high-octane actioner and Bond franchise
in one bloated package, its biggest
demerit and unfortunate drawback is
that it follows 2012’s redoubtable Skyfall.
For Spectre, Mendes plays it straight and
goes back to the basis of Bond
filmmaking 101. Returning are all the
elements of film iconography that is sure
to please the fanboys and girls. The hero
– unburdened by personal demons,
techie demonstrations by Q, choice of
poison (shaken not stirred), iconic
introduction (Bond. James Bond); double
dose of Bond girls to be romanced and
discarded, cars, gadgets, and explosions –
everything is back.
Bond is fun again!
The film begins shortly after the events
of Skyfall. Acting on a tip, Bond is on the
trail of a terrorist, without his superior’s
orders, that leads him to a Day of the
Dead celebration in Mexico City. Staging
one of the biggest set pieces in franchise
history, Mendes takes his hero on an
adventure that explodes into a gun
totting, helicopter chasing stunt spectacle
that opens the show beautifully, while
setting the stage for more to come.
Bond follows the body trail to a frigid,
not so grieving widow (Monica Bellucci),
a rogue assassin in the twilight of his
life, his mysterious daughter, Madeline
Swann (Lea Seydoux) and a giant, hydra
headed shadow operation that gives the
film its title. He also comes face to face
with his nemesis, Franz Oberhauser
(Waltz), a figure from his past that
attempts to tie up plot lines from the
past three films. Meanwhile, back at
home, a shifty politician attempts to once
again do away with the 00 programme
entirely, while ushering the era of big
data and worldwide surveillance.