MOVIE REVIEW: SPECTRE: Of Spies, Nostalgia and a Classic 'Bond' Film

In an earlier blog post I wrote that 2015 was the year of 'spy movies' and that the biggest one is yet to come and Sam Mendes' SPECTRE does not disappoint. 

The 24th film in the Bond franchise alludes to many past Bond references while exuding both swagger and confidence, the kind that only James Bond can possess. 

I loved the first scene in the movie (among others) which places Daniel Craig (James Bond) in the middle of The Day of the Dead festival in Mexico-I had no idea it was so beautiful and mysterious. I love the makeup and the costumes! The scene has no cuts and continues with no cuts (kind of like Birdman) all the way from where we first see Bond in the middle of a busy street, up to a hotel room & across rooftop buildings for an explosive opening sequence. 

Speaking of Opening sequence, Spectre pays homage to the classic 007 opening sequence, complete with the music and the bullet hole shooting scene that is familiar to generations which was a great idea to add in the movie to also re-introduce the younger millenials to the famous sequence which their fathers, uncles and maybe even grandfathers grew up watching. There's also a second opening sequence which includes hauntingly beautiful images. It's something that you'll just have to see for yourself. The kids would probably appreciate Sam Smith's equally beautiful voice which accompanies the second sequence. 

Without giving away too much, Spectre has James on a direct collision course with facing ghosts and demons from his past as well as a threat in MI6 which places him and his fellow double 00's as being obsolete. Not to mention that secret organization whose claws are slowly making their way around our hero's chiseled face and this time it's personal and this gives Bond more resolve to die another day so to speak. 

The film has got the James Bond lore and rules down and this may cause it to be predictable but its a tried and tested formula that works - its almost dogma! Once it begins its a roller-coaster action ride that will have you at the edge of your seat. From high flying helicopter fights, to fast car chases and nail-biting train fights. James will take you from the streets of Mexico,  the cold Alpine mountains, to the scorching dessert in a globe-trotting adventure that never ends. 

Year Of Spy Flicks Ends with "SPECTRE"

2015 has been a big year for "spy movies" from Mission Impossible's Rogue Nation, the adaptation of the TV Classic Spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and yes-even the real life Cold War Thriller: Bridge Of Spies (even if it was the 'spies' who needed saving-from an Insurance Lawyer always no less). Of course you can't have a year of spy movies without 007 himself which brings us to the 24th James Bond movie - SPECTRE. 

It was important for the film makers that in the creation of SPECTRE that it would be bigger and bolder than it's predecessor -the $1.1 billion global phenomenon Skyfall. 

Daniel Craig, of course, is back for his fourth outing as 007, while the characters of Q (played by Ben Whishaw) and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) both return after their reintroduction to the series in Skyfall. The new M (Ralph Fiennes) also returns.

The chance to explore all these characters’ stories was of vital importance to Sam Mendes, who is back for a second stint in the director’s chair. “It all starts from character with me,” begins the Academy Award®-winner, “and I wanted to explore all sorts of different aspects of the characters that I’d left behind in Skyfall. We had populated MI6 with a whole new generation of people — a new M, a new Moneypenny and a new Q. I wanted to let those relationships develop and grow.”

For actor Daniel Craig, the remit for SPECTRE was even simpler. “We wanted to be better than Skyfall,” he says. “It is as simple as that. We didn’t have a choice; we had to be bigger and better. With Skyfall, we set something in motion and we wanted to go a bit further with it and experiment a bit more.”

Bond was rejuvenated at the end of Skyfall. “He had a sense of new beginnings,” continues Mendes, and this had a profound effect on SPECTRE. In the new movie, the world’s most famous secret agent is an entirely proactive character, in control of his own destiny. He has a focussed mission from the outset and nothing, and no one, is going to stand in his way.

With SPECTRE, EON Productions’ Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, long-serving producers of the franchise said “I think this film is very much about the empowerment of Bond,” says Broccoli, “and with Daniel portraying the character, he does this with such enormous integrity that we really feel what he is going through, emotionally as well as physically.”

Bond’s proactive nature has given the filmmakers plenty of scope in terms of location and narrative ideas. The film sees a cryptic message from the past, which sends 007 on a rogue mission to Mexico City and eventually Rome, where he meets Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci), the widow of an infamous criminal. When overseas, Bond infiltrates a secret meeting and uncovers the existence of a sinister organisation known as SPECTRE.

This infamous organisation has featured in six previous Bond films — Dr No, From Russia With Love, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and Diamonds Are Forever — introducing a whole host of villains. The latest film, however, sees the organisation reimagined for the 21st century.

“What we’ve got here is a kind of creation myth at play,” says Mendes. “We are not adhering to any previous version of the SPECTRE story. We are creating our own version. Our film is a way of rediscovering SPECTRE and the super villain, setting him up again for the next generation.”

Craig concurs. “Having SPECTRE in the film opens up lots of avenues for us to explore,” the actor says. “Having this organisation allows us to be both traditional while also bringing in something very new.”

Of course while working on this blog post I was also listening to Sam Smith's 'Writings On The Wall' which is of course featured in the movie! You can listen to the song on Spotify. :) 

Opening across the Philippines on Friday, Nov. 06, “Spectre” will be distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.