Ben Oliver

Banner image for Spectre
film

Spectre

It is the fate of glass to break.
23 February 2016

Thought I’d give the latest Bond another go. I liked it the first time round but wasn’t overwhelmed, and I can’t say much has changed. This won’t be long but it will have spoilers.

The excellent pre-title opening still stands up and makes the rest of Spectre feel a little pedestrian.

Daniel Craig comes off as a bit smug but it sort-of works. It’s not as charming as it was though. He gets to kick some arse which is fun to watch, but is the only person who gets anything interesting to do.

Christophe Waltz makes for a menacing villain but his performance is wasted. I’m sure they are lining him up for some more films but they really should have done more with Blofeld, or gone the other way and given a bit of mystery to his character like in the old films. Instead we are caught in no-man’s land.

The ‘twist’ is pointless predictable bollocks and by the time it gets revealed we are merely confirming what we already knew rather than getting slapped in the face with a humdinger.

Spectre entertains but fails to innovate or move things on at all. It’s disappointing to see the same Bond from Casino Royale wind up doing the same stuff as the Bond in Live and Let Die.

Reply by email