Spectre (2015)

Director: Sam Mendes

Writers: John Logan, Neal Pulvis and two more

Production Co.: Eon productions
(+ various copyright holders)

Starring: Daniel Craig, Léa Saydoux


   This latest Double-o-seven film was released in Halloween season. On the contrary to its trailer and poster, the main plot is not necessarily unfolded on that event. Anyway, this movie is a finale of Craig's James Bond quadrilogy. Unlike previous 007 series, this quadrilogy is structured as a serial. Therefore, without knowledge of the former three episodes - Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), and Skyfall (2012) - it is a bit hard to comprehend the story of this one.

   This modification of format is relevant to that of casting. Daniel Craig already announced that he would not play James Bonds any more. However, Sam Mendes' attempt to incorporate four different episodes in a long serial seems to be less organized. Although its visceral elements have survived throughout the serial, some others, which could have been profoundly developed, were neglected. For example, in Quantum of Solace, the film described as a number of international politicians were involved in the evil organization Quantum and it seemed that Quantum would disrupt the world in a complicated manner. However, the biggest conspiracy in this quadrilogy turns out to be, in fact, simpler than expected. The narrative is not the only thing that is simple, but also the characters (both the good and the bad). Most crucially, since there is no overwhelming villain, except the evil boss Blofeld (Christoph Waltz), the trajectory to the boss is filled with less exciting action sequences and some predictable humors. Mr. Hinx (Dave Bautista) is more powerful than Bond, but without his strength, this character does not have any particular trait. Blofeld is undoubtedly an attractive villain. He is gentle, but also cold-blooded and merciless. However, his motivation of global conspiracy is somewhat silly because it is too individual. Even the protagonists are simplistic. To put it simply, they  just do what they are supposed to do. On the other hand, the sequences of such other characters as M (Ralph Fiennes) and Q (Ben Whishaw) provide more tension.

   What fills the paucities is the actors' performances and the characters' psychological stories. That does not justify less creative action sequences, which were expected in this film. From the climax sequence, I felt that the filmmakers might had merely wanted to finish the serial. To get it straightforward, it should not have been like a Steven Seagal movie.