Initial impressions is that this was a good film, and one which, for me, surpasses Skyfall by virtue of having a story which makes sense, and a hero who attempts to be heroic and whose actions actually have some impact on the fundamental outcomes of the plot.
That said, it's not a film without problems. One which struck me very quickly is that Craig's Bond is still swaggering about with the same attitude he had in Skyfall - that is, sullen, surly and a bit of a pr*ck.
Bond has never had the greatest respect for authority figures, but his early exchange with M is just downright rude, hostile and insubordinate. The fact that M allows such behavior, and then an even worse exchange with 'C', just doesn't strike me as believable.
In Skyfall, Bond looked on dispassionately as a woman he'd just bedded was gunned down. In Spectre, he saves Belluci's character from a similar fate, and I wondered if this was in response to the Skyfall criticism. But with his generally callous demeanour you're left with the impression this heroism was ONLY because it served his wider agenda.
It just strikes me that there's a sense of humanity missing from Craig's Bond, and none of the playful humour that I associate with the cinematic character and which featured in Casino Royale.
It seems that the producers have decided that the loss of Vesper has robbed him of that humanity. As a consequence, Craig's po-faced 007 can come across as unsympathetic and unlikable. Although Dalton played the role close to the source material, you still got a sense of warmth, compassion, and some playfulness and fun.
Back to Spectre, and I think the greatest problem is the central romance. Madeline Swann is introduced far too late in the game, and given no real character. Let's face it, she's pretty bland and anemic, and it's difficult to imagine her ever replacing Vesper as the great love in Bond's life, let alone doing that so quickly. Bond and Swann share one train journey, devoid of any of the spark clearly seen between Bond and Vesper on their brief train encounter in Casino Royale, and yet you've suddenly got Swann declaring her love for this man she's known for five minutes.
Another flaw is the screenwriters and producers' apparent desire to turn what was a series of standalone movies into an ongoing melodrama. The idea that Blofeld is Bond's adopted brother is something straight out of a soap opera, and a completely unnecessary personalisation of the threat. It's a big world, but all of Bond's adventures are now tied into a family feud?
Spectre is largely an investigatory film, with Bond probing this mysterious threat, but the threat itself is so poorly defined until late in the day that there isn't a really pressing sense of danger, jeopardy and what's truly at stake.
Also, it unfolds in the style of a computer game like Uncharted, developing hugely episodically, stopping and starting. It moves from one location to the next, with a lot of talking heads delivering exposition before some furious action sequence button pressing, the level is complete, and we move on to the next location.
As to the other supporting cast? Again, it suffers the same problem as Skyfall, in that Bond tends to feel like the lead character in an ongoing ensemble TV series, reminiscent of Spooks. I long for the days when the likes of M, Q and Moneypenny were merely the comfortable, familiar framing devices for a story which sent Bond off largely on his own solo adventure.
Now it may seem that I'm very down on Spectre, but for all this I did enjoy it. The opening pre-titles sequence is one of the all-time best, there's some great casting, and a story that actually does hold together.
I just can't help but feel that the script should, and very easily could, have been so much better with some judicious editing and restructuring.
And while it's nowhere near as good as Casino Royale, it is, for me, a step-up over the style-over-substance entry Skyfall.
Desk
