…because film is largely subjective
Frederick William Springer III
Spectre
Release Date: 6 November
2015 Runtime: 148 Minutes
Review Date: 30 November 2015 Rating: 4.5 (of 6)
While I didn't
expect it to measure up to the previous installment--Skyfall was something of a masterpiece--Spectre fired blanks.
After a very
convoluted plot, revelations that should have been organic felt forced. The villain was rather weak overall and
considering that we're being reintroduced to an iconic character, that's
troubling.
Since Daniel
Craig stepped into Bond's shoes, we've more or less stayed within the confines
of reality, at least more so than during any other portrayal. Here, however, in some kind of henchman
throwback, we get one that has seemingly superhuman strength and his first disposal
is just weird. The character was
unsatisfying and out of place, just thrown in the mix. Thankfully confined to one scene, the over the
top car gadgets make a comeback as well.
Also, of
the 24 007 films in the EON canon (and even including the non-canon Connery Never Say Never Again), Spectre wins the award for worst theme
song, ever. If the franchise is slowly
trying to reintroduce elements of the original series, here they might do well
to bring back Shirley Bassey, the only singer to do more than one Bond theme
song--she did 3!--for the next outing. At
78 (79 a day before I turn 35 in a month, should you want to send gifts), she's
still active, having just recorded a new album last year.
What was good was
the editing, not to mention the cinematography.
The 2 and a half hours flew by, never leaving you looking at your watch
counting the minutes, though a lot was dragged out longer than it needed to be. Also nice was the inclusion of more screen
time for the supporting characters, otherwise underutilized in most of the
series.
I've been
impressed with the reboot in general so this misstep, while not bad--certainly
better than any of Roger Moore's 7 outings--just proves that they can't all be
winners.
