Is Spectre the James Bond movie we deserve?

Jenny Levine, Editor-in-Chief
@JALevinCourant

Robert Sillo, senior

It’s funny. Eve Moneypenny asks James Bond when he’s put on the spy equivalent of administrative leave, “So what’s going on, James? They say you’re finished.” He responds elusively with, “And what do you think?” She haughtily concludes, “I think you’re just getting started.” And with that Spectre starts with what may be a clue of what’s to come for 007 and silence rampant speculation if Daniel Craig is doing another Bond and who would replace him.

I’ll be honest, I’m not a Bond fan, I’ve watched a total of three Bond’s (Goldfinger, Skyfall and now Spectre) with a bemused attitude of a distant Aunt trying to connect with her niece. My lack of Bond experience, but my heavy opinions on all things movies led me to rent out the services of the two biggest Bond nerds I know, Robert Sillo and James Neville. So off we went to the Wilton Playhouse to embark on a 2 hour and 30 minute journey to Mexico City, London, Rome, Austria, Tangier then London again (I’m most likely missing a few.)

In order to organize all of our thoughts, I asked the movie reviewers to focus on a  specific aspect of Spectre. And with that, I give you two guys who are most definitely a part of the James Bond International Fan Club and my take on Spectre, the 24th installment of the Bond franchise.

Robert Sillo: International Characters of Mystery

Overall, I think the film is worthy. I think it really reminds the audience that they are watching a Bond film. That being said, Craig’s portrayal of Bond has changed from a serious brute to a suave spy from the 60’s. There is nothing wrong with this character development, and Craig gives an amazing performance, but some viewers were not ready for this change.

Bond Fan Rating:7.5/10

Daniel Craig

In the film, Daniel Craig plays a much different role than we have seen him in previous Bond films. In Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, we were introduced to a serious and brutal kind of Bond that we haven’t seen since Timothy Dalton’s portrayal (which I loved). It was different from what Bond fans were used to, which is probably why Daniel Craig gets a lot of positive reviews.

In Skyfall, the character changed. He balanced seriousness and elements of comedy in his character. In Spectre, we were led to believe that Daniel Craig’s Bond has evolved into the Bond we know and love from all the previous films. Craig put some swag in his step, but not leaving his serious tone for a satisfying result.

Christoph Waltz

I love Christoph Waltz, but his character of Franz Oberhauser was too cliche for me. And I’m not saying that because it is revealed that he is Blofeld, I think his portrayal of Blofeld was entertaining and mysterious. But his backstory somewhat ruined the character for me. The whole film, I assumed that Oberhauser was Blofeld, which I was totally fine with the idea. Making Blofeld Bond’s stepbrother was an interesting approach, but I also felt it was cliche; but this wasn’t what annoyed me. What annoyed me was the fact that Blofeld wanted to destroy Bond because “Daddy liked you more.” I felt as if they lowered Blofeld’s menacing status because of this.

Not only was his backstory bad, but he was underused. Besides the backstory, Blofeld’s actual reveal was…anticlimactic. I thought the idea with the white Persian cat to appear before he revealed himself was clever and overall satisfying, but when he actually says it, Bond fans will be disappointing and half the theater who aren’t Bond fans will just think it is a random name that wasn’t from the films before it.

Either way, I felt that Christoph Waltz portrayal was well acted, but a cliched backstory kills this character pretty quickly.

Madeleine Swann

My least favorite character throughout the film, or at least after seeing it a second or third time and knowing what happens at the end. The character itself is a pretty interesting idea: the daughter of Bond’s old foe from Casino and Quantum. I like how she can help Bond both physically and mentally in a fight or an interrogation scene. And I think we can all agree that the character was a pretty badass character and is very well acted.

The reason why I hate her character is because Bond falls in love with her. I’m not against Bond falling in love, but I just didn’t believe the love story in this. She denies him throughout the whole film then all of a sudden she loves him. With characters like Tracy and Vesper (the two main characters that Bond really fell in love with in the older films), you can believe that he genuinely loved them. In this, they walk away at the end and you’re thinking “how?” and “why?”

Jenny Levine: The Girl Who Only Cared about the Cinematography

Overall, I enjoyed the actual filming side of Spectre but thought the pace was confusing for someone just getting into Bond and left the viewer with a lot more questions than answers which unless Daniel Craig decides to do another Bond (and it’s not very likely) would not be the best ending to his take.

Rating: 7/10

Cinematography

What made Spectre one of the most intriguing movies of the year would have to be the way Sam Mendes and Hoyte Van Hoytema pulled off Oscar worthy cinematography within an enormous spy franchise. The establishing pans of the ever-changing cityscapes provided the viewer a visual treat as well as a sense of balance in the setting (a couple of times I had to ask where the hell Bond was lurking). However, the fight scenes were choreographed and shot beautifully and apparently a nod to From Russia With Love which was interesting for long time Bond fans and just a friggin’ cool fight scene for the casual watcher.

My absolutely favorite scene was without a doubt the fast paced initial scene during Dia de Muertos in Mexico City. I think Mendes knew this would be the most impressionable scene in the movie, because one of the stills involves the Sugar Skull instead of Spectre’s Octopus.

Flow

In scenes like my favorite mentioned above, the pace was perfect starting out dramatically slow then building into a high intensity action scene, but I have to say in one of the most important moments of the film (Blofeld’s reveal) I’d have to agree with Robert and say I almost missed it. Christoph Waltz quickly said Ernst Stavro Blofeld, claiming it is “his mother’s name,” of course that didn’t ring a bell so I turned to James to see if this was the big moment we were waiting for. If I have to ask James who was sputtering like a fangirl meeting One Direction if that moment was the climax, well, it’s not really much of climax is it?

Now, I’m not going to criticize the entire movie for just a single moment, but for a casual viewer, I wasn’t able to feel the same nerve wrenching excitement the Bond nerds felt at something that probably should have.

Ending

Now, the ending is the center of a lot of speculation among the community. Is Bond quitting MI6 letting someone else take the helm of the role? Was it cliche for Madeline and Bond to ride off in Goldfinger’s car? I’ll dissect the ending as solely a cinephile.

Spectre ended with Bond sparing the villain, getting the girl and riding off, he gave up his moment for revenge and violence almost giving the impression that this indeed was the end. I think it angered so many fans was because of its relative peacefulness, if our favorite spy is going to leave then it better be in a blaze of glory! If we’re going to assume this is Craig’s last movie I’d say it’s fitting, if it’s not, then I want more Blofeld and not the guy with daddy issues.