Review of Spectre (2015) by Intellicritic — 10 Mar 2016

Spectre is my favorite movie of all time to date. If James Bond can get spiritual, Spectre is the quintessence of Mr. Bond's redemption. I write this as a Catholic Christian seeing past the endless array of Bond's sleazy women.

In fact, Daniel Craig's Bond has two women of interest in each of his movies, one a lover and one a whore. In all the four movies, the whore gets killed because of Bond and the lover reveals to us something about him. The deaths may seem a bit repetitive, but they actually prepare an important setting. In Spectre, those four deaths and others lead straight to Bond's archnemesis and rival. Bond's lovers, however, culminate in a final lasting love through which he may return to a life of ease. Still, the women of these four movies are not the primary focus of Bond's development.

What is the primary focus of the Daniel Craig Bond movies? Upon careful analysis, one will come to the same conclusion as mine: James' self-control. Bond may save the world (more or less) four times, or he may magnetize (more or less) four different babes. But, at the end of the day, only Bond's ability to pacify his internal scars matters. And that is exactly what takes place in this movie. And it's glorious! After his gory killing-spree in Quantum of Solace, Bond holds the trigger at a key moment of revenge.

On the most superficial of levels, Spectre is a fairly scary feature of murder and death. At the heart of its premise is a spiritual balance wherein James Bond wraps up his out-of-control ego. Spectre includes a helicopter fight, a crazy mountain chase, and a lot of insane action. But it's definitely got a lot more to it than that. Watch it after Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Skyfall; otherwise, it won't add up.