Review of Spectre (2015) by Thomas R — 20 Jul 2017

Spectre is a terrible film. It's just about watchable, but terrible all the same. There's a great fight scene between Bond and a henchman, and the odd decent moment, but the moments I took away were mainly hammy, outdated and cheesy. Without giving too much away the lows are: a flimsy and unnecessary backstory, a villain you will see coming a mile off, cheesy quips, unconvincing romance, weak female characters, cheesy gadgets, obvious CGI, a bland car chase with invincible cars and more cheesy gadgets. It's like a Craig Bond mixed with one of the later Brosnan Bonds and whoever it is taking it in this direction needs to get fired (or rather, whoever it is taking it BACK in this direction). What was the point in resetting the franchise with Casino Royale if you're just going to make it all camp again? What's the point in getting great Directors and serious actors if you're just going to make a spoof?

Mainly, it sets a worrying precedent for the franchise. I can't see Daniel Craig continuing after this, which is a real shame. In fact, I can't see anyone but Mike Myers taking the lead if this is the direction they're taking again. If you're not particularly a Bond fan and you liked the Brosnan or Moore films - where you don't need to pay attention - then you'll probably like this. If you're a fan of the Craig films so far, go with low expectations and you're less likely to be disappointed. If you are planning to pay attention at all to the plot: don't. Play on your phone throughout, instead. If you're a fan of what the Bond films COULD be, and all the potential they have, you'll hate SPECTRE.