Spectre (Mendes, 2015)

Last updated on: November 5, 2015 at 8:31 am by Kenneth R. Morefield

Spectre (Mendes, 2015) 2015-11-05T08:31:42-05:00 Kenneth R. Morefield

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Spectre (★★★) starts strong, overstays its welcome, overshoots its marks, and ends up a big mess. There is enough good here to make it enjoyable, especially if you like these sorts of movies. But the film doesn’t quite live up to the the rabid anticipation it seems to have succeeded in building.

The plot–by which I mean the sequence of set pieces–involves Bond (Daniel Craig) investigating a man he thinks may have been involved in the previous M’s (Judi Dench) death. He has to kill that man in Mexico City, which leads him to the man’s wife in Rome, which leads him to the a secret meeting of an organization planning global domination, which leads him to…you get the drill.

I was a little put off but ultimately charmed by the pre-credits sequence and the way it was (I thought) edited to reference the 70s James Bond films in style. (It seemed very Live and Let Dieish to me.) But as the movie chugged along, the references to other movies, mostly visual, stopped feeling fresh and retro and started feeling like a tedious checklist. There’s a snow-covered mountain that reminded me of For Your Eyes Only, a gunfight in the desertish setting that looked very much like Quantum of Solace. There’s a towering, silent, relentless villain/assassin reminiscent of Jaws. There’s a fun house setting with Bond shooting into glass that invoked The Man With The Golden Gun. There’s a torture scene that seemed a lot like Goldfinger (even the gadget Bond uses to escape felt old school). At one point Bond is on the water, looking skyward, and I said to my buddy, “If he pulls out a jet pack…” I suppose I have nostalgia for the older films referenced, but one problem is that they are from different eras, so each location of this Bond movie feels like it’s in a different visual style, referencing a different predecessor. The end result is a bit of crazy quilt rather than a stylish whole.

The end? Hmmm, what to say about the end without being too spoilerish? It’s a little late in the game (referring to the franchise as a whole and Craig’s iteration specifically) to give us the full Bruce Wayne treatment. But Americans do love origin stories and our reboots. So much so that it’s become near impossible to just make a solid entry into a franchise. There has to be a big reveal, a big twist, that has reverberations through the whole franchise and speaks to a franchise’s overarching mythology. In that way, this Bond entry feels like the one most influenced by contemporary comic book movies.

That’s all negative stuff, but the truth is this is still entertaining. Craig is my favorite Bond actor. Give me anger and sadness over suave (Brosnan) or camp (Moore) any day. The visuals, while not as consistently arresting as those of Skyfall are nevertheless generous in providing us some nice tableaux. Christoph Waltz is a sufficiently menacing villain (more so at the beginning than the end) and Lea Seydoux is the incarnation of a modern “Bond girl” who is expected to be something more than a helpless moron for James to rescue. The new Bond woman has to be a help-mate rather than helpless.

I wondered if Spectre couldn’t quite time the big-movie event market. Anticipation was building so long, it perhaps peaked a week or two ago and maybe a few people in the audience had an “it’s about time” sullenness to alloy their cheer. Or maybe I’m just projecting. Plus that Sam Smith song…eek! (“I’m high-voice Peyton Manning, and I have cable.”)

Here’s the thing, though. It really doesn’t matter. The critical mind can recognize the flaws, but the familiar beats still work. It’s not a knockout, but it gets the job done.

Previous Post

November 1, 2015

"How Can I Get Screeners?"

Next Post

November 9, 2015 Interview: Patricia Riggen on The 33 and the Challenges of Being a Female Director

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 10 Years Later 1999 Top 5 2007 Top 10 2008 Favorite Discoveries 2008 Top 10 2009 Favorite Discoveries 2009 Top 10 2010 Favorite Discoveries 2010 Top 10 2011 Top 10 2012 Top Ten 2013 Top Ten 2014 Top Ten Best Picture Winners Christian Spotlight on Entertainment Christianity Today Coming Soon Disclosure Disclosure--AS Disclosure--Book Disclosure--DVDS Disclosure--SEOL Disclosure--Travel Dissenting Opinion Elsewhere Emergenetics Essays Featured Film Fest DC--2014 Film Festivals Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2010 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2011 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2012 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2013 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2014 Headline Interviews Laura on the Oscar Winners Podcasts Quick Impressions Reviews RiverRun Film Festival 2014 Television The Criterion Collection The Thin Place To Stream or Not to Stream? Top 10s and Other Lists Toronto International Film Festival 2009 Toronto International Film Festival 2010 Toronto International Film Festival 2011 Toronto International Film Festival 2012 Toronto International Film Festival 2013 Toronto International Film Festival 2014 Uncategorized Video Virginia Film Festival 2011 Virginia Film Festival 2013 Women's Film Festival 2012

Select a Month February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was known as the doubter among Jesus' disciples?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Peter John James Thomas