SPOILER ALERT
So having seen Spectre a few times now, I feel the movie is just brilliant. The reviews, as I said, are all over, and it goes to show what people are looking for in these films and what they get. However, Spectre comes with a disadvantage - we all know a lot about the organization and its leader, so the element of surprise in the plot just isn't there - Casino Royale and Skyfall deliver well on that. On the other hand, what is there is a solid story that ties really well Bond to Blofeld and all of Craig's movies up until that point, with continuity and a lot of symbolism; I also thought the title sequence was extremely well done, offering a lot of meaning and connecting with the song really well. Examples of symbolism are spread throughout, and for example, while I originally thought the final showdown with Blofeld to be a little weak - i.e. the moment he jettisons his magazine and empties his gun barrel, sparing Blofeld's life - I then realized that Bond is acting exactly as M describes his men to be, "A license to kill is also a license not to kill", and he empties his gun exactly the same way Swann did when she said "I hate guns", and finally tosses his gun into the river, as if to say goodbye to the audience or to show his discontent with his job, or both.
Craig's Bond continues to be a "blunt instrument", his character (confidence in himself, experience, et al) has evolved over the previous films, but also retains a key important aspect - that of someone who does not really subscribe to the love-them-and-leave-them school of thought, but actually cares about his female companions; so much so that he ends up tossing his gun in order to be with his newly-found love at the end. Craig's Bond falls easily in love (Vesper) and it shows in his eyes in this film with Swann as well - e.g. the way he looks and smiles at her in the train scene, but more importantly, when she herself decides to abandon him and his way of life; the disappointment in his eyes is quite evident, and he's actually quite content to be able to go back to her at the very end, ready to abandon the service as he did with Lynd. As such, Craig's Bond is still psychologically very vulnerable and he seeks the companionship of women, as opposed to them throwing themselves at him - for example, there is no reason why he'd compromise and tell Mr. White that he wants to protect his daughter and hand over his gun to him as proof of his word of honor. At the same time, he's still inexperienced - or as my wife put it, why didn't he just shoot the surveillance camera in Mr. White's home.
There is continuity in Craig's Bond between Skyfall and Spectre, especially when it comes to his childhood. In Skyfall, he stops and looks at the Scottish mountains, clearly disturbed by memories of the loss of his parents; he's also not visited his home in years. In Spectre, viewing that old photograph from his childhood in his flat is disturbing to him as is the note of guardianship... Bond's character is a deeply lonely and disturbed individual, and that's why Dench said "orphans always made the best recruits" - they need a purpose in life. He's also jealous, as evidenced when Moneypenny is revealed to have a lover and a life. Bond, at the end, clearly wants to have a life too.
Some US critics, as posted earlier, call him a dull and tired Bond. But here's what Fleming said about his vision of Bond: "
When I wrote the first one in 1953, I wanted Bond to be an extremely dull, uninteresting man to whom things happened; I wanted him to be a blunt instrument ... when I was casting around for a name for my protagonist I thought by God, [James Bond] is the dullest name I ever heard." I find Craig's acting a brilliant interpretation of Fleming's depiction. And unlike the same critics who were expecting a rather larger participation by Monica Bellucci , it was obvious to me she was only going to get brief but important screen time. Lea Seydoux is rather cold, but I felt she had to be as the daughter of an assassin, one who probably did not get a proper upbringing.
I also thought the movie had very few weak moments - like in the opening scene it is obvious he'd chosen that hotel for a reason, but why would the girl have the key to the room and not him??? Regarding that opening scene, I thought it was oversold, but at the same time they spared no expense in dressing up all these extras, and the helicopter scene was quite daring. All in all, all action scenes were made to be more realistic than sensational, though the blowing up of Blofeld's lair could have used a little more imagination.
While I hold Casino Royale and Skyfall in higher regard, I felt Spectre is a solid 9/10 because of the acting and the solid story. Equally important is what "Bond" still stands for, and I was glad to see so many young fans dressed up in black tie and gowns at the IMAX showing I went to:
Finally, here's hoping this lady will make a cameo appearance in some future movie, though I understand she's too serious an actress to do so (you just focus on her face, OK?? LOL)
In two weeks, we are gathering a bunch of couples to go see it again with drinks at the Four Seasons to follow. This is really a fun movie.
PS: The movie is filmed in 35mm analog film, the IMAX version was digitized and it clearly showed, taking away from the experience
PPS: Bloomberg has a nice article breaking down all the Bond characters - see which one you identify with
http://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-bond-james-bond/
PPPS: Another fun Bloomberg page
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...nsive-thing-in-james-bond-s-spectre-explained