Spectre

Synopsis:

A cryptic message from the past leads James Bond (Daniel Craig) to Mexico City and Rome, where he meets the beautiful widow (Monica Bellucci) of an infamous criminal. After infiltrating a secret meeting, 007 uncovers the existence of the sinister organization SPECTRE. Needing the help of the daughter of an old nemesis, he embarks on a mission to find her. As Bond ventures toward the heart of SPECTRE, he discovers a chilling connection between himself and the enemy (Christoph Waltz) he seeks.

Movie Review:

Spectre" is the 24th James Bond movie and the fourth one with Daniel Craig and is the second movie directed by Sam Mendes. This movie is a major step down form the last movie "Skyfall" which was outstanding. It is a generic Bond movie with lots of entertaining action scenes. After the events of the last film, James Bond finds a cryptic message from his childhood home which brings him to a secret organization called Spectre and embarks on a mission to stop it. Daniel Craig returns once again for the fourth time in the iconic role as 007 and is fantastic; he brings his charm with women along with the coldness of a cold-blooded assassin who will confront anyone who gets in his way. Craig might be my favorite actor to play Bond since Sean Connery. Most of the supporting cast returned for this one including Ben Whishaw as Q, Bond's Quartermaster, who gives him all the gadgets and he is really good as Q. He is funny and has the audience laughing every time he is on screen. Naomie Harris also returns as Moneypenny, M's receptionist who always had a thing for Bond. Lastly, Ralph Fiennes joins the cast as the new M replacing the old M played by Judie Dench. He is really good in this role just different than the previous M. Most of the action scenes in the movie are exciting; action packed and very well filmed that includes an outstanding opening sequence that might be one of the best opening scenes in any Bond film to date. Also, there is a thrilling chase scene in the snow which is pure popcorn exhilaration. The Bond girl in this one is played by Lea Seydoux. She plays Dr. Swann, the daughter of a past enemy of Bond, who is forced to work together to stop Spectre. Lea Seydoux is decent as this character but is mostly a damsel in distress in which Bond has to rescue her. She is just a typical Bond girl that reminds me of the 1970's. Christoph Waltz plays Blofled, Bond's arch nemesis who hasn't been on screen since the late 80's. He is really good and creepy as Blofeld but is kind of wasted in this role as he is only on screen for 4 scenes. Dave Bautista plays Mr. Hinx and is a call back to past Bond henchmen like Jaws and Oddjob. Physically, he is built for this role, but once again he is wasted and only says one line — although, he does have an exciting train fight scene with James Bond that hands down is the best scene in the entire movie — it is so realistic and intense. The biggest problem with this movie is the script and when it cuts back to this boring subplot about M trying to stop C, played by Andrew Scott who is not really good and comes out just annoying, it is just a waste of time, but when they go back to James Bond back on his personal mission, it gets good again. "Spectre" is an enjoyable, typical Bond film with fun action scenes but with a few boring plot points that drag on way too long and get silly and cartoonish that kept it from being a great movie. I am giving "Spectre" a 3 out of 5 stars.

Director: Sam Mendes

Cast: : Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Dave Bautista with Monica Bellucci and Ralph Fiennes

Runtime: 148 minutes