{"id":3219,"date":"2016-05-05T11:54:54","date_gmt":"2016-05-05T15:54:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=3219"},"modified":"2026-10-20T15:59:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T19:59:44","slug":"spectre-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=3219","title":{"rendered":"Spectre-2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spectre-2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director Sam Mendes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starring Daniel Craig<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scott’s Review #401<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"80056799\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed May 5, 2016<\/p>\n

Grade: B+<\/strong><\/p>\n

A modern treat for James Bond fans, Spectre (2015) is a slick, costly production sure to please die-hard lovers of the storied franchise.<\/p>\n

It draws on a rich history and nods to recent installments, wrapping up the story arc with a fantastic villain and fast-paced, compelling storytelling.<\/p>\n

It lacks an interesting lead Bond girl, a quality that detracts from the film and is essential a the franchise.<\/p>\n

This is the only major flaw in an otherwise fantastic film.\u00a0 In typical Bond fashion, his adventures take him to London, Rome, Mexico City, Austria, and Morocco.<\/p>\n

Speeding along in what is now the twenty-fourth Bond film, and still feeling fresh and relevant, Spectre commences where its predecessor, Skyfall, left off, mainly hot on the heels of M’s (Judi Dench’s) shocking death.<\/p>\n

How wonderful to see her again, albeit in a videotaped message crucial to the central plot.<\/p>\n

The new M is a male character again and is portrayed by Ralph Fiennes.<\/p>\n

In the film’s subplot, a new character, C, comes into play as head of the Joint Intelligence Service and deems the 00 section outdated.<\/p>\n

The focal point is Bond avenging the former M’s death by taking down Spectre, an organization not seen in a Bond film since 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever, but which is once again a strong presence.<\/p>\n

The opening sequence in Mexico City kicks off the film’s energy.<\/p>\n

Fast-paced, and with an awesome helicopter chase\/fight sequence, it is a long sequence that thrills. We watch, engaged, as it swirls and tumbles mid-air, while hundreds of spectators in a large outdoor square flee for safety.<\/p>\n

The film then forays into the inevitable Bond song, “Writing’s On The Wall”, this time written and performed by Sam Smith. \u00a0This particular song has received mixed reviews, but I am fond of it.<\/p>\n

This leaves the audience geared up for a wild adventure.<\/p>\n

The return of the crime organization, Spectre, to the story brings a rich history and is the most interesting part. We have a rooting value since it is familiar.<\/p>\n

Even more pleasing is the return of Bond’s arch-enemy, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, better known as “Number 1”, played by legendary actors such as Donald Pleasence, Telly Savalas, and Max Von Sydow.<\/p>\n

In Spectre, Christoph Waltz takes over the role and a major win. Waltz, a tremendous actor, plays Blofeld slyly a wickedly, taunting yet with comedic elements.<\/p>\n

In a compelling scene (and the first one featuring Waltz), James Bond appears, hidden, at a Spectre summit.\u00a0 He recoils as he recognizes the shadowed Blofeld, realizing the detrimental repercussions this will mean.<\/p>\n

I only hope Waltz returns in subsequent Bond films.<\/p>\n

Let’s discuss the Bond girls in the film.<\/p>\n

Ironically, the small role featuring the oldest Bond girl in franchise history (aged fifty and played by the gorgeous Monica Bellucci) is more compelling than the lead Bond girl, Dr. Madeleine Swann, played by L\u00e9a Seydoux.<\/p>\n

As Lucia Sciarra, widow of the Italian crime lord, there is more chemistry between Daniel Craig and Bellucci than between Craig and Seydoux.<\/p>\n

I would have much rather seen Sciarra as the primary focus, but she is shamefully underused, appearing in only two scenes. Seydoux seems low-energy, and I noticed zero chemistry between her and Craig.<\/p>\n

I am not sold on the new Moneypenny either, Bond’s labored sidekick and always suggested one-sided love interest, in earlier films it used to be a fun dynamic.<\/p>\n

She was a secretary, older, and their flirtation was charming, light, and fun. She was almost a mother figure to him.<\/p>\n

There is no flirtation or romantic hints, as the character has been modernized to fit the twenty-first century.<\/p>\n

Despite these misses, the film is exceptionally well-made, with loads of action. Sometimes Bond films hold up well, other times they do not.<\/p>\n

Time will tell what fate holds for Spectre (2015), but my hunch is that it will age well.<\/p>\n

Oscar Nominations: 1 win- <\/strong>Best Song, “Writing’s on the Wall” (won)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spectre-2015 Director Sam Mendes Starring Daniel Craig Scott’s Review #401 Reviewed May 5, 2016 Grade: B+ A modern treat for James Bond fans, Spectre (2015) is a slick, costly production sure to please die-hard lovers of the storied franchise. It draws on a rich history and nods to recent installments, wrapping up the story arc … Continue reading Spectre-2015<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[240,11605,26,11606],"tags":[6066,5514,5321,2792,3659,2932,690,5320,5322,2286,1819,12868,2114,6634],"class_list":["post-3219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2015-movie-reviews","category-action","category-bondfilms","category-spy","tag-adriana-paz","tag-andrew-scott","tag-ben-whishaw","tag-christoph-waltz","tag-daniel-craig","tag-dave-bautista","tag-judi-dench","tag-lea-seydoux","tag-monica-bellucci","tag-naomie-harris","tag-ralph-fiennes","tag-rory-kinnear","tag-sam-mendes","tag-stephanie-sigman"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3219"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24875,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3219\/revisions\/24875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}