The Largely Successful Culmination of the Craig Bond Era
Daniel Craig's first three films as James Bond are marked by qualities that separate his adventures from those of his predecessors. Craig's Bond is colder, more severe, and has little time for silly quips and gadgets. Director Sam Mendes' Skyfall delicately balanced Craig's darker interpretation of the character with hallmarks of the franchise—like the classic Aston Martin DB5 and a touch of wry humor—creating a film with significant emotional heft and a thrilling espionage plot. Craig and Mendes' latest 007 collaboration, Spectre, fails to clear the high bar set by its predecessor, but nonetheless stands as an entertaining thriller more in the mold of the classic Bonds than any of the franchise's recent entries.
Spectre finds Bond tracking down the loose threads of past villainous encounters from Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace as Ralph Fiennes' M works to preserve the 00 program under the scrutiny of new intelligence overseer Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott). Though the film starts with a fairly tight focus on its story and characters, it begins to come apart in the third act, ending with a bit of whimper. Much of the trouble stems from the film never completely defining the stakes for Bond and his cohorts in a clear way.
As the old saying goes, a hero is only as good as his villain, and the same is true of Bond films. Christoph Waltz's big bad is given dual motivations and only one of them is fully developed over the course of the film. More effort has been given to tying Spectre to Craig's earlier Bond films than to fleshing out its villain and his grand scheme. Skyfall's finale was purposefully scaled-down from the usual extravaganza that's expected to close out modern blockbusters, but Javier Bardem's villain was menacing, and the danger and emotional stakes for Bond were immense. Spectre aims for a similarly personal climax, but the two hours and twenty minutes that precede it don't sufficiently invest the audience in what plays out.
I've greatly enjoyed Craig's run as the super spy with a license to kill, imbuing the character with more edge and humanity, and Skyfall's more melancholy approach made for a singular film in a franchise over 50 years old and now 24 movies deep. But most people probably don't show up for Bond's human side. While Spectre's dramatic elements never fully cohere, its action and humor fire on all cylinders.
The film begins with a terrific pre-credits sequence as Bond chases a mysterious man through a Día de Muertos celebration in Mexico City, and culminates in an edge-of-your-seat set piece with a helicopter in the middle of the crowded city. From there the film moves to London, Rome, Austria, and Tangier, with fantastic action staged with confidence by Mendes. He and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema have crafted some stunning imagery, not the least of which is found in the film's mid-section set amongst the snowy mountains in Austria.
Returning Bond screenwriters John Logan and writing duo Neal Purvis and Robert Wade are joined by Jez Butterworth, and despite the aforementioned dramatic issues, they deliver a script that achieves a fine balance between the tone of Craig's earlier films and the franchise's occasionally cheeky sense of humor. Bond still has a sharp rapport with Q (Ben Whishaw, continuing to play his role perfectly) and Moneypenny (an underused but welcome Naomie Harris) and he more often than not meets the verbal barbs of others with a superb wry remark. Craig has settled into his role wonderfully, and with Spectre it feels as though his rebooted interpretation has grown from the proto-Bond he played in Casino Royale into an incarnation of 007 that should be more familiar to fans than ever before. All this while never sacrificing that harsher edge that makes his Bond stand out.
Daniel Craig is partly responsible for some of the Bond series' best films, but his detractors find his outings too dour and lacking in the fun that made the Connery adventures so worthwhile. I'll always disagree with this view, but if those not yet swayed by Craig's approach are willing to give him another chance, his latest turn may just win them over. Spectre's story isn't quite there, but in every other way the film succeeds. In most cases that should discourage anyone from seeing a film, but if you're looking for a modern Bond romp that satisfies with gusto, Spectre more than meets the requirements.