• Home
  • Meetings
  • Events
  • Blog
  • E-Board
  • Around Boston
NUFEC
.

Carter Sigl on Spectre

11/6/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
It seems that our theme for this week is “Expectations”. They are something that a film reviewer must try to avoid at all costs, but of course it’s impossible to completely insulate yourself from them. In those instances where expectations are unavoidable, I would personally much prefer to have low expectations and be pleasantly surprised (for more details, see my review immediately preceding this one). It’s much better than the other options. Spectre, the new James Bond, is sadly a member of this other category; although it had been one of the films I was most excited for this year, it is a pretty big disappointment.

Spectre picks up 18 months after Skyfall; MI6 is still recovering from Raul Silva’s attack and M’s death in the previous film. Bond has spent the intervening time tracking down a mysterious assassin who M has ordered him to kill posthumously (via video message received shortly after her death). Once Bond (Daniel Craig) finally tracks down and kills the man in Mexico City, he uncovers evidence that the man is in the employ of a previously unknown organization. Tracking down information on this mysterious group leads Bond to secrets about his own past and encounters with old foes, until eventually their name is revealed: Spectre.

The main problem with Spectre is that the plot is just an absolute mess. Half of it feels like a rehash of many of the concepts that were the focus of Skyfall; the changing nature of espionage and the question of whether men like Bond are still relevant. If this makes you wonder “Wait, weren’t all these themes already addressed and answered in the previous film?” believe me, you’re not the only one. The other half of the film, focusing on the Spectre organization itself, is also a big letdown. Considering how much buildup the group gets (and how, you know, it’s the movie’s freaking title) Spectre hardly does anything. Mostly they just seem to stand around in dark rooms and plot world domination, rather than actually doing anything to dominate the world. I mean, the incarnation of the organization from the Connery movies was silly and campy, but at least we actually saw them carry out their evil plans.

Related to this is another problem. Spectre, and specifically its evil leader Blofeld, claim to be responsible for all the villains and evil plans in the three previous Bond movies starring Daniel Craig: Le Chiffre in Casino Royale, Dominic Greene in Quantum of Solace, and Raul Silva in Skyfall. But similarly to how we don’t see Spectre be very villainous, we never see how they’re actually responsible for any of that stuff. I mean, the movie is 148 minutes long, and they apparently couldn’t spend a single one on any kind of flashback. This makes the Spectre organization, and in turn the entire film, feel like a tacked-on and poorly-planned addition to the series.

And finally, Christoph Waltz hardly gets any screen time in this movie. I mean, he’s the head of Spectre, the original nebulous evil organization, and he doesn’t get to make a grand villainous speech or otherwise be campy, or even be particularly interesting on screen. This would be forgivable if Blofeld had been played by an actor of a lesser caliber. But this is Christoph Waltz, and after his performances in Tarantino’s Django Unchained and Inglourious Basterds, I was expecting truly epic levels of brilliant evilness. But he hardly does anything, other than the obligatory Bond villain stupidity.

None of this is to say the film is completely terrible. It’s still a Bond movie, after all, and is full to brim with awesome and improbable action sequences, including a fight abroad a moving train and one entertaining scene where Bond skis down a mountain using a plane. Ralph Fiennes gives a decent, if not amazing, performance as the new M, and Ben Whishaw’s Q finally gets into the field rather than hacking stuff from headquarters. And French actress Léa Seydoux as new Bond girl Madeline Swann simply oozes sensuality. So if you just go to see Bond movies for the gunfights, explosions, and glamourous women, than this movie is fine. But if you actually like to think about the plot of the movie you’re watching, and especially if you’re a long-time fan of the franchise like me, than you’re going to leave Spectre disappointed. It’s a shame, though I suppose they can’t all be Skyfall.
​
Grade: C-/D+
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    AJ Martin
    Andy Robinson
    Anime
    Anthony Formicola
    Anu Gulati
    Arjun Agarwal
    Arzu Martinez
    Ben Garbow
    Brandon Isaacson
    Brian Hamilton
    Carter Sigl
    Dan Simeone
    Discussion
    Elizabeth Johnson Wilson
    Eliza Rosenberry
    Emily Fisler
    Erick Sanchez
    Eric Tatar
    Essays
    Festivals
    Gabrielle Ulubay
    Grace Phalon
    Haley Emerson
    Here's Some Movies
    Ian Wolff
    IFF Boston
    IFFBoston 2015
    Interviews
    Isaac Feldberg
    Kunal Asarsa
    Library
    Lists
    Marguerite Darcy
    Marissa Marchese
    Marli Dorn
    Mary Tobin
    Meghan Murphy
    Mike Muse
    Mitch Macro
    Neel Shah
    Netflix Instant Watch
    Parth Parekh
    Patrick Roos
    Profiles
    Reviews
    Short Films
    Television
    This Week In Movies
    Tyler Rosini

    Want to Write for Us?

    Contact NUFEC at [email protected] if you're interested in writing for this blog!

    Archives

    October 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    April 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    October 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    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

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.