Review: Bond disappoints in ‘Spectre’
Release Date：Nov/06/2014
Genre：Action/Adventure/Thriller
Director：Sam Mendes
Cast：Daniel Craig、Ralph Fiennes
Viola's Rating：6.8
Released
on Nov. 6, a week after Halloween, the latest James Bond feature film,
“Spectre” is not meant to scare its audiences away, but lure them to the
classic world of this charming British Secret Service agent.
This is
the first 007 film after fans celebrated the franchise’s 50th anniversary with
the previous motion picture, “Skyfall,” in 2012 and it is also Daniel Craig’s
fourth time as Bond.
Craig
said in an interview in October that he would rather “break glass and slash his
wrists” than play James Bond again, but the day before the movie was released,
he told Matt Lauer on The Today Show “Maybe I’ll make another one.” This leaves
both the crew and the fans some hope for his return.
Like
“Skyfall,” which introduced James Bond’s childhood background, “Spectre”
continues to dig out more about his past.
The
mission starts with a cryptic message from former Head of Secret Intelligent
Service (MI6), currently deceased M (Judi Dench), which sends Bond on a trail
to uncover a sinister organization, SPECTRE.
While
the new M (Ralph Fiennes) is trying to persuade the government to keep running
MI6, Bond reveals the ugly truth and peels off the layers of fraud carried out
by SPECTRE.
As
usual, “Spectre” starts with the typical, spectacular James Bond opening intro,
which grabs the viewers’ attention instantly. Also, Q, the head of the research
and development division of MI6, provides new gadgets to James Bond, and those
who love to see Bond’s flawless outfits will be satisfied watching his
fashionable attire.
What
differentiates “Spectre” from the other 007 pictures is his attitude and value
toward the “Bond girl.”
To some,
this change to Bond’s playboy image might influence how they react to the
character himself, but showing this attribute while digging into Bond’s past is
significant for Bond girls, as this feature film has been shaped with the image
of gender equality in mind.
However,
unlike other tight, well-knit franchise films like “Skyfall” and “Quantum of
Solace,” the pace of “Spectre” is rather slow and predictable, making the
148-minute motion picture seem even longer.
Since
James Bond movies usually surprise their audiences, and “Skyfall,” the last
Bond picture before “Spectre,” is brilliant, it is reasonable for viewers to
expect more than the feature film delivers.
If you
are a James Bond fan, “Spectre” might let you down a little bit, but taking it
merely as an adventurous action thriller, you will find that the decent fight
scenes, car chase scenes and panoramic helicopter shots will meet your desire
for an adrenaline-filled action movie experience.
Printed edition for The Aquinas of The University of Scranton (online version link)
Comments
Post a Comment