Spectre

Words can't describe how boring this is.

Spectre has an introspect into what is wrong with modern Bond movies. Namely, that they don't work, because 007 is about action, exotic sceneries, cinematic brilliance, beautiful women, gadgets that go wrong or right, and most of all the wit and charm and atmosphere. I'm not sure when the forma should have changed from exciting to dull, probably around 1995, but it changed before that year. And it should have changed in a productive and interesting way. Instead, it changed to just total dullness with not one good aspect. The motivation of characters other than 007 is total zero in credibility. The inspiration is zero. The strategy is zero. The dialog is clumsy. This is to be expected from the changes around 1970, when the writer's guild became immensely jealous of talent and good writing, and only produced the writers with zero talent. And now those writers are the "judges" of new writers, God help this culture. The change in format should have changed long ago, about 1995, into "sons and daughters of 007", with 007 as a background figure, say fifth or sixth billing, with his sons and daughters taking center stage in this "less action, more computer" world. A lot of us said this well before 1995. It was painfully obvious, but we live in a world where Hollywood went total hack in the seventies, with those hacks endorsing the worst hacks of today. "Spectre" kind of gives us an introspective look at this with the timeline element. Bond faces the usual super enemy power, and fights the establishment which brings in the computer age. The character of 007 is the only thing that is salvaged in these new movies. It isn't Daniel Craig's fault that he is 007 for the worst writers, writers who are into the neo Nazi ideology of the seventies where women must be blond and pale, and any man who tries to save a brunette is doomed, but save a blond, and you're a success. The Hitler worship is so extreme in the modern Bond movie writing that it's impossible to deny it is there. And the directors are pathetic. Even given the ideal exotic locales, they manage to dumb down the scenery. One feels like the director actually says "How can we make this beautiful and exotic scenery look dull and depressing? Aha! I can do it!" Of course the day will come when Craig will be the beneficiary of this fame and get to do actually good films for which he'll be remembered. This movie is pretty much formula. The action is okay enough, and it isn't as contrived to be depressing as Casino Royale or A View to a Kill, but it is depressing and dull.

**Spectre has plenty of style, class, action, and spectacular moments but the film lacks the passion and zeal of Casino Royale or Skyfall.** After the incredible bombastic success of Skyfall, the return of Sam Mendes, and the announcement of Christoph Waltz as the villain, expectations skyrocketed to ridiculous heights. Unfortunately, these expectations climbed too high for Spectre to meet. While the story did a decent job of trying to tie all the Craig Bond films together and introduce a new supreme criminal mastermind, it didn't fully satisfy or carry the weight it intended. There were some exceptional action sequences, with the opening scene in Mexico City as one of the most stunning and impressive of the franchise. The train fight with Dave Bautista was incredibly entertaining as well, but much of the action felt restrained like Craig was tired of the role and didn't want to push the boundaries on some stunts. Seydoux and Bellucci each brought something new with their Bond Girl portrayals providing emotional exploration and depth unusual for a Bond film. Spectre is a great spy movie and a fun Bond flick, but unfortunately, it didn't live up to the level of hype and expectation set before it. After Casino Royale and Skyfall delivered so much more than a typical Bond film, Spectre seemed to settle for the status quo (which is still good but had all the pieces it needed to be incredible.)