Spectre
Run Time: 2 hours and 28 minutes
Rating: PG
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Summary:
Spectre begins with a chase scene in Mexico during the Day of the Dead. Bond hunts down and kills Marco Sciarra. Upon obtaining his ring, Bond discovers a meeting with a familiar face attending. After Franz Oberhauser calls Bond out, Bond escapes and meets with Mr. White. After learning the location of his daughter, Bond sets out to meet up with her and protect her in exchange for information.
Characters:
Spectre features 007, aka James Bond. A spy for the MI6, and womanizer, Bond uses his skills to gather information and defeat the bad guys in the real world. Beside him on this adventure is Madeleine Swann, daughter of Mr. White. Capable of fighting with her own hands, she helps Bond during the mission.
Nathanyal: 9.3/10
Review:
Being the first ever James Bond movie I have ever seen, I have to say, I am quite impressed. I’ve always heard of his reputation, and I’m glad he lives up to it. Spectre was a fun introductory movie to his character and just a fun movie to watch overall.
When it comes to negatives, there aren’t any that are too blaring. One area that I did find weird was the title card sequence. However, after confirming with Austin, this seems to be a regular thing, so I can’t fault the movie too much for it. For a first time viewing, it was definitely weird though. Besides that, I guess the plot was a bit confusing for me. There were some aspects and some references I didn’t get, but that is totally because I haven’t seen any other movies in this series.
On the plus side of things, I had fun with this movie. When it comes to characters, James Bond’s reputation precedes him. He is the smart spy with a talent with the ladies. Definitely made some weird choices in this movie when it comes to women, but it’s not my place here to comment on it. Besides Bond, Swann’s character was also fun to watch. Initially brought in as the damsel in distress, I really liked seeing her become more of her own character who can fight her own battles. Definitely made me like her more. When it comes to suspense and action, Spectre does both well. There were many moments where I can feel the suspense in the air, and I definitely bought into it. This movie also moved at a good pace and even though it was two and a half hours, I still felt engaged throughout.Overall, as an intro to the James Bond franchise, Spectre was a joy to watch. From the action and suspense, to the characters, to the pacing, Spectre has all the elements of a fun spy movie. If you haven’t seen any of the James Bond franchise, this is a good place to start.
Favourite Moment (Spoilers):
My favourite moment in Spectre was the opening scene of the movie. With the high tempo chase scene, to fun fight choreography, to even the small nods to Bond’s whole character, it was a fun way to start the movie and a great way to start the James Bond franchise.
Austin: 9.2/10
Review:
Spectre is my official introduction to James Bond, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now I know there are going to be people wondering why I didn’t start with some of Daniel Craig’s early Bond Films, and there is one simple reason, No Time to Die. So with the newest addition out now, and a review coming in a few days. I decided to jump into this one first. It didn’t disappoint. The action is thrilling, Daniel Craig truly represents James Bond, and the locations are visually amazing. I really enjoyed the way our side characters shifted in and out of the movie, but it never felt confusing or overly sudden. It allowed for characters like Q and M to give off the appearance of having a significant role without stealing any of the spotlight from Bond. I also really enjoyed the way that the plot progressed without a clear cute villain, more of a mysterious enemy for a decent amount of time. We get a name and a little bit of information, but the filmmakers leave you in suspense, desperate for more.
I thought the plot was fairly smooth paced, mind you a little bit long. I didn’t think 2.5 hours was really needed to tell this story, but it didn’t feel obnoxiously long or boring by any means. With it being a Bond movie, there are a lot of aspects that you expect to see. Spectre doesn’t shy away from that at all, and while it keeps the Bond feel, I felt myself wishing for a little bit more unpredictability. I have always found it hard to feel the true suspense of a movie like Spectre when you know the protagonist isn’t going to die. That untouchableness steals from the atmosphere, and the climax doesn’t quite hit the mark. It is still a very entertaining and engaging movie, just a little bit lacklustre on pulling my emotional worry chords.
If you haven’t seen a James Bond movie, this probably isn’t the place to start. I thought it was a really good movie, but there were clearly references that went straight over my head. If you have seen at least the first two, I would recommend taking this on, especially with the release of No Time to Die which will undoubtedly reference Spectre.
Favourite Moment (Spoilers):
My Favourite Scene has to be when James goes to visit Mr. White. The dialogue, followed by a resounding end to the moment, made it a really intriguing scene.
Sebastian: 9.3/10
Review:
Spectre is not my first James Bond film so I went in to this with an expectation of how a Bond film goes. Now as of writing this I have seen all the Daniel Craig Bond films including No Time To Die, 3 of the Brosnan films and two Connery films so I have my experience with Bond and I have to say I enjoyed this. It starts off with a bang with a super awesome and fun action scene that really kicks this movie in an entertaining fashion and very Bond like. From there we have a movie filled with many fun action scenes, crazy henchmen, exotic locals and all the other typical Bond escapades. The film also includes a deep dive into James Bond’s psyche which is a continuing theme of the Craig era Bond films and I enjoy the idea of exploring the mind of a man who kills for a living. Like I also mentioned the action in the film is top notch with a memorable chase down a mountainside and a fight in a train being the highlights for me. The musical sequence was as memorable as ever and the gun barrel scene also hit the mark. I thought that the actors all did a great job with Craig continuing to know exactly how to bring a nuance to the character that I love seeing as well as M played by Ralph Fiennes who plays the exasperated boss well and Q played by Ben Whishaw being comedic and charming. The villain being hidden also added to the tension as well. This film may not be the flashiest of Bond films but I still feel it knows how to utilise the most famous spy in history to his full advantage.All in all this film is a good and solid Bond film that fits right in with the rest of the series! So I would recommend you check this one out if you have any desire to see No Time To Die!
Favourite Moment (Spoilers):
The opening action scene is my favourite with a cool fight and just good build up that made it fun and had those spy elements that audiences love.
