Spectre – Overview/ Review (With Spoilers)

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Bond once again is back, but with more oversight than ever, can he remain capable of doing what needs to be done to prevent hundreds, if not thousands, of lives from being destroyed? Well, continue on below to find out.

Trigger Warning(s): Violence Against Women

Characters & Story (with Commentary)

In the post-Skyfall world, it seems like quite a few, but mostly a man named Max (Andrew Scott), former codename C, wish to make the 00 program obsolete. As for why? Well, with the advancements in technology comes the question if a man, or woman, on the ground is especially necessary? Not to mention, considering how destructive one agent with a license to kill can be, like Bond (Daniel Craig) is within the first 10 minutes by destroying around 2 buildings, throwing two bodies out a helicopter, and thoroughly scaring hundreds of people in the process, the question becomes: are they worth the trouble?

Well, the answer might just be yes. For people like C wish to rely on data, tracking, analyzing, and pretty much his plans are to join 9 nations to eclipse what we currently know the American NSA program is capable of. However, there is some push back. All of which erased as the group known as Spectre, headed by a familiar of Bond, Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz) initiates a terrorist attack.

Leading to Bond’s purpose in the film: Finding out who Oberhauser is, finding him in the physical, and taking him down. A journey which is rather difficult for between Bond’s usual wandering eyes, of which Lucia (Monica Bellucci), and Dr. Swann (Léa Seydoux) are where his eyes focus, to fighting off a man named Hinx (Dave Bautista), it seems Bond’s job isn’t getting easier despite all the advances C believes would make him obsolete. Despite that, though, being that Oberhauser has plans which would sway the markets and lead to Spectre increasingly controlling the world through fear and monopolizing economies, he and his organization must be stopped.

Highlights

Being that the James Bond franchise, like Star Wars, is known for its music, alongside its storylines, I must admit I found it hard from the classic track to the music used to pump up action scenes, to not be lost in the beauty of the symphony.

The fight scenes within the movie, while a bit understated, since a normal person wouldn’t be able to walk away as easily as Bond does, are surely a sight to see. For between fights within a helicopter, Bond basically being tossed around like a rag doll on a train, and then stunts like him crashing a plane into a vehicle, it is hard to not be amazed at what the stunt crew pulled off here.

Low Points

If you are like me, and have seen the Mike Myer’s Austin Powers films, and aren’t necessarily a huge Bond fan, you can begin to understand the parody. For truly, Waltz as a villain, no matter how good he is at playing a bad guy, sort of fits into the “Dr. Evil” persona, just without the campiness. For whether it is him being the head of some evil organization, taking too long to try to kill Bond, or seeming as indestructible, and mad, beyond anything you’d expect from anything besides a literary character, all you get is an opposition. That is as opposed to the type of villain which is truly complex. One in which you can understand why he became a villain, and why perhaps he may not see himself as such. However, with Oberhauser, he is pretty much two dimensional. There is some backstory, which relates to Bond, but it isn’t something jaw-dropping or anything like that. If anything, it seems sort of crafted so that the sequel to Spectre could perhaps really dive into things.

On The Fence

With this film, one thing I never fully got was what maybe a lack of common sense. For example, Dr. Swann tries to walk away from Bond after one of the main men after her dies. Yet, Bond lets her go. Which to me made absolutely no sense since it isn’t like there aren’t hundreds of men who wouldn’t still come after her.

Another issue was that when it comes to C, being that he has access, and oversight, of the 00 program, and MI-6 if I recall right, it makes it weird that Bond seemingly was able to do as much and get away with as much, as he did. Especially considering Q (Ben Whishaw) put some sort of nanomachines in Bond’s blood to track him and his vitals. Something which, to my knowledge, can’t be removed once inserted into his blood stream.

Lastly, I never understood the concept of the “Bond Girl” and while Seydoux does try to fight, and shoots a gun a few times, I do think her character sort of shows the age of the Bond films. For while you must admire the style, Bond being suave, and the score, at the same time you have to question why is this man able to kill so many without any serious injuries? Why can this man find himself having sex with women after he played a part in one of their loved ones dying? Then, lastly, how does he find himself always within but a few feet of buildings crashing, or explosions, without any real mark or nick on him? Which, I get, is part of the fantasy, but there is so much time spent with the most generic of dialog that it is hard not to focus on what some may call “nitpicking.”

Overall: TV Viewing

This was the first Bond film I ever watched in theaters and probably the 2^nd or 3^rd I watched period, and honestly I just don’t get the hype. Yes, the score and action are top notch, but my god there is just nothing to keep you entertained when something isn’t being blown up, shot at or fists aren’t being thrown. For while I get the whole takeover plot, be it of her Majesty’s Service over MI-6 or Spectre over the world,  I do feel that coming to see this film for the story is a waste of time. Spectre is as simple of an action movie as lesser name, lesser known, and smaller budgeted, titles. Thus making it where seemingly any praise will more so be because this is a Bond picture, with the budget to match, rather than this being the type of film where, standalone, it is worth praise.