Bond 24: Spectre (2015)

Elevator Pitch: Bond is still out of the frame as he receives a message from beyond the grave, M tells him to execute Frans Oberhauser/Stavros Blofeld, who  is the leader of a mysterious organisation, Spectre. Meanwhile “C” is the new leader of a combined intelligence service in UK, and is keen that the organisation join a massive world wide set-up to share intelligence (with the villaiins). In an attempt to prevent this happening Bond allies himself with Moneypenny, Q and eventually M, and travels round the globe in pursuit of Blofeld and his acolytes, assisted sometimes by Madeleine, Mr White’s daughter.

Content: There is no nudity although it is implied a couple of time that sex is about to take place. The opening “Day of the Dead” sequence which results in a building falling is impressive and may be the best sequence in the film although there are impressive shots and a number of set pieces, seemingly echoing scenes from other Bond films. The villain, Mr Hinx, chases Bond, each of them driving a unique supercar, he also fights Bond and is dispatched when a collection of beer drums pulls him off the train. At a couple of points Bond travels by boat on the Thames, and shoots down a helicopter. And in a major stunt he chases the villain’s Land Rovers flying a slow aircraft, which loses it wings.

A View: This is the second time I have viewed and reviewed this film. I was a bit hard on it the first time, but I am with the critics who thought it was too long, even though editing it had still left plotholes. It seemed to me that the “romantic” scenes were a bit awkward and Monica Bellucci was particularly badly served, but probably a younger audience would hardly notice. It did not make as much money as Skyfall, probably because the plot is incredibly convoluted, but worth a watch if you are a fan and have the time.

Additional Info: There is an amazing amount of info available about this film, to the point that I have spent nearly as much time reading about it as I did watching it. There are 466 “Trivia” items in IMDb.