For four films now Daniel Craig has filled the shoes of the
most famous of all spies, the man with the double O prefix to his number, James
Bond. While at the end of the first film, CASINO ROYALE, we were aware that a
group was behind the death of the woman he loved and afterwards Bond went
looking for those men it wasn’t until the latest outing SPECTRE brought all the
loose ends together. Now we know not only the name of the organization but who
controls it as well.
The movie picks up with Bond in Mexico in another of the
thrill packed chase sequences that have started each of the Craig films. The
end result of this one is Bond’s finding a ring with an insignia, an octopus
looking symbol. Called to the carpet for his non-sanctioned escapade the new M
(Ralph Fiennes) makes sure Bond is aware that MI6 is under attack by
bureaucrats. At present one group is set to end the double 0 branch altogether
by imposing a mega computer that will bring together every piece in intel there
is.
But Bond is stubborn if nothing else. He knows there is more
going on here than meets the eye and sets out to prove this. Following the few
leads he has Bond contacts the widow of the man he killed in Mexico. She
provides him with enough information for him to make his way to a secret
meeting of the organization behind the ring SPECTRE. While at this meeting he
witnesses the killing of one of the members of the upper echelon at the hands
of Hinx (Dave Bautista). He is also called out by the mysterious leader of the
group and barely escapes with his life as Hinx chases him in the standard car
chase seen in all Bond films.
With a few assists from Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q
(Ben Wishaw) Bond follows what new information he has to track down his
ex-nemesis Mr. White who then leads him to White’s daughter Madeline Swann (Lea
Seydoux). She may hold the information
that Bond needs to take down SPECTRE. All of this leads to kidnappings, trips
to a top secret desert base and a confrontation with the man behind it all, a
man from Bond’s past who now calls himself Blofeld (Cristoph Waltz). But being
a Bond film even that doesn’t give us the end of the film as more going on
behind the scenes is revealed before the film ends.
I’ve read some reviews that have raked this film over the
coals but I found it to live up to any of the other films is what is the
longest running series in film. It contained all of the action we’ve come to
expect, a decent storyline that brings together the threads laid out in the
previous three Craig films and reintroduces us to what Bond fans know to be the
most evil bad guy in the series, Blofeld. Played in the past by actors like
Anthony Dawson, Donald Pleasance, Charles Gray, Telly Savalas and Max Von
Sydow, Waltz makes brings to life the formidable foe for Craig. Bautista as
Hinx provides a physical enemy that ranks up there with Oddjob and Jaws.
Craig continues to embrace the role of Bond and I’ve come to
accept him in the role which is a daunting task with fans of each of the
various actors who’ve played Bond in the past claiming theirs is the best. As a
child of the sixties I will always think of Sean Connery as the ultimate Bond.
But Craig is a close second. There is still a thrill that gets me every time I
sit down to watch a Bond film and see the familiar spiraling gunsight move
across the screen knowing that Bond will soon shoot and the screen will turn
red before a breathtaking visual display of credits will explode on screen.
This film carries on all of the traditions of Bond and adds to them.
The big fear for fans now is that Craig might not return.
He’s made statements about being tired of playing Bond. I feel that to do so
would be a career mistake but who listens to me? Craig could continue to play
the role until he reaches an age where he can no longer physically do so while
doing side projects in between. Let’s hope that he continues to do so.
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