SPECTRE - JAMES BOND 24 (2015) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

spectre - james bond 24 (2015) movie

Genre             |  Spy-Fi Thriller

Classification   |   M

Running time   |   148 minutes

Released         |   12 November 2015

cast

Daniel Craig ... James Bond
Christoph Waltz ... Blofeld
Léa Seydoux ... Madeleine
Ralph Fiennes ... M
​Monica Bellucci ... Lucia
Ben Whishaw ... Q
Naomie Harris ... Moneypenny
Dave Bautista ... Hinx
Andrew Scott ... C
Jesper Christensen ... Mr. White

director

Sam Mendes

writer

​John Logan ... (screenplay by) and
Neal Purvis ... (screenplay by) &
Robert Wade ... (screenplay by) and
Jez Butterworth ... (screenplay by)
 
John Logan ... (story by) and
Neal Purvis ... (story by) &
Robert Wade ... (story by)
 
Ian Fleming ... (based on characters created by)

cinematographer

​Hoyte Van Hoytema

music

Thomas Newman

film editor

​Eddie Hamilton

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box office result

Worldwide             $​​​880,674,609   

Australia                 $​​25,373,937

North America       $​200,074,609

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the best dialogue

Mr. White: You're a kite dancing in a hurricane, Mr Bond.

C: Take a look at the world... chaos... because people like you, paper-pushers and politicians, are too spineless to do what needs to be done so I made an alliance to put the power where it should be, and now you want to throw it away for the sake of democracy, whatever the hell that is. How predictably moronic.
[points gun at M]
C: But then isn't that what 'M' stands for... 'moron'?
[squeezes trigger, realizes the gun is unloaded]
M: And now we know what 'C' stands for... 'careless'.

James Bond: I was in a meeting recently, and your name came up.
Mr. White: I'm flattered London is still talking about me.
James Bond: It wasn't MI6... it was Rome.
[reveals a Spectre ring]

SPECTRE - JAMES BOND 24 (2015) MOVIE IMAGES

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SPECTRE - JAMES BOND 24 (2015) STORY SYNOPSIS

​​A cryptic message from the past leads James Bond (Daniel Craig) to Mexico City and Rome, where he meets the beautiful widow (Monica Bellucci) of an infamous criminal. After infiltrating a secret meeting, 007 uncovers the existence of the sinister organization SPECTRE. Needing the help of the daughter of an old nemesis, he embarks on a mission to find her. As Bond ventures toward the heart of SPECTRE, he discovers a chilling connection between himself and the enemy (Christoph Waltz) he seeks.

SPECTRE- JAMES BOND 24 (2015) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 8 November 2015
​Pop Movee Rating ⭐⭐⭐

SPECTRE works hard to maintain the mature approach set by Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond, but a paper-thin plot and weak villain see the 24th feature film installment of the British Superspy fall short of expectations set by the lofty achievement of SKYFALL, the 2013 effort that celebrated the franchise’s 50th Anniversary. However, Bond fans, more than likely, will not be disappointed by SPECTRE as it ticks all the boxes that have made the franchise successful, but at 148 minutes Director Sam Mendes has been afforded creative license to indulge in some lengthy, unnecessary set-pieces that try to cover for the film’s story shortcomings. SPECTRE is not the most self-indulgent Bond film (at least since Pierce Brosnan’s tenure began in 1995 with GOLDENEYE), but it is certainly the most bloated.

SPECTRE opens with an elaborate pre-credit sequence staged in Mexico City, during the annual Day of the Dead celebration. A cleverly-conceived opening tracking shot trails Bond from the streel level celebrations through a hotel into a room, out onto the hotel ledge and finally to a vantage point where he identifies his target and gets ready to pull the trigger. Before he dispenses with the would-be terrorist, he listens to an exchange that alarms him - a plan is being hatched  to destroy a stadium full of people later in the day. The extra time Bond takes to eavesdrop costs him, as the terrorist and his colleagues see Bond surveilling them and open fire. Bond returns fire but detonates the bomb, causing a massive explosion that rips apart the side of the building. What ensues is the first of SPECTRE’s numerous stunt sequences, in which Bond and his terrorist target flail about in an out-of-control helicopter above thousands of people in Mexico City’s Zocalo. Vanquishing his opponent (by booting him out the door), Bond commandeers the helicopter and heads off into the distance as the opening credit sequence rolls.

The excitement and pace of the film’s opening sequence is unsustainable, but SPECTRE’s energy instantaneously dissipates from the moment Sam Smith’s ‘Writing’s On The Wall’ starts to play and one of worst conceived Bond title treatments ever fills the screen. (It sounds nit-picky, but the SPECTRE title sequence is too obvious and just seems silly. These sequences should be illusory in their attempt to capture the theme of the movie. They don’t need the villain’s head stuck on an octopus!) The events of the opening sequence all but guarantee Bond a stint on the sidelines upon his return to London, as M (Ralph Fiennes) explains in no uncertain terms that the secret agent business has changed and 007 needs to fall into line with the the broader plan (which sees Andrew Scott’s ‘C’ take charge of British intelligence operations.) Bond, determined not to be taken out of action, enlists Q’s (Ben Wishaw) help in “disappearing” for forty-eight hours as he heads to Rome for the funeral of the terrorist he brought undone in the opening sequence. 007 encounters the terrorist’s wife Lucia (Monica Bellucci) at the funeral and, after a quick Bond-style seduction, she tells him that there is to be a meeting of the organisation her husband worked for that night in the middle of Rome.

Bond infiltrates the meeting, but doesn’t  go unnoticed. The organisation’s leader (Christoph Waltz) recognizes him and all hell breaks loose as he makes a dash for his Aston Martin DB10 pursued by Hinx (Dave Bautista), one of the organisation’s assassins. Bond in his Aston and Hinx in a Jaguar C-X75 tear through the streets of Rome in one of the longest car chases in the franchise’s history. The mood is broken by some obvious gags to do with Q’s programming of the latest Aston Martin, with inappropriate music and a lack of ammunition foiling 007’s attempts to rid himself of his pursuer. He eventually finds a way out of the problem and heads for the Austrian Alps, where he confronts Mr.White (Jesper Christensen), one of the shadowy figures he encountered at the end of CASINO ROYALE and the beginning of QUANTUM OF SOLACE. White does a deal with Bond. In exchange for information about the organisation, White make 007 promise to protect his daughter Madeleine (Lea Seydoux), who can help him uncover the secrets of the shadowy organisation that seem to thwart his every move.

The second half of SPECTRE tries to be like an old-school Bond movie (such as GOLDFINGER and THUNDERBALL), with as many character moments on show as what there are set-pieces. Daniel Craig and Lea Seydoux are extremely effective together on screen, but the development of their relationship is side-tracked by the story’s need to make Oberhauser into something he doesn’t need to be. The film certainly takes a long time to get where it’s going and the finale plays too long. There’s no doubting the quality of the effort. As was the case with SKYFALL, SPECTRE has outstanding production values, with a great deal of the action being staged on-set. Unfortunately, this can’t make up for the thought that has gone into constructing Franz Oberhauser (Waltz) as Bond’s nemesis. Writers John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Jez Butterworth have tried to create a classic Bond villain, but Oberhauser is made up of too many cliches and his connection seems ham-fisted; feeling more like an attempt to retrofit an arc over the previous three Bond movies in order to tie Daniel Craig’s Bond movies together in a more meaningful fashion. The film’s plot twists are transparent and even the casual viewer will have pieced together what’s going on before the movie’s “Ah Hah…” moment. Sam Mendes does what he can with the material and the spectacular stunts in each of the film’s set-pieces help to shift some of the focus off this very straight forward story.

Besides Mendes, other behind-the-scenes talent includes Cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema who last photographed INTERSTELLAR for Christopher Nolan. (Unfortunately, SKYFALL Cinematographer Roger Deakins was unavailable for SPECTRE because of his work on SICARIO. One film’s loss is another’s gain…) Van Hoytema gives SPECTRE a much softer look than SKYFALL and uses a lot of shadow to emphasise the feeling that not everything is being revealed to Bond in his efforts to expose Oberhauser’s oragnisation. Dennis Gassner provides overall production design for his third Bond film, having headed-up QUANTUM OF SOLACE and SKYFALL, as well Disney’s lavish INTO THE WOODS from earlier in 2015. Frequent Christopher Nolan collaborator, Australian Lee Smith edits his first Bond film, but is no stranger to big budget blockbusters; having worked on BATMAN BEGINS, THE DARK KNIGHT, INCEPTION, X-MEN: FIRST CLASS and THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. Thomas Newman’s score continues the low-key tone set by SKYFALL and could have taken a little more traditional, tumid Bond approach to match the film’s overall sense of throwback to the Connery-era movies.
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SPECTRE leaves Daniel Craig’s tenure as Bond at a cross-roads. CASINO ROYALE and SKYFALL have been outstanding. QUANTUM OF SOLACE and now SPECTRE haven’t quite lived up to their predecessor’s efforts. In the context of 24 official Bond films, Craig’s four films are among the best and this is largely down to the take the man himself has brought to the character. His Bond is the most relatable and Craig (with possible the exception of Timothy Dalton) is the best actor to have played Ian Fleming’s fictional spy with the license to kill. For that reason, SPECTRE is a must-see movie; however, despite the film’s story shortcomings, the spectacle of what unfolds right up until the credits roll is also a pretty good reason. Size and scale have an impact, and the cinema screen format is a perfect vehicle for a movie like SPECTRE.

SPECTRE - JAMES BOND 24 (2015) USEFUL LINKS

Spectre (2015 film) - Wikipedia​
​Spectre (2015) - IMDb
​Spectre (2015) - Rotten Tomatoes

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