Spectre

Bond is back – dang da da da dang da da da dang da da da dang ….

It’s the first Daniel Craig outing since 2012’s Skyfall.
I loved every minute of Skyfall whereas the friend I watched it with in the cinema (let’s call him “Richard”) hated it with a passion normally reserved for Marmite or Manchester United.
For me it took the Bond genre and tilted it slightly on its axis to brilliant effect.  For “Richard” – without silly quips, outrageous gadgets and lots of Bond girls it just wasn’t Bond. So I guess that film either thrilled or infuriated you depending on what you expect from a Bond film.
Well I can promise you one thing – whatever you expect from a Bond film – Spectre has it.
Gadget filled Aston Martin? Check. Softly spoken Bond villain with fluffy cat? Check. Bond girls galore? Check (although disappointingly none called Fanny Bangs as I was previously and as it turns out mischievously informed), evil hidden megalomaniac lair? Check. Train fight with bullet-headed Robert Shaw-alike baddy? Check. Speaking of which there were any number of nods to previous Bond tropes (a-la the Robert Shaw fight from “From Russia With Love”) and indeed to other movies. The opening Mexico City set day-of-the-dead scene was an obvious and loving homage by director Sam Mendes to Orson Welles’ three minute single camera opening sequence from his classic “Touch of Evil”.

Did I mention the casual throwaway quips – bucket loads.
There’s even a board-room meeting of evil characters where an evil Dr Evil type sits at the head of the table orchestrating the nefarious activities in his evil way. And they even squeeze in a “No Mr Bond, I expect you to die” type moment.

Craig once again does a fine job portraying an ex-military, SAS-type gliding through the daily grind, coming to life only when everything is on the line (loved the “it’s called a life James – you should get one” line – spoken to Bond as he races wheel to skidding wheel along the River Tiber against a stone-killer – played to excellent metal-thumbed effect by Guardians of the Galaxy’s Dave Battista Jr). However I found his romantic scenes far less convincing – especially those with the gorgeous but criminally under-used Monica Belluci.

My favorite Bond is still Connery of course, an actor who could manage the full gamut of emotions from A to B with utmost ease. But Daniel Craig runs him a very close second, and anyone who knows of my Bond/Connery childhood fixation will know that counts as very high praise indeed.
(I realise now that I only hold Connery in such esteem  because he was Bond in my formative years. Watching them now his Bond films are largely unwatchable whereas back in the day they felt like un-reproachable cinematic gems).
“Richard” believes Roger Moore to be the best Bond – which shows exactly how deluded he is on the entire subject.

Snow chase, cable car, helicopter fight, parachute, ejector seat, exploding wrist-wear, irascible M, geeky Q…all present and correct.
The scenery and set pieces are fabulous. Mexico looks amazing, Tangier stunningly exotic and The Alps imperious. Rome is the killer location in this Bond movie though – looking so good I was longing for a return trip before the film was over.

I can’t finish the review without mentioning the clothes.
Bond’s Tom Ford designed outfits are snugly-fitting almost-too-tight elegance personified and epitomize Bond’s buttoned-down, barely-hidden violence perfectly. Like watching Colin Firth strutting his stuff in A Single Man but with added close-quarter combat and explosions. Even the Bond villain gets a distinctive look with collarless Nehru jacket and no socks – never trust a man wearing a suit without socks.

Throw in Monica Bellucci in basque and teeter-tottering stilettos and Léa Seydoux in clinging silk-satin dress – and it’s “oh my word” as Dan Maskell might have breathlessly said.

So…a Bond movie that has it all.
Cliched retread or thoroughly enjoyable?
A Bond too far or did I enjoy every second of it ?

Of course I did! It was bloody marvelous. I can’t see where Craig and Mendes can take Bond from here to be honest. They’ve done origin stories, full-on Bond action genre and seem to have given their take in every possible classic Bond set-piece so I’m not surprised at all to hear Craig say he wants to move on. But this film is more than enough to be going on with.

Classic Bond then and very highly recommended