★★☆
The poster for new James Bond outing SPECTRE is of Daniel Craig in a black turtleneck against a grey background. After seeing the film, it’s understandable why they opted for such a beige promotion: this is by-the-numbers Bond, adequate but little else.
After the events of Skyfall, MI6 is in disarray, and a disastrous outing for Bond (Craig) in Mexico City further places the 00 program in jeopardy. But Bond is onto something, and outside of official channels, he begins the hunt for a criminal syndicate with global ambitions.
Opening with a pointless text intro, we are thrust into a satisfying (if poorly grounded) action sequence, followed by the standard slow drip of information: just what is Bond supposed to be seeking? What leads Bond to his (and our) discovery of SPECTRE is still hard to say, excepting one posthumous assassination request and the standard array of kills and seductions quickly forgotten.
Much has been made of the presence of Monica Bellucci and Christoph Waltz in the film, but neither has anything into which to sink their teeth. Bellucci’s role is a glorified cameo, and Waltz, despite being a phenomenal performer, is relegated to a few villainous set pieces and remains mostly in the shadows.
Keeping Waltz concealed sounds like an effective strategy, but his reveals are rather meaningless, and his ultimate motivations overwhelmingly petty. Even the greater comments the film has to make about surveillance are side notes to the main plotline, one that ties all of Craig’s films together and yet remains disappointingly thin.
Gone is much of the experimentation and visual flair that made Skyfall so divisive and intriguing. Wondrous possibilities are wasted – a sequence where Bond is tortured with the threat of disorientation and memory loss results in him being wholly unaffected.
Insights into the lives of Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and the lovable Q (Ben Whishaw), as well as competent action sequences, are fun but not enough to recommend the film over any other in the franchise. Sure, it’s finally gotten its sense of humour back – the best relic from the more camp days of the series – but a few visual gags can’t carry an otherwise overlong and uninspiring narrative.
Director Sam Mendes’ formulaic follow-up is neither stirred, nor shaken, and feels like a film made out of contractual obligation. Revisit the glory days rather than forking out for this competent but unfulfilling revival.
SPECTREopens in cinemas on Thursday November 12.
