This article originally appeared on News From The Couch.
This is a series I started on own site, which I will now be cross-posting here as well. I’ll include a quick (well, we’ll see how quick) intro before getting into it. But don’t worry, this introductory portion will not be a normal inclusion. It will be here on this first one and that’s it.
I’ve been a huge James Bond for the last 20+ years. The movies hooked me in as soon as my parents started letting me watch them. So the 25th in the series coming out next year is a big deal for me. And while No Time To Die has already had its share of production problems (including its ridiculous title), my excitement remains at maximum level.
With such high anticipation, I decided to rewatch the entire series leading up its scheduled release next April. And I figured why not write about them too? These won’t be traditional reviews; they won’t even have a set, consistent format. I’ll take some notes as I watch, and take it from there.
These are meant to be fun. They will be informal and more of a reflection of whatever comes to me as I write. For example, this Spectre post actually focuses on some of the more negative aspects of the movie, even though I like it more than most seem to. That’s just where the mood took me.
The posts have a sporadic schedule. There may be weeks where I get to multiple movies; and there may be weeks in between one movie and the next. But know that all 24 will be done before No Time To Die’s release.
Additionally, the end of each article includes an updated list of my ranking of the movies. You’ll notice that this is the sixth movie in the series, even though Spectre is the 24th movie. And that’s because I decided it would be too boring to watch them in chronological order. So I set a random order. The one exception is Quantum of Solace. I’ve seen it in a number of places that it’s a better viewing experience to watch Quantum of Solace immediately after Casino Royale, as if it’s one continuous movie. So I switched Quantum to follow Casino Royale, but everything else sticks to the randomized order. You can see the full order here. Otherwise the end of each article tells you which one is up next.
The last piece before we get going is the rating system. I have my own scale which I use for my personal rankings as well as my reviews on News From The Couch. I converted those (as best I could) to the 1-10 scale we use here at Reel Big Films.
Okay, the real last piece: SPOILERS. The exact level of spoilers may vary, but if you’re reading these posts, it’s just safer to assume full plot spoilers.
But I promise, now that’s it, let’s get to it!
From IMDB:
“A cryptic message from 007’s past sends him pitted against a mysterious terrorist organization called Spectre, and learns of its involvement in previous events of his most dangerous missions.”
Bond: Daniel Craig
M: Ralph Fiennes
Q: Ben Wishaw
Moneypenny: Naomie Harris
Director: Sam Mendes
Song: “Writing’s on the Wall” by Sam Smith
I’ve always thought the amount of criticism thrown at Spectre was a bit unfair. It’s not a perfect movie by any means, but no Bond movie is. Everyone seemingly got so hyped up after Skyfall (very good, but a bit overrated; we’ll get to that one eventually) that there was almost no way for Spectre to succeed.
And while some aspects are a bit clunky, it still feels like a Bond movie. And that’s really what you need. Bringing back SPECTRE is a big part of that. They’re up to their old tricks again. All they want is some simple world domination, by way of the Nine Eyes Committee. We’ll come back to the Nine Eyes later, but this should have been the focus of the story. But that’s enough of a preamble; let’s hit it.
Opening scene
This is what I’m here for. Large-scale chaos with Bond at its center. This is how you open a Bond movie. Add in a fantastic, extended tracking shot? I’m hooked.
Hinx
There are a few staples of every good Bond movie. A fun opening scene, cool gadgets, a bad guy henchman who is almost impossibly strong. In this case, that character is Hinx, played by Dave Bautista. Hinx was created in the mold of classic villain Jaws, made famous by Richard Kiel in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker.
I wouldn’t be opposed to Hinx returning. We’re left to assume he died after being yanked from the train. But characters have come back from worse in the Bond universe (Jaws survives a free fall from an airplane sans parachute, as one example). But to be fair, that may not fit in too well with the current direction the series has taken. And it wouldn’t make much sense to bring him back after these connected movies finish their story. But still, if Hinx does show up again, you won’t find me complaining.
Blofeld
This complaint shouldn’t be anything new. To put it bluntly, the movie bungled the Blofeld reveal. Blofeld is one of the most iconic villains in movie history. There was no need to intertwine his and Bond’s history like they did. This twist only resulted in making the whole story far too convoluted for its own good.
I can, however, at least understand why this decision was made. If the hero and villain have a personal connection, it might make the audience feel more invested in the story’s outcome. It wouldn’t be 007 going up against some generic insane bad guy. There wouldn’t just be the real world stakes at play; there would be personal stakes as well.
Then there’s the whole “author of all his pain” nonsense. Yep, Blofeld has been apparently pulling the strings all along throughout Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond. While there are nods here and there to other movies, up until the Craig era there was never much, if any, true continuity. That’s part of the fun of the series. If one movie is bad, it doesn’t have any bearing on the next.
Connected movie universes are all the rage these days, and when they work, they’re great. But the Bond series is one that simply doesn’t need it. But Casino Royale through the upcoming No Time To Die are essentially telling one, long story. Of the four that have come out, Casino Royale and Skyfall are almost unanimously considered the best. I think one of the reasons for that is they stand on their own much more than Quantum of Solace or Spectre do.
What could have been
Let’s go back to the Nine Eyes Committee.
As any fan of the BBC’s Sherlock knows, Andrew Scott can play the heck out of a deranged villain. His turn as Moriarty is some of my all time favorite acting. Here he plays Max Denbigh/C, head of the newly formed Joint Intelligence Service, who in reality is a SPECTRE agent. The Nine Eyes Committee would unite the intelligence agencies of nine countries into one organization, ultimately giving SPECTRE unlimited access to intelligence reports gathered by the participating countries. SPECTRE would be able to use this information to carry out their various nefarious acts with little to no interference.
That’s the SPECTRE movie we should have gotten. Andrew Scott has proven that he can more than hold his own as a primary antagonist. And the take over the world plot is classic Bond. Denbigh can still be a SPECTRE agent, Blofeld can still have a presence in the story. But this would allow the messiness of Blofeld’s backstory to be removed completely.
SPECTRE orchestrates attacks around the world, thus creating the need for the Nine Eyes to exist. Bond can go around the world, investigating each attack, eventually tracking it back to Denbigh in London. It feels like the studio got too bogged down in the “larger story” narrative and overlooked the (potentially) great story it already created.
Score: 7.5/10
Up next: The Living Daylights
Running Bond Rankings (each movie links to its respective article)
- From Russia With Love – 7.8/10
- Spectre – 7.5/10
- For Your Eyes Only– 7.2/10
- Diamonds Are Forever– 6.5/10
- Moonraker– 6.2/10
- Die Another Day– 5.4/10