Spectre (2015)

I remember Spectre being released to pretty solid reviews, but since then it seems to have had some sort of negative reappraisal for whatever reason. I think I was sold immediately on Spectre the first time I saw it for the simple reason it finally had a Craig Bond movie opening with the gun barrel sequence. I did my university dissertation on James Bond (you can do anything when you’re studying Media) so to say I was a fan would be an understatement. Indeed, there’s only one Bond movie I think is naff. Quantum Of Solace (2008), in case you’re wondering. Although Sam Mendes’ first Bond film, Skyfall (2012) is one of the best of the entire series, I probably enjoyed Spectre more on first viewing, simply because it returned some of the ludicrousness of previous decades into the Craig era, something that was somewhat lacking from his stint. Reintroducing the Spectre organization, and one Ernst Stavro Blofeld (a likeable Christoph Waltz, if not particularly threatening like past iterations) to the Bond pantheon may have been delayed until now for legal reasons, but it was a bold move from Mendes to take the step and return Bond to some of his villainess roots. I really enjoyed watching Spectre again. It’s not Craig’s best or even Mendes’ best, but it is arguably the most enjoyable of the Craig era, containing enough intertextuality to put Die Another Day (2002) to shame; and personally, it was the Bond film I wanted at the time of its release. All of this might sound ridiculous to someone not particularly interested in Bond, and that’s fine; but having seen every Bond film probably around fifteen to twenty times, this is someone viewing the series through a completely different prism to others, and for me, Spectre did a good job of returning Bond to his film roots, if somewhat taking a step away from the Fleming origins. 7.7/10