I went to a screening for SPECTRE on Saturday morning. Everyone that has worked on some level on the movie was invited to one of the 4 screenings before the actual premiere. Not going to lie, when the DB10 was mentioned by Q, I cringed.
Saturday morning at 10.30pm I sat in the London Odeon theatre on Leicester Square. Sam Mendes came up the stage and said a few words before the beginning of the movie. He said something along the lines of 'this movie was a monster', 'we've been working on this project with 100 and 100 of people' and 'we've delivered something I'm very proud of and I hope you'll like it'. Well Sam, you're right to say you're proud of this picture. Here is my 'review".
Oh, by the way, the movie is IN THEATRES TODAY, 26th in UK! Please check IMDb for the release date in your territory.
SPECTRE
** spoiler free** 2015
Director: Sam Mendes
Cast: Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Léa Seydoux, Christopher Walz,...
Lenght: 148min= 2h 28min
Genre: Actio, adventure, thriller
SPECTRE picks up where Skyfall left off. MI6 is still damaged from the terrorist attack, there is a new M in the picture and a new C as well. Bond is on a mission from the first second of the movie, an aftermath from Skyfall. A cryptic message from M sends him an a trip around the world. He infiltrates the Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion, AKA SPECTRE, and has an encounter with his past. Bond needs to find out why he does what he does and if he still wants to do it.
Sam Mendes definitely did not disappoint. It's a modern Bond with all the classics: action, dry humor, Bond Girls and the whole picture is a vision. I'm still in awe, eventhough I saw the movie Saturday morning :) We've come a long way since the days of Dr No. Some people are of the opinion that the true spirit of Bond isn't in the film because of the lack of gadgets. I can understand that opinion. Kind of. But to be fair, Bond in Dr No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, etc. doesn't have that many gadgets either. I guess it is more a subjective view on what is 'a lot'.
Another fact that has reached my attention is that I get the impression that a lot of people go to the theatre with very high expectations and come back out disappointed. It's understandable, especially after Skyfall which was a phenominal movie. However, as mentioned by the cast and the director, SPECTRE is a seperate movie. Although it is a sequel to Skyfall and has many references to previous Bond pictures, SPECTRE is something different than Skyfall. That is something I'd like you to take with you if you decide to see the movie. Don't get me wrong, I've had that happened to me too: having high expectations and to then be disappointed. It sucks. So that's why I'd like to give you a little heads up ;)
Then, SPECTRE is first mentioned by Dr No in the first Bond movie when Sean Connery had the honour of portraying the cocky double 0 agent. Anyone who pays any attention will have noticed that the ghost organisation has been mentioned in other Bond movies as well: From Russia with love, Thunderball,... The last time the name was mentioned was in Diamonds Are Forever (1971). Why the long silence? Well, apparently there was a copywrite dispute between producer Kevin McClory and the Fleming estate. Eventhough most of the Bond films link to the organisation, about half of them weren't legally aloud to use the term. Until now, when we have an actual movie that carries the name.
Besides being the abbriviation of 'Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion', 'SPECTRE' also means 'ghost'. Which gives a double meaning to the film. On one hand we finally learn more about 007's mysterious past. Various links to Casino Royal and Skyfall were made with Quantum of Solaces pushed quietly to the back, although not unmentioned. The dead are very much alive, with the Day of the Dead in Mexico City as a little wink to that statement. On the other hand Bond faces the entire organisation of SPECTRE and one person in particular. It's getting very personal in this one.
Mendes stayed true to the Bond formular. You fall quickly into the easy well known rhythm of a Bond movie. A couple of Bond girls, a villian or two to get rid off, car chasing scenes, etc. When Madeleine asked, after disposing a villian, "what will happen now?", we all know what will happen now. And so did Sam Mendes and the screenwriters. You cannot have those lines in a 007 script without acting upon them. That is what makes Bond, well, Bond. Although Mendes sticks to the formular, the look and feel is completely different than Skyfall and its predecessors.
The opening sequence followed by the standard Bond theme song with the accompanied 'video' is by far my favorite bit. It will probably be the part mostly spoken of. Regarding the graphic design and animation during the theme song, it actually makes me wonder who made the animation on that one. I guess that is still an aftermath of my one year of Graphic Design studies x) I'm not really a Sam Smith fan, but that song, Writings on the Wall is a perfect fit for this movie and it gave me goosebumps. Speaking of goosebumps and the opening sequence. Mendes starts the pictures with a daring 5min shot without any editing. It reminded me of the movie Rope (1948) and also of the opening shot in Pride & Prejudice (2005) and the first ever episode of Downton Abbey. To me, that is a promise from the director that this movie will be top of the bill. And that it was. Beautiful scenery shots of snow covered mountains, gruesome fighting scenes in train carriages, thrilling score, the lot. Barely anything green screen. The entire picture is just incredibly satisfying for the eyes and ears.
For a man who has recently declaired his dislike for the character as well, Craig shows that he is truly an amazing actor as he delivers an incredible preformance. Yes, I've said "as well", because Sean Connery, the original Bond, has previously stated that he "would like to kill him". Craig isn't the first one to despise the character, but, just like Connery, he kept it professional and delivered. "It is a real blessing" to quote Craig, so you'd be a fool to mess up that job.
Although I'm not yet truly convinced about the chemistry between him and Madeleine (Léa Seydoux), she is by far my favourite Bond girl. She's feisty, smart and as the daughter of an ex-assassin, she understands Bond in a way even Vesper couldn't. Christopher Waltz is Christopher Waltz which promises some bloodcurdling lines for his charachter Franz Oberhauser. Even his fluffy white cat makes an appearance! Naomie Harris returns as Moneypenny and as Bond's faithful partner in saving the world. Q (Ben Whishaw) is definitely my favorite character of the lot. From his knitted jumpers to his silly humor of: 'I asked to bring her back in one piece, not bring back one piece' and then to actually laugh at his own joke ^^ And Ralph Fiennes as M works well. He is obviously not Judi Dench, but I think he is a worthy successor and will be able to put his stamp on the character in future Bond movies.
The attention to detail is incredible. From the Day of the Dead in Mexico City to the white fluffy cat of Oberhauser, they thought of everything, which makes it a very exciting must watch.
As per usual, here are the trailer, clip, interviews and in this case, the theme song.
Trailer
Clip
Interviews
Writing's On The Wall - Sam Smith
Voila, this was my 'review' on the film. I highly recommend it. I do suggest to see the previous movies, from Casino Royal onwards at least. I think you might get a bit lost during this one as they make quite a few references to the past. Of course, it is entirely up to you what you do ;)
If you made it this far, congratulations!
As always, thanks for reading!
xo - Sara
Sources: the Telegraph, IMDb
Voila, this was my 'review' on the film. I highly recommend it. I do suggest to see the previous movies, from Casino Royal onwards at least. I think you might get a bit lost during this one as they make quite a few references to the past. Of course, it is entirely up to you what you do ;)
If you made it this far, congratulations!
As always, thanks for reading!
xo - Sara
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