New Bond Flick Weak Follow up to Skyfall

When dealing with James Bond, one must always expect the unexpected. But 1 thing I certainly didn’t expect from 007’s new movie Spectre was yawning.

And I yawned a lot.

Starting out in Mexico on the Day of the Dead, Bond wreaks havoc and kills terrorists after going rogue. Suspended from the double “0” program, Bond takes on a mission left to him by the recently deceased “M.” While meeting someone from his past, as well as a new girlfriend, Bond must overcome a terrorist organization.

The artistic opening titles, a trait of every James Bond movie, was redundant, as it was almost entirely Daniel Craig making out with various women.

The twists and turns of the actual plot lead to the discovery that 007 is a womanizer (shocker!) who chases after a girl half his age. Bond is old enough to be mistaken for her father, who was an assassin like him. Issues? You could say that.

The previous Bond installment, Skyfall, was such a gripping story that the expectations for Spectre were high, but the latter is a flimsy story that doesn’t relate well to the previous films. The movie mentions past characters, like the beloved “M,” who dies in the last film, but the writers don’t seem to realize that if they mention such characters, they’re expected to actually connect them to the current conflict, which they were unable to do.

Also, the success of the recent Marvel Comic Avenger franchise must have influenced the creators of the Bond story. The symbol used by antagonists in Spectre looks eerily similar to the one attributed to to Hydra, a group of villains in The Avengers. Originality was lacking in this bland Bond production.

As always, Bond is witty, but the most entertaining character in Spectre is Bond’s companion, “Q.” An intellectual genius and a loyal friend to Bond, Q offers witty banter and friendship, contrasting the traditional “I work alone” Bond persona.

Though the movie is all about the spy, I’d personally be delighted to learn more about what actually goes on in MI6, especially with characters like Q and M.

The relationship between Moneypenny, a character re-established in Skyfall, and Bond, fails to ignite. It is uncertain whether Bond has a thing for Moneypenny (and vice versa) or if they are just extremely close friends. Failing to exploit this lingering mystery, Spectre just adds to the confusion.

Bond’s former relationship with another agent become central to the plot, but instead of subsequently providing details about his past, the film rushes into pointless actions scenes.

There seems to be an effort to show that Bond isn’t just some assassin. At the end of the film, there is a suggestion that Bond might choose to pursue love over taking revenge. Though this may be an intriguing turning point for Bond, it seems unlikely the franchise has much life left if their main character becomes a pacifist.

Like all Bond films the cinematography is exquisite. The explosions and fight scenes salvage Spectre to some extent.

Nevertheless, Spectre is ultimately a disappointment.

License to kill? To kill my brain cells, maybe.