Spectre (2015)

User Review

• 

  thismoviestinks

  3 / 10

  Spectre is a massive step down from Skyfall, and the flimsiest, least focused film of the Craig era. Despite the uber talented Sam Mendes returning to the director's chair, this film never approaches the dramatic fire or tight storytelling he captured last time around. More than that, Spectre feels wholly divorced from everything that has worked for the Craig films--a shift in direction that left me puzzled.
  
  The main failure of this film is the storytelling; The screenwriters are so obsessed with connecting loose ends from the previous three films that they forget to construct a focused narrative for this one. Spectre continually drags, loses direction, grasps at half-finished ideas, and stretches credibility with implausible scenes, and head scratching turns. It's a return to the 'just go with it' attitude of the Roger Moore years only without the self-aware sense of fun required for me to enjoy the ride.
  
  Spectre also drops the ball with its performers. Securing Christoph Waltz to portray the famous Ernst Blofeld was inspired casting. Less deserving of praise is the decision to keep him largely absent from the film until the third act. Waltz brought much needed pathos, tension, and stakes to this film, and he's barely featured; it's an unforgivable waste. The B plot involving M, Q, and Moneypenny is also underdeveloped to the detriment of the film. These parts of the story are not given sufficient screen time and fail to pay off as a result. This editor should have been sacked.
  
  I still enjoy Daniel Craig in this film; he works hard to overcome the scattered writing. This is the first time he isn't given much to play with (the Pierce Brosnan treatment), but possesses the charm and presence to overcome the material.
  
  Good on him, but this movie stinks.

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