Waiting for each new Bond flick for a lifetime OO7 fan like myself is like the days before Christmas morning when you are a kid. The anticipation is palpable.
When you finally get to open up that gift, will it be an ugly knit sweater (Moonraker) or the perfect new bike you've always wanted (Skyfall)?
The great news is that the shiny new toy that is SPECTRE is a terrific gift with about 50 additional presents inside for true Bond fans.
As the films opens, James Bond (Daniel Craig, the all time best OO7 now adding a bit more humor to the role without ever slipping into comedic Roger Moore buffoonery) is in Mexico City, tracking a bad guy through a massive Day of the Dead celebration.
For me, it's the best opening sequence in Bond history, with 12,000 extras, a full size celebration and the cameras & Bond swirling in and around the real crowd. Yes, CGI effects can create anything, but there is a palpable difference here, as the filmmakers move OO7 and his target through those 12,000 folks.
In the opening 20 minutes, any true Bond fan will be giddy, between the opening gunbarrel sequence with Craig doing the classic pivot and shoot, the entire Mexico City opener and terrific opening credits by Daniel Klienmann that continue to reference Maurice Binder's classic titles, while making them modern and effortlessly sexy and cool.
Bond is called back to London, finds himself at odds with M (Ralph Fiennes) and the emerging younger head of a new department, C (Andrew Scott) who is dead set on ending the "antiquated" double-O program and replacing it was a massive, worldwide, nine-nation digital surveillance network.
With a bit of help from Q and Moneypenny (Ben Whishaw and Naomie Harris, both excellent) OO7 heads out to continue to follow the trail that started in Mexico City.
To give away too much plot detail from that point would take away from the clever script by returning writers John Logan and Neil Purvis (Skyfall).
Safe to say that Bond runs into enemies old and new, that the previous M's death still haunts him (Judi Dench continues to impact the films) and a fine new villain emerges in Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz) who is much more than the standard bad guy.
The Bond women are terrific here, including Monica Bellucci as the widow Lucia and Lea Seydoux as Madeline Swann. We are a long way from the horrible days of Denise Richards as Dr. Christmas Jones here. These women are terrific actresses and can hold their own against Bond.
But here's the real thrill of SPECTRE for true Bond fans.
There must be 50+ references, some obvious and some VERY subtle to the past film legacy within the film. It's like a massive carpet of Bond Easter eggs to discover throughout.
There's a terrific fight on a train between Bond and great new henchman Hinx (Dave Bautista) that references the Bond/Grant fight in "From Russia With Love", but there's also a much more subtle reference to Goldfinger's opening scene that happens in the seconds before the fight begins.
There are major ties between bad guys here and classic villain portrayals in "You Only Live Twice" down to identical make up and wardrobe.
The funeral and post funeral Lucia scene have the same exact DNA as the "JB" funeral and post-funeral scene that opens "Thunderball".
One example of a very obscure tie-in, and the moment that I realized the film makers were going very deep to provide some fun for Bond fans:
In the opening Mexico City sequence, Bond is battling bad guys on a helicopter. At one point, that helicopter make a complete loop overhead a crowded square. At the top of that loop, Thomas Newman's score (terrific again throughout, playing up the classic Bond themes loud and proud) makes a quick and quiet reference to the infamous slide whistle effect that John Barry used during the 360 degree car roll in "The Man With the Golden Gun". It was legendary as Barry's biggest regret in all his Bond film scores. Newman calls it out here, but in a subtle way to nudge OO7 fans while being completely oblivious to the casual viewer.
I can't wait to see this again to see how many more references are right in front of me.
So many people this opening weekend are saying, "It's not as good as Skyfall", "It's not Skyfall".
I agree. "Skyfall" remains my all-time fave Bond film, the perfect blend of story, action and Craig's true emergence as the best Bond ever.
But SPECTRE is terrific! Definitely in my all time top 10 OO7 films.
At two and a half hours long, it never lags, delivering a smart and clever plot with real consequence for Bond.
I remember walking out of "Skyfall" and saying, "Okay, they now have M, Moneypenny and all the pieces in place, now I hope they make the next film just a great Bond adventure".
Director Sam Mendes and Daniel Craig deliver that and then some. It's a big, exciting, shiny present under the tree. I can't wait to unwrap it again later this week and see what else I find.
Spectre gets an A.
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