On Nov. 6, I went to see the newly-released James Bond movie, "Spectre," with friends. This movie is the latest installment in the James Bond movies starring Daniel Craig. It provided a fitting end to Daniel Craig’s time as the legendary 007 and left many in the audience satisfied (if not slightly confused), with the action movie they had paid to see.
"Spectre" is another globe-hopping James Bond movie laden with mystery, deceit, and action around every corner. While the action is excellent and the plot is engaging, it might be hard to follow along if you haven’t seen any of the previous James Bond movies starring Daniel Craig. There are several references spread throughout the film that bring up all three of the previous Bond movies Daniel Craig worked on, as well as references to the classic Bond movies that the casual observer might not catch. These references are essential to the story and are, for the most part, not explained. The plot itself was complicated, as spy films often are, which did not help with comprehension of the events in the movie. Several times throughout the movie, a friend (who had not seen the previous Daniel Craig Bond movies recently) had questions about people and events being referenced that were present in the original three movies. My friend was often confused as to what was happening in the plot. As such, I would not recommend seeing "Spectre" without first having seen or having some knowledge of the first three Daniel Craig James Bond films.
In addition to the convoluted nature of the plot, "Spectre" did not spend as much time developing relationships as it should have. Some of the scenes that were meant to be emotional fell flat, due to the rushed chemistry of the characters. There were relationships that were meant to pull us in, but instead the chemistry felt forced due to a rushed timeframe and a seeming lack of connection between the characters. Because of this, some of the character resolutions at the end of the movie felt forced and were not as profound as they wanted to be.
Besides the main criticism I have of "Spectre," I think the film did a good job of being what it was meant to be: an action movie where we get to see James Bond crash a car, blow something up, kill some people, save the day, and get the girl(s). Any action movie buff and any follower of James Bond or Daniel Craig will thoroughly enjoy "Spectre."
