STACK NZ Dec #69

CINEMA

REVIEWS

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RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Sam Mendes CAST: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux RATING: M

SPECTRE

A slower but deeper 007 adventure that narrowly misses the target, but still shoots to kill.

D aniel Craig’s fourth outing as James Bond will no doubt surprise. Not so much in plot revelations (we all kinda know which way it’s heading after the first 15 mins), but rather in tone and mood. It’s a ballet of iconic cliché and dramatic style, rather than the mosh pit of fury we witnessed in Casino Royale and Skyfall . In fact, Spectre feels like a swan song; an apt finale to Craig’s emotionally- driven tenure as the world’s most famous secret agent, if he indeed hangs up the tuxedo for good after the dust settles. Opening into the intoxicating and congested macabre party atmosphere of Mexico’s Day of the Dead (a metaphor for the entire film), it’s clear Bond is on a personal hunt, perhaps even a vendetta. A chase and a quite literally off-its-head- thrilling helicopter set-piece then limps into one of the most mismatched opening credit sequences in the entire Bond legacy – whoever green lit that crappy song should be shot, twice. Moving on, it’s quickly revealed that Bond was working rogue and is desperate to uphold the previous M’s legacy. But what he doesn’t know is it’ll lead directly to the source of his entire, never-ending stream of death and misery. Spectre tries to achieve quite a lot; establish serious gravity to 007’s

secret past, offer a compassionate and somewhat lonely take on a man who kills people for a living, drive the message that not all progress is a good thing, and ultimately deliver an action-adventure film befitting the franchise’s enviable canon. Director Sam Mendes mostly succeeds. Mostly. What fails in areas of gritty action (a car chase through Rome involving the much lauded Aston Martin DB10 and a new Hot Wheels-looking Jag is almost laughable, akin to a Roger Moore pantomime) is made up for with a sly wit and indie-style banter. Ben Wishaw pretty much steals the entire film as Q. Yet forgiving its missteps is easy every time Craig is on screen and up against the “I told you so!” enjoyable frankness of pure evil that is Christoph Waltz, as Spectre’s Godfather figure. This isn’t an instant classic like Casino Royale or Skyfall , but it’s got that certain something that makes you leave the cinema with a fondness and appreciation for the mysterious multi-layered onion James Bond has become. Go in with lower expectations and you’ll be rewarded

with an off-kilter chapter in 007’s seemingly never-ending book. Chris Murray

FURTHER VIEWING: Casino Royale , Skyfall

DECEMBER 2015

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