STACK New Zealand December Issue 69

34 / 60

visit REVIEWS CINEMA
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
A slower but deeper 007 adventure that narrowly misses the target, but still shoots to kill.
SPECTRE RELEASED: Now Showing
DIRECTOR: Sam Mendes
CAST: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz,
Léa Seydoux
RATING: M
DOWNLOAD THE
FREE
STACK
APP FOR EXTRA CONTENT
stack.net.nz/stack-app
34 DECEMBER 2015