Simply spectacular!

Spectre’ is the 24th Bond and it lives up, even surpasses its predecessors, what with 12-minute action episodes, witty repartee, scintillating music et al. And Daniel Craig making it his own very role.

It all begins in Mexico City where they are observing “Day of the Dead” parade and Bond, James Bond (Daniel Craig) and his girl enter Room 237. The girl waits on the bed; Bond climbs out of the window, on to the parapet, jumps across buildings and then zeroes in on two men planning to blow up a stadium.

Then follows the 12-minute action sequence of Bond chasing one of them who jumps into a waiting copter and the in-copter fight is graphically shot by an expert team. Marco Sciarra is killed, Bond steals his ring and goes to Rome, unauthorisedly, to attend his funeral. Here he meets his sedate widow Lucia (Monica Belluci, who at 50 is the oldest in the cast) who tells him about Spectre, the criminal gang for whom her husband worked.

Using the ring, Bond enters a secret Spectre meeting and spots Spectre leader Franz Oberhauser who has many aliases, one of them being Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz). His dad is said to have raised an orphaned Bond.

Bond then flies to Austria to meet White, a Spectre-man dying of thallium-poisoning, who before dying asks him to rescue his daughter Dr Madeline Swann (Lea Seydoux).

Meanwhile his team of Q (Ben Whishaw), who has the best lines and Eve Moneypenny (Naomi Harris) have no options but to follow the action. The girls, guns, gadgets formula is there. Whatever happened to the girl in 237? But the action scenes are supreme, one in where he falls floors down to soft-land on a sofa.

Bond’s higher-ups, including Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) are in a quandary. There is a slow buildup to the eventual villain Blofeld, who somehow lacks the bite of former Bond villains, like Dr No for instance.

The Bond-Madeline romance is also succinctly handled. From being opposites the bonding (pun accidental) is palpable with Seydoux virtually growing in the role, so unlike the lead role in ‘Blue is the Warmest Colour.’

Thomas Newman’s music is resounding, right from the opening “Writing on the Wall” to the Bond bars that hold the film’s identity. Hoyte van Hoytema’s camera constantly caresses, be it breath-taking aerial shots or long shots. They also provide visual relief.

Lush locales (from London to Tangiers to…) and fetching robes (one shot of Seydoux in a flowing gown, is worth going a long way to see) are other embellishments. If one could pick holes it is its 148-minute length, ‘Dr No’ was 109 minutes.

Kudos Sam Mendes for maintaining that Bond authenticity, which seems to be growing. Satiating fare, indeed! Bond, James Bond, you only live 24 times.

Film Name : Spectre

Cast : Daniel Craig, Christophe Waltz, Lea Sedoux, Ben Whinshaw, Ralph Fiennes & Monica Belluci

Direction : Sam Mendes

Genre : Action

Likes : Daniel Craig, 12-minute action episode and music

Dislikes : Running time (148 minutes)

Rating : 41/2

By Ervell E Menezes