Spectre

#StokerScore 9/10

The much anticipated culmination(?) to the current run of Daniel Craig -starring Bond movies finally arrived in cinemas last week and I was blown away by it. Well, most of it anyway.

I should point out that I'm a massive fan of Bond movies and I've seen every one at least 3 times, so it's fair to say that I'm biased. I even love the bad ones. The ones that seem to get less love for numerous reasons. 

Where the question of "who's the best Bond?" is concerned, I have always listed them; Connery, Dalton, Lazenby, Brosnan, Moore, Allen! But on seeing Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Skyfall, Craig went straight to the top.

In an interview I saw recently, Craig was asked for the main difficulty with making Bond movies and he cited Mike Myers' creation of Dr Evil. He suggested that so all encompassing was the character, so many of the absurdities of being a Bond villain did he mock, that creating a worthy villain was the biggest task. In that respect I think this run of movies has done so well. They've continued to get top-drawer acting talent and generally left Bond's gadgets out and so with good scripts they've been able to look at the wear and tear of being the ultimate secret agent.

Skyfall left us with lots of broken pieces. M's death but Mallory waiting to take over, the potential effect those would have on Bond, are just some. Spectre starts with none of those things, instead we're treated to another exceptional, action-packed start which seems to show Bond right back where he belongs, on task.

That Spectre is able to still find new twists and turns, to outdo it's masterful predecessor is a credit to the writers, director and actors. As a viewer, you can't help but be influenced by the sheer frustration of an enemy who appears to be so many steps ahead and all-pervasive in terms of just how many pies they have fingers in.

Yet it is also the writing of Bond's love interest in Spectre that I found the most unbelieveable. There is a moment where we seem to go from one extreme to another without ever explaining the steps needed or the characters motivation. Small thing as it is, it's the reason why I'm knocking a point off.

If you love Bond movies, you won't be able to help yourself from enjoying this one. I just hope that when the character returns, with or without Daniel Craig, that they continue in the same vein, although how they're going to top this is hard to imagine......