By Eddie King
Staff Writer
Harkening back to its classic espionage roots, “Spectre” is a respectable revitalization of the action-packed Bond series, complete with Agent 007’s quintessential cliché dialogue and a wide variety of high-tech gadgets.
“Spectre” impresses visually with sleek action sequences and gorgeous cinematography. However, the jumbled plot, dry characters and failure to innovate from past films cause the plot of “Spectre” to blend in with previous installments of the Bond series.
The film begins in Mexico City, where special agent James Bond (Daniel Craig) is sent to locate and stop the global terrorist organization Spectre from launching a worldwide surveillance system, putting individual privacy at risk. Bond embarks on a wild chase around the globe as he fights to stay one step ahead of Spectre and foil its plans before it is too late.
“Spectre” immediately grabs attention with its captivating opening sequence that ends with an exhillarating fistfight in a helicopter above Mexico City’s Day of the Dead celebration. The film additionally features many more riveting and lengthy action sequences. Despite their longevity, these scenes are engaging, which ultimately keeps the film entertaining and appealing even as the plot begins to quickly unravel due to its convoluted nature.
Another highlight of the film is its cinematography, which showcases detailed and meticulously prepared visuals of both urban and rural locales. The scenes were filmed on location, as opposed to using a poorly assembled set on a green screen or a cheaper, local spot. The accurate and detailed portrayal of the setting is both aesthetically pleasing and realistic, making the film feel more like a high quality production.
Although the film contains copious amounts of exciting action, “Spectre” lacks a cohesive storyline, which ultimately leads to its demise. The plot is a convoluted mess due to multiple double agents, with no sense of direction and an unsatisfying explanation as to why Bond is hunting Spectre in the first place.
The film also relies too heavily on continuity from its predecessor, “Skyfall,” including key character traits, and fails to innovate on its own. This flaw limits the film’s appeal to longtime fans of the series and leaves newer viewers confused by the already-jumbled plot if they lack an understanding of the plot in “Skyfall.”
“Spectre” also fails to develop any meaningful characters since they are constantly shuffled in and out of the story with little explanation. Most characters, such as Bond, are emotionally bland and are used merely as short-term plot devices with little background information. The lack of emotional backstory and character depth makes the characters difficult to connect with and relate to. It becomes difficult to become invested in the plot because it is hard to care about the characters and their purpose throughout the film.
Overall, “Spectre” is exciting due to multiple action sequences and gorgeous cinematography. However, the film fails to innovate, choosing instead to follow in the footsteps of previous Bond films, relying too heavily on action scenes to compensate for an underdeveloped plot and characters.
“Spectre” was released Nov. 6, is rated PG-13 and playing in theaters nationwide.
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