Looking back, my anticipation for *Spectre* seems almost silly now. After *Skyfall*, director Sam Mendes announced he wouldn’t direct another 007 film. Even so, *Skyfall* wasn't the strongest of the recent Bond installments – it felt drawn out and lengthy. Yet, I was still caught up in the idea of Mendes’ vision for a tribute to the classic Bond era, with that well-known poster featuring Craig imitating Roger Moore, and trailers highlighting a return to older villains and themes. *Spectre*, however, isn't any of those things; it’s a movie where everyone involved appears merely to be going through the motions. It tries hard to evoke the feel of the vintage James Bond movies, but ends up feeling more like a parody of the series instead. To begin with, the script is surprisingly weak and predictable. Bond moves from one shootout to another, then chases, and finally sex scenes, repeating actions and dialogue he’s used for the past 23 films. It isn't really a complete story; it’s just a collection of isolated set pieces and scenes loosely connected. While some work well individually, you’ll find yourself yawning by the second or third fight sequence. And when you aren’t yawning, you’re likely laughing—but not in a good way. The dialogue is downright cheesy. Gone is Bond's usual smooth charm and ability to wound his opponents with words as much as he does with weapons. Instead, there's a moment where he throws a watch bomb and says: “Time flies!” The film finds Bond on a secret mission assigned by M (Judi Dench) via a video message following her death. The movie doesn’t really try to make the audience care about this assignment or Bond’s reasons for seeking out Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz)—which apparently has something to do with his foster-father and childhood—but it never feels important either to the plot or to James himself. Meanwhile, a new joint secretary, Max or C as he is known (Andrew Scott), is trying to merge all of the world’s intelligence agencies into one surveillance network – effectively rendering the Double-0 program obsolete. It's almost as if Sam Mendes has already accomplished that for him. Despite this, *Spectre* is visually stunning. There are about five or six large action sequences, and they are beautifully filmed. If you just want to relax and watch Bond drive through the streets of Rome in a prototype Aston Martin, then this movie might be for you. However, things drag on far too long, which wouldn’t be so bad if something interesting were happening. But almost nothing does. Bond gets into a situation and escapes, all while delivering some witty, laughable lines. Daniel Craig seems more distant from the character of James Bond than ever before in *Spectre*. I should say upfront that I like Craig as an actor and as James Bond—he’s my favorite of all the Bonds. But here, he doesn't quite feel like James Bond. For example, a scene where Bond throws his gun into a river is done in such a pretentious way that it made me cringe. It’s difficult to explain exactly how Craig misses the mark in *Spectre*, but when you see it, you won’t be able to help feeling similarly. Perhaps Sam Mendes and screenwriter John Logan did succeed in creating an homage to the Roger Moore era Bond films? Because if they did, it's because none of those films stand out as truly great movies. From beginning to end, *Spectre* feels like someone filling in blanks for a Bond story and hoping that when read aloud, it will somehow make sense.

Source on TMDB