We’re nearing the end of the year in movies, and that means my personal “big four” most hyped films are just about on screens. The first of these is 007’s latest outing. Let’s go.
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Starring: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Ralph Fiennes
Director: Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Skyfall)
Rating: M
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In my experience watching and discussing movies, I’ve come to realise that modern James Bond fans, diverse as they are, fall into two major categories: Those who like the movies despite their tendency to hit similar notes each time, and those who like the movies BECAUSE of their tendency to hit similar notes each time. The Daniel Craig era of Bond films has certainly courted the former type more than the latter, sporting a more rustic, sombre edge than the 007 movies of old, not to mention a tendency to draw inspiration more from Bourne and Batman than former incarnations of the suave super-spy.
In 2012 this trend arguably reached its peak with Sam Mendes’ Skyfall, my personal favourite Bond movie, and having achieved something quite surprising given his decidedly non-action back catalogue, Mendes and his crew have returned to make a very different kind of James Bond movie – one for the traditionalists. Spectre is sillier, grander in scope, packs more characters and “ticks more Bond movie boxes” than any of the other three Craig outings, which pretty much means that depending on what kind of Bond fan you are, there’s probably no avoiding either a palpable sense of disappointment or a refreshing sigh of relief. Either way, however, Spectre is a pretty fun time at the movies.
Vagrant Rant 