SPECTRE

Columbia Pictures | Release Date: November 6, 2015

6.8	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 1299 Ratings

USER RATING DISTRIBUTION

Watch Now

Stream On

Buy on

Stream On

Expand

Review this movie

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Please sign in or create an account before writing a review.

Check box if your review contains spoilers

0 characters (5000 max)

User Reviews

User score By date Most helpful

NerdConsultantNov 6, 2015

Spectre is a pretty good film, it’s just not a great film and fails to live up to its predecessor Skyfall in a couple of ways, mainly in plotting and its villain department. However it delivers some excellent action and while the plot mightSpectre is a pretty good film, it’s just not a great film and fails to live up to its predecessor Skyfall in a couple of ways, mainly in plotting and its villain department. However it delivers some excellent action and while the plot might not be great it’s still pretty decent. I also think the acting in this film is excellent and we have had one of the best Bond Girls in a long time. Everything you would expect from a Bond film is pretty much here and Bond fans will eat this one up with all the others, just don’t expect for this one to be on the top of your list in your next Bond marathon. When I reviewed Kingsman ealier this year I said I was worried I wouldn’t be able to take Spectre seriously but that really is not the case though I did prefer Kingsman overall I would recommend actually going to see this one in the Cinema, This will take a while to come on DVD and I don’t think you should wait that long. But don’t go in with really lofty expectations like I did, because it won’t quite match up to them and that’s a mistake because it’s actually a pretty good film when you really look at it.… Expand

4 of 8 users found this helpful44

All this user's reviews

MrMovieBuffNov 6, 2015

Sorry Bond fans, I didn't want to do this but I did not enjoy this movie enough for it to be more than a 5/10 score...

...'Spectre' sees Daniel Craig in his fourth outing as the iconic British spy, James Bond and is the return for directorSorry Bond fans, I didn't want to do this but I did not enjoy this movie enough for it to be more than a 5/10 score...

...'Spectre' sees Daniel Craig in his fourth outing as the iconic British spy, James Bond and is the return for director Sam Mendes ('American Beauty' and 'Skyfall'). The screenplay is also written by the usual gang which includes John Logan ('Gladiator' and 'Hugo').

The movie opens with an impressive tracking shot with Bond in Mexico City which proves to be rewarding for some filmmakers. But just because a movie is impressively shot doesn't save its mediocrity. We then see the opening sequence which includes the Sam Smith song "Writing on the Wall" which is instantly forgettable, but we don't go to Bond films looking for a good opening song.

The story mostly involves Bond trying to protect the daughter of Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) who is played by French actress Lea Seydoux ('Inglourious Basterds' and 'Blue is the Warmest Color') who seems reluctant to trust Bond at first, but needs his protection anyway. The usual crew including M (Ralph Fiennes), Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Winshaw) return, and the chemistry between Craig and those actors are comedic which is great to see. But unfortunately, they are hardly together throughout the duration of the movie.

My biggest disappointments come from the following actors including; Monical Belucci, Dave Bautista and Christoph Waltz. They didn't have as much screen time as the trailers made it seem they have.

It just seems rather pointless to have these characters appear and they abruptly don't come back for the rest of the movie. Belucci and Bautista only have roughly 20 - 30 minutes of screen time each.

But the disappointment mainly comes from Christoph Waltz, who played such an iconic villain in 'Inglourious Basterds' (2009) and won his first Academy Award for it. So when I heard he was going to play a Bond villain, I thought he'd be perfect.

Waltz was wasted as the villain, I'm not sure if it's because of the screenplay, but he did not seem as menacing or intimidating as the ones played by Mads Mikkelsen ('Casino Royale') or Javier Bardem ('Skyfall'). We only get one scene of him torturing Bond, slightly, but that's it.

Ralph Fiennes as M has a few action scenes here and there, we see him handling a gun and defending everything he can, but this does not seem like something the M we know would do. The action should only be left to Bond only.

I am not sure if it's because 'Skyfall' (2012) had heightened my expectations, but this was just mediocre Bond fare almost made to the quality of 'Quantum of Solace' (2008). There are some scenes that happen for almost no reason, characters appear, then disappear, and other characters are wasted. It seemed like this was an unfinished product, but I wouldn't rank this as high as 'Casino Royale' (2006) or 'Skyfall' (2012), however, Daniel Craig is still convincing as Bond.

Great acting, just an underwhelming movie.… Expand

6 of 11 users found this helpful65

All this user's reviews

dharmaNov 6, 2015

Spectre is a step down in comparison to Skyfall. It's quite a strange film, meaning that Craig's journey as Bond is more or less a deconstruction of the character in lieu of its modern competitors, namely the Bourne and the Mission ImpossibleSpectre is a step down in comparison to Skyfall. It's quite a strange film, meaning that Craig's journey as Bond is more or less a deconstruction of the character in lieu of its modern competitors, namely the Bourne and the Mission Impossible franchise. Spectre in comparison is an assembly of the character back into a typical Bond film. Exotic locale? Check. Crazy headquarter of the main villain? Torture that leads to Bond escaping? Check. Sure, Craig is still stellar, but the film itself tries too hard without offering anything new. One thing for sure: it looks and feels expensive, maybe the highest budgeted Bond outing ever. However, Skyfall seemed to create a crazy amount of pressure to the film makers to repeat its 1 billion dollar performance. The end result is a muddled plot to connect all of Craig's previous outings, and a waste of great talents such as Monica Belucci and Christoph Waltz.. Is it worth a watch in the cinema? Hell yeah! Don't expect too much though.… Expand

3 of 8 users found this helpful35

All this user's reviews

FilmGobNov 6, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A cryptic message from Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.

Let me say that listening to Sam Smith's theme song for the very first time in the cinema is quite unpleasant, it just sounded like someone wailing uncontrollably. And the opening credits has cgi tentacles all over the place. We're off to a bad start.

As impressive as the opening scene is, where Bond chases 'Sciarra' through the Day of the Dead festival crowd, the fact that our hero thinks it's a good idea to punch the **** out of the pilot in an out of control helicopter, with a crowd of innocent people below, is baffling. The character of Bond feels schizophrenic as ever. I'm not sure what i'm supposed to think of a guy who, only after a minute of being acquainted, is bedding the widow (Monica Bellucci) of the assassin he killed earlier. And after a quick 'Ciao Bella' or whatever, she's not seen again. So much for the progressive choice of an age-appropriate Bond girl.

Mr White (Jesper Christensen) returns briefly as Bond pledges to protect his daughter, the fairly two dimensional Dr Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux). Together they travel from Rome, Austria, Tangier to track down Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz), leader of the mysterious Spectre, at his base of operations only a megalomaniac would be proud of. And yes, the big secret that isn't much of a secret, Oberhauser is actually Ernst Stavro Blofeld, pre and post face scarring.

There's plenty of fun nostalgia ahead with a brutal fight inside a speeding train with Mr Hinx (Dave Bautista), escaping a car chase using the ejector seat, escaping torture with an exploding wrist watch (of course, what else would it be!?) and then escaping the crumbling MI6 HQ by jumping into a safety net that came out of nowhere. Then it dawns on you that... this isn't anything new. Retro repetition, pandering, it's either what you want or what you dread.

The visuals are beautifully crisp and framed perfectly, thanks to director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema. Whether in frantic action scenes like the car chase on the streets of Rome, or dark indoor halls where the tense Spectre meeting takes place, it's what we expect from a modern Bond film. The score has moments of class but is mostly forgettable. Apart from one laugh out loud moment (during the car chase), the film is pretty much humorless, with little quips that didn't get much reaction from the audience.

Craig's run of Bond films suffer from an inconsistency in tone, direction and characters. Director Sam Mendes returns but there's still a lack of identity despite claims Bond is now 'Nolan-esque'. Did you want a return to over the top swagger of classic films after the modern but dire Skyfall? Well you're stuck between a rock and a hard place with Spectre. Go too hard edge, you get a Bourne clone. Go old school and you're left with a selfish, misogynistic pig for a hero. Never mind Daniel Craig, the whole franchise has run its course. All parody and little progress.… Expand

5 of 9 users found this helpful54

All this user's reviews

prev next

Page: