“Spectre” is Pretty but Dull

Spectre+is+Pretty+but+Dull

Dana de Haan, A & E Editor

Spectre is worth a watch, but it does not exceed expectations. You will not be disappointed if you came to see an Aston Martin and beautiful costumes. Similarly, image continues as an important part of this franchise, and its technical perfections make it a strangely convincing reason to watch.

The beginning of the movie starts in Mexico City during the Day of the Dead (giving an alternate take on a 007 costume theme) and holds onto a shot for a few minutes with one long take. While that film technique is technically challenging by itself, it is also reflective of the suavity of the scene and, by easy extension, the character Bond himself. Furthermore, such a long take with no editing is an enjoyable and contradictory introduction to an action movie which naturally requires heavy editing to make believable stunts.

However, even with beautiful locations (recognizable Austrian Alps) and exciting car chases, you will not leave the movie theatre entirely satisfied. Writing and creativity lost spirit nearing the end. Interesting and potentially multifaceted characters are reduced to minor parts of unimaginative storylines.

Bond girl Madeleine Swann (portrayed by Léa Seydoux) convinces and entertains audiences with her initially to helping Bond, and when she does give in, does so smoothly and convincingly. However she leaves near the end for no understood reason only to become a damsel in distress.

In addition, Christoph Waltz has proven to be a powerful villain, but did not convince as Bond villain Blofeld because of poor writing. There was simply no tangible evidence that Oberhauser/Blofeld was a menacing threat: he never succeeded in his toils during the two and a half hour film, and the final helicopter crash/defeat by Bond is terribly boring. Compared to the opening helicopter fight scene, which is supported by great energy, it was poor choice to repeat that later in the movie with less drive.

While this 24th bond installment does not particularly excel by itself, it still is visually striking and generally entertaining. Though a 50 year movie series requires great writing on top of expensive effects, the movie did succeed in maintain Bond’s image in one more film.

P.S. Lana del Rey’s song, “24” from new album Honeymoon was rumored to have been a possible choice for the Spectre title sequence and I believe it would have been a better choice. The lyrics are as captivating as the entire Bond series, the background fanfare is very Bond-esque, and the obvious song title allusion surpasses Sam Smith’s single in my opinion.