Spectre

The James Bond series, following the relatively above-average SkyFall, takes a step backwards in this 24th installment, with the movie’s undoing confirmed by its glacial pace, frequently dull storyline, and absence of compelling side characters – which is a shame, certainly, given that the franchise, after the events of its predecessor, seemed on track to return to its fun, action-packed roots. The impossibly uninvolving narrative follows 007 (Daniel Craig, delivering as apathetic a performance as one could possibly envision) as he attempts to uncover the secrets of the diabolical title organization, with this investigation eventually bringing Bond and his cohorts (including Ralph Fiennes’ M and Naomie Harris’ Moneypenny) face-to-face with a mysterious figure named Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz). Filmmaker Sam Mendes gets things off to a promising start with a pre-credits sequence that’s as inventive as it is exciting, admittedly, although it’s equally clear that the movie begins its nosedive almost immediately after – as scripters John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Jez Butterworth offer up a midsection detailing Bond’s progressively tedious investigation into the secrets behind Waltz’s villainous character (ie too much of the film’s second act is devoted to 007 chasing down one clue after another). The less-than-engrossing atmosphere is compounded by a proliferation of hopelessly misguided, misbegotten elements, including a laughable romance between Bond and Léa Seydoux’s fetching Madeleine Swan and an astonishing dearth of compelling action sequences. (In terms of the latter, Mendes’ head-scratching decision to employ handheld camerawork during the film’s more high-octane moments drains them of their visceral impact.) By the time the sullen, slower-than-molasses final stretch rolls around, Spectre has demonstrated that the James Bond series is on the entirely wrong track and it’s clear that the franchise could use a fresh approach in virtually all respects. (Craig, especially, needs to go.)

** out of ****