Spectre (2015)
After Sam Mendes delivered Skyfall in 2012 the idea of him returning to the franchise was obviously favorable. Skyfall was not just impressive on a technical level but also carried a really impressive story with a depth not seen from nearly any other film in the franchise. With Martin Campbell seemingly done with the franchise, it seemed possible that Mendes might finally be the one to bring the franchise the masterpiece it had been looking for, but sadly it turns out Spectre isn't that masterpiece.
Easily the best part of Spectre is the technical elements within it. Thomas Newman once again returns creating another nearly iconic score successfully mixing the classic James Bond theme with the new theme song from Sam Smith and creates another score that stands out similar to what he accomplished in Skyfall. Where the idea of Roger Deakins stepping down from the role of cinematographer might seem disappointing at first, the film smartly fills this role with Hoyte van Hoytema who brings his own distinct style to the visuals choosing a more dynamic active approach to the visuals that are able to stand on their own compared to what Deakins did in Skyfall. This also goes for the directing from Sam Mendes who clearly was pushing himself. From experimenting with the single take approach in the opening action scene to the sheer number of moving parts in others, especially from an action standpoint Spectre really stands out as something special.
Sadly the story is really where Spectre falls apart. Where the action is beautifully crafted and original, the actual story feels like a watered-down version of Skyfall with many of the same questions being asked in much less intriguing ways. Skyfall already felt a bit long even with multiple other stories taking place at the same time, so it should come as no shock that the even longer Spectre feels overly long and drawn out considering there is way less for the movie and audience to chew on. It isn't even that the story being told or new additions are bad, there is a decent conversation surrounding the modernization of the 007 programs and newcomers like Dave Bautista do bring something new to the film but at the end of the day, Spectre honestly just feels lazy when it comes to a story.
Spectre might have some of the best directing and action scenes from any movie in the franchise so far, but the focus needed to be shared with the story. After providing something new and intriguing in Skyfall, Mendes proved that he could do something interesting with the franchise but instead elects to give nearly all attention to the technical side of the film which fails to make up for the lackluster story. Maybe if the film shaved an hour of unneeded runtime the action would be enough to keep the film feel engaging, but at 148 minutes, it just ends up feeling like a pain to sit through.
Spectre might have some of the best directing and action scenes from any movie in the franchise so far, but the focus needed to be shared with the story. After providing something new and intriguing in Skyfall, Mendes proved that he could do something interesting with the franchise but instead elects to give nearly all attention to the technical side of the film which fails to make up for the lackluster story. Maybe if the film shaved an hour of unneeded runtime the action would be enough to keep the film feel engaging, but at 148 minutes, it just ends up feeling like a pain to sit through.