Spectre Review

Spectre

Release Date: 12th November 2015 - Australia 

Production Companies

EON Productions

B24

Metro Goldwyn Mayer (copyright holder)

Columbia Pictures (copyright holder)

Danjaq (copyright holder)

Distribution 

Sony Pictures Australia

Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 148 minutes


Budget: $250,000,000

Box Office Gross: $880,674,609 (Worldwide - figure subject to change)

Plot Summary

A cryptic message from
James Bond's past prompts
him to set out to uncover
a sinister criminal
organization called
SPECTRE (SPecial
Executive for Counter-
intelligence, Terrorism,
Revenge and Extortion).

While M battles political
forces to keep the secret
service safe alive, Bond
peels back the layers of
deceit to reveal the terrible
truth behind SPECTRE. (Source - Metro Cinemas)

Cast

Daniel Craig - James Bond

Christoph Waltz - Franz Oberhauser
Lea Seydoux - Madeleine Swann

Ralph Fiennes - M
Monica Bellucci - Lucia Sciarra

Ben Whislaw - Q

Naomie Harris - Eve Moneypenny
Dave Bautista - Mr. Hinx
Andrew Scott - C

Rory Kinnear - Bill Tannen
Jesper Christensen - Mr. White
Alessandro Cremona - Marco Sciarra
Stephanie Sigman - Estrella
Judi Dench - M (Cameo)
(Uncredited)

Crew

Director - Sam Mendes

Based on Characters - Ian Fleming
Screenplay - Neal Purvis,
Robert Wade, John Logan
and Jez Butterworth
Associate Producers - Jayne-
Ann Tenggren and Gregg Wilson
Executive Producer - Callum
McDougall
Producers - Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli
Co-Producers - Daniel Craig,
Andrew Noakes, Stacy Perskie
(Mexico) and David Pope
Casting Directors - Debbie McWilliams and Alejandro Reza (Uncredited)
Production Designer - Dennis Gassner
Supervising Art Director - Chris Lowe
Art Directors - Andrew Bennett,
Neal Callow, Dean Clegg, Ben Collins
and Mark Harris
Set Decorator - Anna Pinnock
Costume Designers - Jany Temime and
Timothy Everest (Uncredited)
Cinematography - Hoyte Van Hoytema
Second Unit Director/Director of Photography:
Second Unit - Alexander Witt 

Splinter Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator -
Gary Powell 

Fight Choreographer - Oliver Schneider 

Splinter Second Unit Director/Picture Vehicle/Special
and Miniature Effects Supervisor - Chris Corbould
Special Effects Coordinator/Buyer - Lynne Corbould

Visual Effects Supervisors - Steven Pegg and
Mark Curtis
Visual Effects Supervisor: ILM London - Mark Bakowski
Visual Effects Supervisor: Cinesite - Zave Jackson
Visual Effects Producers - Leslie Lerman
and Laura Schultz
Associate Visual Effects Supervisor - Andrew Whitehurst
Animation Supervisors: MPC - Greg Fisher and
Catherine Mullan
Film Editor - Lee Smith
Main Titles Designer - Daniel Kleinman
Composer: James Bond Theme - Monty Norman
Music - Thomas Newman
Writer/Performer: Song "Writing's on the Wall" -
Sam Smith
Writer: Song "Writing's on the Wall" -
Jimmy Napes

Review

'SPECTRE' is a film of good quality and lasting value, but it isn't the movie that I hoped that it would be and does not meet the standards of the series quintessential feature 'Skyfall'. It was better than the subpar 'Quantum of Solace' which was served with plot errors and not having Q in the movie which is such an integral character to the Bond formula. 'Spectre' began with a pre-credits opening that any Bond fan would expect to be more explosive than the opening of the previous movie. The plot is a little lopsided and the length is too long where some unnecessary footage revolving politics should have been cut out of the film. But on a positive note, the movie takes viewers on a journey through new exciting locations of which some of these scenes are filmed on location not in a studio. This makes a big difference in terms of making the environments and locations more realistic and believable. 

I was surprised that the English actor Ralph Fiennes would undoubtedly be taking over Judi Dench's character as the new chief of MI6 after starring in its predecessor for a small supporting role. I do believe that any movie-goer who follows Quentin Tarantino would recognise the actor Christoph Waltz as having played a Bond villain, but the true identity of his character is not revealed until three quarters through the way of the movie and this delivers a suspenseful twist for anyone who has followed the Bond franchise from the start.

This may not be the best time for Bond fans who may have really had their hopes up after 'Skyfall'. In contrast, this movie is nowhere near as good but still it does have some unmistakable large-scale action, fine acting and occasional laughs. I would recommend watching this, if you have not seen it. 

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

Back to Home