SPECTRE is the 24th (official) installment in the James Bond film franchise, and the fourth starring Daniel Craig as the world’s most famous spy. As the film opens, Bond is on a rogue mission in Mexico City, where he learns about the existence of a sinister criminal enterprise called SPECTRE. When M (Ralph Fiennes) discovers what Bond is up to, he grounds the spy, forbidding him to work on anything until further notice. MI-6 is currently in a bit of trouble and he doesn’t need Bond to make things worse.
C (Andrew Scott, Sherlock), the new head of the government’s Centre for National Security, is trying to push forward his new Nine Eyes initiative. The program calls for the nine member countries to increase surveillance operations and grant full access to the data to the other eight member countries. C’s new program would also mean that the existing MI-5 and MI-6 programs would become obsolete, replacing spies with drones. So he is also calling for the complete shutdown of the Double-0 program. However, nothing is going to stop Bond from finding the man behind SPECTRE (Christoph Waltz), who seems to have some connection to his past. And so he enlists the help of Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Whishaw) to secretly assist him in his efforts.
Bond’s latest action-packed mission takes him from streets of Italy to the Swiss Alps to the desert of Morocco, and many places in between. He finds himself in the company of many attractive women, including the widow (Monica Bellucci) of a criminal kingpin, and the daughter (Léa Seydoux) of an assassin (Jesper Christensen) he’s crossed paths with before. Meanwhile, Bond is being hunted down by would-be SPECTRE member (Dave Bautista) who’s trying to prove his worth to the criminal organization.
SPECTRE contains the usual blend of over-the-top action, drama and moments of humor that make the Bond films so entertaining. The film’s pre-title sequence is extraordinary, using over 1500 extras to recreate the Day of the Dead in Mexico City, where an exciting chase, explosion, and helicopter fight provide some excellent non-stop action. The initial five minutes of the film are done using a one-shot, which looks quite impressive—you feel like you are right there with Bond as he navigates the streets and rooftops of Mexico City, just before things go haywire. And this is just the first of many other huge, exciting action sequences that occur throughout the film—including car and airplane chases, a big train fight and more.
The main storyline of Bond on a rogue mission while someone is trying to nefariously destroy his organization from the inside may sound a bit similar in ways to the most recent Mission Impossible film. (I think it played out a little more successfully in that film.) However, the writers have used this as a framework to explore more of Bond’s backstory, and connect everything that’s going on to an event from his childhood. This has been one of the main focuses of these Craig-era Bond films—to show a more sensitive side of Bond—and this is also explored more in the attraction between James and Léa Seydoux, a woman who both challenges and intrigues Bond.
This film also establishes the SPECTRE organization and its head, Blofeld, for the first time in the Craig-era films. The writers have done a great job of explaining how this organization that Bond has just learned about has actually been connected to all of his previous missions since Casino Royale.
Overall, the film had me really entertained from start to finish. But if I have to complain about something, it would be how the final half hour plays out. While the action is great, the story seems to get a bit lost—it feels somewhat rushed and messy at the end, with a bit of hand-waving to make it all suddenly come together. I think the writers could have done a little bit more to interweave the two main storylines throughout the film rather than rushing to bring them together at the end.
I’m not sure if Daniel Craig will be returning for the 25th Bond film, but it felt very much like this film ended in a way to give his version of the character a bit of closure just in case. That said, I’d definitely welcome another Craig-based bond film with director Sam Mendes at the helm. I think these last two have been really well done overall.
The Blu-ray provides exceptional audio and visual presentation for the film. The 7.1 audio track utilizes the surround channels to bring the viewer into the action—in the opening Day of the Dead sequence, you feel like you are right there among the crowds. And the subwoofer really makes you feel all those amazing explosions. The video track captures every detail of the beautiful locations, extraordinary action sequences and big explosions, in a crisp, clear picture.
The Blu-ray includes a Digital HD copy of the film, and the disc contains about 30 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes and interviews. What is included is really good—I thoroughly enjoyed the 20-minute look at all of the work that went into making the pre-title sequence. Though, it would have been great to have similar featurettes or an audio commentary discussion for some of the film’s other big action sequences. The Skyfall Blu-ray included two audio commentaries, but unfortunately this time there are none!
What’s Included:
Film: (2:28:06)
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Blu-ray:
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
- Audio: English DTS-HD MA 7.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French, Portuguese
- Digital HD Copy redeemable via iTunes, Vudu (UltraViolet), Google Play or Flixster (UltraViolet)
Digital Copy (Redemption Deadline is 2/9/2019):
Extras:
- SPECTRE: Bond’s Biggest Opening Sequence (20:12)
Go on location in Zócalo Square, Mexico City as the filmmakers prep and film the spectacular Day of the Dead opening sequence, which involved putting 1500 extras in costume and makeup. Then head up to Pinewood Studios for the building explosion sequence, and back down to Mexico for the insane mid-air helicopter fight, and red carpet footage from the Mexican premiere. Includes lots of behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Sam Mendes, first assistant director Michael Lerman, producer Barbara Broccoli, production designer Dennis Gassner, costume designer Jany Temime, costume supervisors Anna Terrazas and Kenny Crouch, crowd make-up artist Hayley Barkway, crowd hairdresser Polly Coxon-Smith, make-up designer Naomi Donne, crowd hair supervisor Tracey Smith, line producer Stacy Perskie, producer Michael G. Wilson, choreographer Priscila Hernandez, art director Ben Collins, stunt coordinator Gary Powell, special effects supervisor Chris Corbould, flight coordinator Olivier Schneider, helicopter pilot Chuck Aaron, location manager Ali James, and actors Daniel Craig (“James Bond”, Stephanie Sigman (“Estrella”), Monica Bellucci (“Lucia Sciarra”), and Christoph Waltz (“Oberhauser”). - Video Blogs (9:09)
Play All or select from:- Director – Sam Mendes (1:29)
Director Sam Mendes talks about why he wanted to return to the franchise to direct this film. - Supercars (1:41)
Action Vehicles technical coordinator Neil Layton, special effects supervisor Chris Corbould and show off some of the eight Aston Martins that were specially built for the film. Also includes behind-the-scenes footage of the car chase with the Jaguar and interviews with director Sam Mendes, stunt coordinator Gary Powell and actor Dave Bautista (“Hinx”). - Introducing Léa Seydoux and Monica Bellucci (1:42)
A look at the latest Bond girls and the actresses who play them. Includes interviews with actresses Léa Seydoux (“Madeleine Swann”) and Monica Bellucci (“Lucia Sciarra”) and director Sam Mendes. - Action (1:37)
A glimpse behind-the-scenes at some of the film’s big action moments with director Sam Mendes, special effects supervisor Chris Corbould, second unit director Alexander Witt and first assistant director Michael Lerman. - Music (1:50)
Head to Abbey Road Studios in London where director Sam Mendes, singer/songwriter Sam Smith and producer Barbara Broccoli discuss how the theme song came about. - Guinness World Record (1:18)
Go on location in Morocco as the filmmakers prep and film the Guinness World Record for the biggest explosion ever in cinematic history. Includes interviews with special effects supervisor Chris Corbould, special effects floor supervisor Ian Lowe, explosives supervisor Charlie Adcock and director Sam Mendes.
- Director – Sam Mendes (1:29)
- Gallery (1:33)
Manually advance through this gallery of 18 production images using your remote, or set it to auto-advance every five seconds. - Theatrical Trailers (5:18)
Play All or select from “Teaser Trailer”, “Theatrical Trailer 1” and “Theatrical Trailer 2”
Final Thoughts:
SPECTRE is another action-packed installment of the James Bond franchise that fans will definitely want to check out. It introduces some interesting new villains and Bond girls while also further exploring Bond’s backstory and motivations. The Blu-ray presentation is top notch, making the film’s exciting action sequences and picturesque locations come to life. Unfortunately the amount of bonus material included this time around (as compared to Skyfall) is quite small, but what is included is of high quality.
