Spectre

"Why did you come?

"I came here to kill you."

"And I thought you came here to die."

"Well, it's all a matter of perspective."

James Bond (Craig) travels to Mexico to fulfill the final wish of the late M (Judi Dench): kill assassin Marco Sciarra (Alessandro Cremona), who was responsible for many deaths within the 00 program.  He kills Sciarra and takes his ring, which bears the symbol of an octopus.  Bond's actions in Mexico cause an international incident and gets him suspended.  Despite orders from the new M (Fiennes), he continues to dig into the octopus ring and uncovers a secret organization called Spectre.

Meanwhile M is in the midst of a power struggle with C (Scott), the head of the newly combined MI-5 and MI-6 programs.  C feels the 00 program is outdated and wants get rid of the program.  Q (Whishaw) and Eve Moneypenny (Harris) are in the cross-hairs as they try to help Bond investigate Spectre and avoid detection by C.

Spectre is run by Franz Oberhauser and has countless resources on hand.  He is forced to team up with Dr. Madeleine Swann (Seydoux) to find and stop Oberhauser.  Can Bond find a way to defeat Spectre while still proving the necessity of MI-6?


This is the 24th film in the James Bond film franchise.  This is also Daniel Craig's 4th turn as Bond, the second directed by Sam Mendes.  Like the other Bond films with Craig, this is a continuing story... all of the other films are referenced (and shown during the opening credits) and tied together in this film.

The film starts in the middle of the action, with Bond in Mexico, and then explains what happens when Bond is back at MI-6.  This film has a lot going on.  It's hard to explain the plot and can be hard to follow at times... and it requires at least a basic understanding of Craig's other Bond films: Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Skyfall.  Craig is again joined by Ralph Fiennes as M, Ben Whishaw as Q, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, and Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner.  Christoph Waltz plays the villain, but never really gets to do much other than seem mysterious.  I wish they had cut back some of the unnecessary exposition and give Waltz more time to sink his teeth into the role.  It is an ok Bond film, but not great.  It's trying too hard.

The theme song "Writing's on the Wall" by Sam Smith and Jimmy Naples is nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song.

Spectre (2015) 148 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images, sensuality and language
Director: Sam Mendes
Starring: Daniel Craig as James Bond
Christoph Waltz as Franz Oberhauser
Lea Seydoux as Dr. Madeleine Swann
Ralph Fiennes as M
Ben Whishaw as Q
Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny
Dave Bautista as Mr. Hinx
Andrew Scott as C
Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner