Spectre Movie Review: Vengeance Gets Personal

Bond is back… and this time, he will face his most dangerous foe ever. Sounds exciting? Well, the idea of James Bond (Daniel Craig) battling the sinister criminal organization Spectre does sound deliciously thrilling, but unfortunately enough; the film fails to appease fans of Bond… James Bond.

A message from Bond's deceased boss M (Judi Dench) sends him on the trail of an enigmatic organization and the Brit super spy soon discovers that Spectre is the brainchild of a ghost from his past.

The action moves from Mexico to London to Austria to Tangiers as Bond battles his mysterious foe at every end, while his boss M (Ralph Fiennes) struggles to keep the allegedly obsolete MI6 afloat in an era of electronic surveillance and attack drones.

Daniel is back to playing the Her Majesty's favorite spy for the fourth time and the actor is impressive as ever, though the same cannot be said for Christoph Waltz, who plays Bond's nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Yours truly had great expectations from the actor, who had played the spine-chilling baddie with such aplomb in films like Inglourious Basterds and The Green Hornet, but sadly, the actor doesn't deliver the goods this time.

Monica Bellucci looks gorgeous enough to give younger actresses a run for their money, but doesn't have much screen time. Fiennes is dependable as ever while Ben Whishaw as Q proves to be an able sidekick to Bond. Dave Bautista as Bond henchman Hinx, a SPECTRE assassin, looks deadly but lacks the lethal charm of the old Bond baddies like Jaws and Stamper.

Though this reviewer had enjoyed all earlier Bond films starring Craig, Spectre came across as too bland, mostly because of the characterizations and the slow pace. Director Sam Mendes sure deserves a pat on his back for presenting James Bond's vulnerability and not just making him a blunt killing instrument. Also, the film is blessed with all the elements of a classic Bond tale- a megalomaniac villain with plans for global domination, gadgetry (a watch that doesn't just tell the time) and an explosive escape sequence at the end (also, don't miss the helicopter fight sequence at the beginning).

However, Spectre could have been much better, we feel…