New Bond movie is nothing new

‘Spectre’ movie review

By Lauren Paulsen, Senior Columnist

3/5

Ian Fleming’s James Bond is probably the best known spy character of all time, and many movies have been adapted from his stories. Bond’s new movie Spectre isn’t actually based on any of Fleming’s original stories this time around, but it’s still the typical Bond movie.

Spectre picks up after Skyfall. After getting a cryptic message, Bond takes off on a rogue mission that leads him into the belly of probably the worst organization that he’s come across. Meanwhile, someone is trying to get the 00 program shut down because it is “outdated” (isn’t this a little familiar?) and he wants to set up a network that has all of the world’s intelligence agencies connected (how can that go wrong?).

The plot is a typical Bond plot and has all of the elements that a Bond movie tends to have. There’s the perfect spy who somehow overcomes all odds and always manages to seduce the women, the epic car chase with really expensive cars that inevitably get wrecked (my dad always laments over this), the dark shadows from Bond’s past, the explosions and fights and witty banter, all things that we are familiar with. But you go into the movie knowing what you’re going to get, and generally it is fun. For some reason, I found this instalment lacking, though.

Maybe it was because I found the plot to be really predictable. There was a lot of foreshadowing, and it really took away any mystery the movie could have had. Another thing that bugged me was that there were some really unrealistic things happening in the movie. For example, near the beginning of the movie, Bond gets in a fight in a helicopter and this helicopter manages to do loop-de-loops. I’m pretty sure that typical helicopters cannot still fly while upside-down. There were also some really convenient plot devices, though I won’t go into detail because I don’t want to ruin the story for anyone.

I admit there were some good points to the movie. I loved the set up for The Day of the Dead at the beginning. The cars used in the car chase were beautiful, so even I, with my little knowledge of cars, could appreciate them. The special effects were nicely done and obviously cost a lot. Overall, I’d have to say that its selling points were the visual aspects.

I don’t want to discourage anyone from seeing the movie. Die-hard Bond fans will love it, as will those who love action. My father and brother certainly enjoyed it. I, unfortunately, found it more mediocre and less compelling than the other Bond movies that I have seen. For me, Spectre didn’t live up to the hype.