Spectre
DANIEL CRAIG IS BACK AS 007, and this time he’s breaking all the rules
Carrying the weight of the Oscar-winning Skyfall on its shoulders was never going to be easy, but Spectre, in which James Bond (Daniel Craig) is pitted against global crime organisation Spectre, is a thrilling ride.
It’s Day Of The Dead in Mexico City, and Bond is en route to kill three terrorists and knock-off Italian mafioso Sciarra (Alessandro Cremona). The hit doesn’t go to plan, so our indefatigable agent all but destroys the city to get at Sciarra, promptly robbing him of an interesting (read: important to the plot) signet ring, then kicking him out of a helicopter. Bond returns to London, is suspended from field duty by the new M (Ralph Fiennes) for his unauthorised Mexican romp, and broods over his next move.
Not one for abiding by the rules, Bond is soon on a plane again, flying out to Sciarra’s funeral, where he seduces the mafioso’s not-so-grieving wife (Monica Bellucci) and immerses himself in the shady world of global terrorism in a bid to bring down Spectre.
There are expensive cars, epic explosions, beautiful women and a pacey plot. The script isn’t as refined as Skyfall’s, but Spectre is ultimately well-anchored, setting us up for the next instalment in the franchise, with or without Daniel Craig.