007: A Return to Normalcy

Spectre- the latest installment of the 007 franchise- hit theaters a little under a month ago. Up until this point, I have been unable to give my thoughts about this film, but considering I have the time to, let's dissect this entry into the Bond vault. 

The logo of SPECTRE 

The film opens almost  immediatly after it's predecessor, with Bond in Mexico hunting down an assassin that his boss, the deceased M, told him to go after. The resulting chase causes 007 to be suspended by the new M, but, considering the fact that he is 007, Bond continues his mission, ultimately learning about S.P.E.C.T.R.E, a terrorist organization headed by Ernest Blowfeld (Christoph Waltz). Due to spoilers, I'm not going to go much further into the plot, so let's move on to the analysis. 

The film's cinematography is very well done (the first scene is a single shot, with the camera moving in different directions) and the locations are extremely Bondesque. This film, unlike Skyfall, is a return to the standard 007 formula. The weapons, girls, and evil super-villains have made a comeback in the franchise and while some critics will argue otherwise, I think it's not a negative development.  These things are what makes the Bond films universal, and sometimes it can get boring, and you need a Skyfall type film, but, as the adage goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." 

Now, there could have been A LOT  more story/character development. The film's pacing was sometimes uneven, and the plot jumped around quite a bit, but overall, Spectre is a nice addition to the 007 collection, and will be remembered as a solid Bond film.