The latest installation in one of the longest running Hollywood franchise gets it all wrong! Following a message passed on to him by a person whom he trusted the most, Bond goes on a hunt of a man and an organization. What he comes up against turns out to be his most painful and difficult mission ever.
Atleast that's what the movie is supposed to be. But it is over-plotted, over detailed, over-drawn and slow paced. Some of the plot points seem far fetched. The script writers have overdone it in trying to string all loose ends since Casino Royale as a single story arc. And then there's this hard to believe connection between James Bond and Franz Oberhauser aka Blofeld.
Christoph Waltz and Andrew Scott are underutilized... that's a shame considering one is known for portraying a menacing, notorious Nazi officer and the other as Sherlock's nemesis. They are one of the most thinly sketched villains in Bond Universe. Lea Seydoux is, well, looking cute and does the best of the-damsel-in-distress part. Monica Beluucci is in a blink-and-you-miss role, especially in Indian cuts. M, Q, Tanner and Moneypenny get meatier roles and do their job well. Craig seems to be comfortable in his character as ever, but that does not help save the film.
It's not all bad though. There are some plus points:
Stunts & action - The helicopter sequence in Mexico, car chase in Rome, Hand to hand combat on a train in Morocco, climactic sequence in London. It's as good as it gets.
Cinematography, especially the first scene, all done in a single tracking shot. Hoyte Van Hoytema, take a bow!
Background Score.
Humor, especially when there's Q in the view.
If only the whole was greater than the sum of it's parts. It's a damp squib when you look at it's predecessor - Skyfall. Mind you, Skyfall itself had polarized reviews. So the makers should have treaded carefully this time around. I think the title track sums it up best - "Writing's on the wall"!
Verdict: You will enjoy it ONLY if you don't expect it to belong to the class of Bond films that we have known growing up.
Rating: 5/10.
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