My Review of Spectre
The Good:
* Lea Seydoux - She's not just gorgeous, but she possesses a timeless European beauty, very reminiscent of Connery-era Bond girls. She was the most memorable part of the film.
The Bad:
* Daniel Craig - My beef with Daniel Craig is the same as it's always been. He looks Russian! He does not look like a Brit, he does not look like James Bond! He looks more like Vladimir Putin than James Bond. Daniel Craig, with his eastern European features, and no bodyfat, looks like he should be playing a henchman for a Bond villain. Plus, he's too fracking short. Every James Bond actor has been 6' 2" tall, except Roger Moore who was 6' 1". Daniel Craig is a very un-James Bond 5' 10". And also, Daniel Craig has absolutely no charm. He's great as a cold-hearted killer. But he cannot deliver a humorous quip or a suave wink to save his life.
* Christoph Waltz - Even though his character was totally under-developed, and much of his dialogue was rambling and boring, Christoph's immense talent still makes him compelling to watch. But God, what a wasted opportunity. Very, very disappointing they didn't give him a great script to work with.
* The Score - If you've read any of my previous posts in this thread, you know I have a MAJOR beef with recent Bond movies, for not inter-weaving the traditional Bond theme music throughout the musical score and movie. Spectre had an auspicious beginning, when James left his Mexican date, Estrella, to traverse the rooftops to assassinate a bad guy, and over the scene was the traditional Bond theme. I was like, "Thank God! They're finally gonna use the Bond theme throughout a film again!". The next time we heard the Bond theme was when the end credits rolled. Major, major fail. (And that's not even mentioning the Sam Smith Spectre theme, which is the worst of the entire franchise.)
* Too much else to list - I'm depressed thinking about it.
I liked Casino Royale well enough, but still no match for the best films in the franchise (Live and Let Die, Goldfinger, From Russia With Love, Dr. No). Spectre is better than Quantum of Solace and Skyfall, but both of those installments were positively dreadful, so that is not saying much at all. The only thing good I can say about Daniel Craig as James Bond is that he's not a wimp, unlike the way-too-effeminate actor he succeeded.
The Wook