This world doesn’t need a James Bond. Seriously, who needs a guy snooping around when all our footprints are digital? Who needs someone with a license to kill when you can use drones to demolish targets you’ve identified via electronic surveillance?
And who needs James Bond films, eh? In this day and age, how could you make a case for a film about a guy with no super powers, no super-fancy gadgets, and no special suit? Actually I take back the last part. Daniel Craig wears some really fancy suits. They may not be as well-equipped as a Batman suit, but come on, which one would you rather wear?
Spectre : the Bond we need
In any case, James Bond is, in Craig years, a story about a functioning relic. A barely functioning one. A story about swashbuckling told in the background of age. Not just is the Bond himself getting old, so is the concept of a spy. With no enemy superpower and so much data at hand, the government doesn’t need a Bond.
But we do. We need to prevent the state from taking all power. Because it’s much easier to usurp concentrated power. We need individuals. We need Rebels to be able to rebel. We need James Bond.
The color pallet of this film itself points the villains out. The enemy is no longer in gaudy, evil lairs. The enemy is just another bureaucrat. Sitting around a board room table, discussing statistics of human trafficking and government infiltration. With just the occasional flare of casual violence. Same as the state bureaucrats.
Spectre : the Bond we need
This is the story of Bond fighting against the bureaucracy. This is about loyalty, about a few against massive power and about fighting the silent evil.
Spectre : the Bond we need
It has great set pieces, and the best one for me comes right at the start. It has chases of many hues and varieties and vehicles, earth-bound and aerial. It has tremendous acting and a great plot. Alas, it’s not as exciting as it could have been. And the heroine is, well, dull.
Spectre : the Bond we need
But we have Bond. The guy who stands up to the power within his government. This might be the last outing of Daniel Craig as Bond. He has given us Casino Royale and Skyfall. Spectre is not at the same level, but it’s pretty great. Even with the forgettable Quantum of Solace, this is a great legacy for a great Bond.
Spectre : the Bond we need
Oh yes we need Bond. We need everyone who stands up against the unholy nexus of state and crime. We need more heroes. And in screen we need more buckling of the swash. We can never have too much élan. We can never have too much Bond.
