'Ilusion'

The title of a film can be very telling about it's content, and 'Spectre' certainly falls into that category, because of the 'phantom' organisation in the movie, which is crucial to the plot.

The latest Bond production may well bring James into a new story, but it also repeats familiar lines at the same time. The usual 007 challenges exist, but with a new twist to the old formula of Bond capturing villains and saving the day.

In terms of repeated patterns, there is the inevitable mole of course, who is essential to any good spy movie. M and Bond are at odds at times, which adds spice to the film, and Q is the usual intelligent sensitive but resistant assistant. In this sense, the recipe is the same as before and the story unfolds with similar action scenes and death sequences.

In this particular Bond saga, James has to hunt down an illusive multi-branched organisation - thus the title: 'Ilusion' - a 'phantom' group of people headed by one particular villain, who wants to both gain ultimate power of mass surveillance in order to control the masses, as well as bring down the government's control of the secret service and it's strong hold. This in itself isn't a new plot by any means, but the story content and characters within it are obviously different. 

The relationship of the characters in this particular plot vary from previous ones, in that for instance, the villain turns out to be someone closely related to James and who has had an effect on his life for a while without 007's knowledge. More details when you see the film, otherwise it will spoil quite a bit of the story line.

   

The filming itself seems to have been executed through a less 'colourful lens' (European style filming and camera work) in that the images are hazy, rather than being too clear with extreme contrasts or brilliant colour schemes. 

The action scenes, including a helicopter, a car chase, and few other scenes, are quite exhilarating.

The play between close ups, mid-shots and long shots is very effective, especially for instance in the helicopter scene, although the stunt man is easily identifiable. 

The characters of Bond, C and M are well cast, but one can't help thinking that Ralph Fiennes could have perhaps made a better 007 when one sees him playing a 'non-Voldermort' role like this one. 

The rugged, real bond, less suave, more rough around the edges and vulnerable is supposed to be the one we see when we look at Daniel Craig, but there is something a little more dimensional about Ralph Fiennes, which may lend more weight to a complex Bond character, if this particular casting had been reversed for example.

As 007 fights for the good of his country, as always, the women also play their usual supportive distracting roles in the movie, providing eye candy and entertainment, with the exception of the leading ladies, who always figure in the same way, as a little stronger and less malleable with James.

The dialogue is funny at times, but not throughout, especially in the scene where M and C play on calling each others names out with their letter labels. Other funny moments are provided, when James uses his famous sarcastic cool responses. In these instances, even if we did not see his face on screen as he utters such remarks, we could imagine him smiling from one side of his mouth as he reads his lines.

All in all, a movie which could have been a little faster paced, despite the settings being very rich and versatile. The film could have been a little less prolonged. 

'Spectre' may well be an illusive organisation, posing challenges for Bond, but the production itself certainly isn't illusive since it is a series of long scenes emphasizing the plot at every turn.

An apt title for it's release in the UK around Halloween.