james bond – alan williamson

Bond, James Bond is on his 24th outing after scoring extremely well with his previous Skyfall escapades. With

Sam Mendes can this duo strike gold twice?

The anticipation for this Bond was fever pitch, especially when the trailer dropped with a wonderful

Christoph Waltz as our Bond baddie, Blofeld, and of course a brand spanking, custom designed Aston Martin, the DB10. Throw in a great theme sung by Sam Smith, we could have an epic on our hands.

Let us cut to the chase – yes we do have an epic on our hands. While not up to the same high standard of Skyfall, this outing does not do anything to dent the reputation of the Bond series. The moment we open up to the classic through the barrel of his gun tracking Bond walk across the screen and then shoots, the goose bumps didn’t end.

The opening sequence, set in Mexico City is right up there with the classic multiple stunts of Bonds of past. Though, as we are introduced to Mexico City there is a death/voodoo celebration going on in the street giving us a feel of the 1970′s Live and Let Die Bond. This isn’t the first time you have a feeling of deja vu. We have the World is not Enough story line creeping in with the notion of global surveillance and Quantum of Solace with the complex in the desert setup.

But that all aside, the movie stands on its own very well, with a story line that is far fetched enough to live in the Bond universe and be enough for us to think, what if such things were allowed to go unchecked.

The story moves along at a wonderful pace, with the usual beautiful women, exotic locations and various action scenes. Andrew Scott (from BBC Sherlock) plays an excellent role and does his usual intense psychotic character.

The real star of the movie is Waltz. Once again he puts in a performance that simply steals the show. He plays the iconic Blofeld with a quiet, unnerving stillness. This is no Dr Evil (the parody from Mike Myers in Austin Powers). No over the top character flaws. For once we have a true baddie that feels real enough. Though personally I am not as keen on the back story here of how he and Bond knew each other. No spoilers.

The only real gripe I have is the relationship he forges with

Léa Seydoux, a beautiful lady some 17 years his younger. It doesn’t feel right. He doesn’t even look right. But that aside.

This was an excellent Bond and I am looking forward to watching it again. It was definitely one of the best, even though I am not a huge fan of the DB10. Though he does redeem himself driving off in the end in the classic 1960′s Aston Martin.

#82 in the series