SPECTRE-JAMES BOND WILL RETURN (AGAIN)

Once again, James Bond has graced us with his presence, saving the world from unspeakable evil.  Just as well, considering the evil never seems to run out, either in his world or as we were recently reminded, in ours. It is safe to say that 007 will never run short of missions, as long as MI6 keeps him in the field. 

Which is a bit of a question, considering how the film starts.  Bond is in the field in Mexico City on an apparently unauthorized mission, chasing down a suspect that M (Ralph Feinnes) seemingly is not in the know about.  Needless to say, this irks him.  The audience goes from witnessing a spectacular action sequence, the first brief Bond girl of the film and some nice humorous moments to being chewed out by M back in London.  Worse comes to worse, MI6 is looking at budget cuts, being merged with MI5 under an umbrella organization that is heavily dependent on artificial intelligence, managed by a figure Bond dubs "C", Max Denbigh (played by Andrew Scott, who is also Moriarty opposite Benedict Cumberbach's Holmes on the BBC's Sherlock).  And now, the 00 program is under fire, regarded as obsolete in the age of drones.  Bond's rogue antics don't help things much.

So, Q puts an electronic leash on Bond, under M's orders.  But that does not help things, as Bond, against instructions, attends the funeral of one of the assassins he killed in Mexico City.  This brings an encounter with Lucia Sciarra (Monica Belluci, not only, for my money, even being older, one of the sexiest Bond girls ever, and one of the sexiest women ever) and Bond first hearing (in this incarnation of the franchise), the name SPECTRE. For long time fans, this is the sinister chief criminal organization Bond finds himself battling, both in the films and books.  And with SPECTRE in play, you have to have Ernst Stavro Blofeld.  The filmmakers have been cagey about his involvement in the film, however, but I won't spoil it for you here. 

But with classic sultry Bond girls, world travel, big villains, gadgets and supervillain high tech hideaways, this is a Bond film in the modern era, with modern anxieties, like artificially intelligence, the surveillance state, border defying evil operatives, that embraces the classic tropes of the franchise.  The wonderful Skyfall was a melancholy walk through the memories of the series.  SPECTRE, on the other hand, embraces many old school tropes in real time.  The film has been embraced by moviegoers, scoring tops at the box office both weekends in its initial release.  With high attendance and very favorable reviews, it is clear the film is a hit.  However, there have been some grumbling that the film was a step back.  That its nostalgia for the history of the franchise was done well, done better in Skyfall.  I disagree. Skyfall was a misty review of one's memories.  SPECTRE is an old warrior remembering age old wisdom as relevant today and joyfully girding himself with it as he leaps into a new world full of dangers new yet familiar.

James Bond is back.  And JAMES BOND WILL RETURN.