Ever since Sean Connery uttered the now immortal James Bond catch phrase “shaken, not stirred”, I have been hooked on 007.
Even though the Scotsman was clearly my favourite in the role, I stuck through the cheesy adaptation and dancing eyebrow of Roger Moore in the 80s. With gritted teeth I accepted the huge chin dimple of Timothy Dalton, and I even almost came to verbal blows with a friend over the merits of Pierce Brosnan as the man with the licence to kill.
Imagine then when Daniel Craig emerged from the water in those tight blue trunks in Casino Royale, my heart danced – again a Bond with whom I could ‘bond’. Bond was back to his best, and in Quantum of Solace and Skyfall he could do no wrong.
So, when I was offered the chance to watch a preview of the next, and final, instalment featuring Craig as Bond, I was excited. And with the opening scene of Spectre, set during the Day of the Dead festival in Mexico, I was transported back to Live and Let Die, with its Voodoo undertones. Sadly, my enthrallment didn’t last much longer.
There are many things wrong with Spectre, largely because it just seems that Daniel Craig as Bond and Director Sam Mendes have run out of steam. Also, the beautiful Monica Bellucci, who, at 51, had the potential to be one of the oldest, but by far sexiest Bond ‘girls’, is overlooked for 30-year-old Léa Seydoux.
Even the gadgets and villains are recycled in the latest offering, and to be honest, I was almost glad to see Daniel Craig drive off into the sunset at the end.
Only the most blinkered Bond fans (of which I thought I was one) will find this fun.
