The last time James Bond dusted off his license to kill, I lamented the franchise’s reluctance to simply go out and make a good spy movie. Skyfall had a glum Bond, too much psychology, and a tired revival of 007’s signature traits. Then it went and raked in a billion dollars, so it comes as no surprise that the long-running series brought back the Skyfall creative team for the new outing. But Spectre is, at least, a little more of a Bond picture — there’s less fretting about the hero’s state of mind, for starters.
Bond (Daniel Craig, returning for his fourth go at the role) has bounced back from his Skyfall adventure, but has one bit of business left to settle. It leads to the unlikely revelation that a mysterious super-villain (Christoph Waltz) might somehow be connected to all the nefarious action of the three previous 007 films.
That’s a reach, but it provides the excuse for the usual hair-raising stunts and globe-trotting espionage.