Spectre

Although this 24th installment of the James Bond saga is action-packed, the 53-year-old franchise centered on British Secret Agent 007 is beginning to show its age. Opening in Mexico City during the Day of the Dead celebration, Spectre finds Bond (Daniel Craig) scampering over rooftops and deftly assassinating an Italian bad guy, even as British Intelligence is still recovering from the massive attack that killed off M (Judy Dench) in Skyfall. But prior to her demise, M sent a warning message to Bond that launches him on a global manhunt for evil Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz)—the mastermind of a crime syndicate called SPECTRE—a man who evokes recollections of James's orphaned childhood, as well as an infamous Bond villain from the past. Complicating matters, Bond is summarily grounded by the cocky new National Security director (Andrew Scott), who is not only obsessed with creepy cyber-security, but also determined to shut down the 00-section, disbanding Bond's trusty team: Ralph Fiennes as M's replacement, Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny, and Ben Whishaw as gadget-master Q. While Bond still beds every sexy woman who crosses his path, director Sam Mendes has the good grace to include 50-year-old Monica Belluci (007's oldest conquest) before he settles on sullen 30-year-old Léa Seydoux. While there are impressive chase sequences (should be, since the budget was reportedly around $250 million), this longest entry in the Bond series drags, and even the title sequence is lame, built around Sam Smith's whiny Oscar-nominated ballad “Writing's On the Wall.” Disappointing but also sure to be popular, this is a strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include “Video Blogs” behind-the-scenes segments (9 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a “Bond's Biggest Opening Sequence” featurette (21 min.), a photo gallery, and bonus digital and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for an overlong, comparatively weak Bond film.] (S. Granger)