Spectre caters to Bond fans

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Courtesy of 007 James Bond Film Series and Sony Pictures

James Bond, played by Daniel Craig, hits the scene again in the newest 007 film Spectre.

It has been three years since the British assassin’s faked death and the loss of M in Skyfall. However, Spectre is much different than the preceding. Sweeping cinematography takes audiences through western Europe and Mexico. Not only is Bond followed across the world by ruthless enemies, but he takes a trip through his past and narrowly escapes an end to his future.

In the midst of a Day of the Dead parade, skeleton-masked James Bond makes his way through the festive crowd. His coattails flutter behind him just as closely as the woman on his arm. It is here, in Mexico, where the assassin pursues a mission directed by the late M: to execute another assassin, Marco Sciarra. By the time Bond arrives back to London, the current M suspends him from further activity, for fear that anymore self-directed missions would lead to the dismissal of the ‘00 program. As expected, Bond ignores these directions and travels to Rome, where he acquires more information about SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) and attends one of the organization’s meetings. Bond flees to find more information about SPECTRE’s leader, which leads him to Madeleine Swan, the daughter of an assassin from the criminal organization, Quantum.

Madeleine is kidnapped shortly after Bond meets her. Her rescue convinces her that she can trust him, and they continue as a team. With Daniel Craig’s steely, slightly sarcastic portrayal of James Bond and Léa Seydoux’s smart and saavy performance as an assassin’s daughter, it’s almost as if the two characters were meant for each other. Though Madeleine and Bond bicker occasionally, their romantic relationship develops and is apparent by the end of the film.

The pair are eventually faced with the leader of SPECTRE, Franz Oberhauser, who tortures Bond to near death. However, as in any James Bond movie, he and Swan escape back to London under the impression that the mission is over. This is not the case, as Oberhauser returns and Madeleine is held hostage in a seemingly inescapable situation.

With a mixture of humor, seriousness, and almost an overwhelming amount of action (including a car chase scene nearly ten minutes in length), Spectre is a Bond movie that can appeal to a variety of audiences. Though some may say that the film had a tired plotline or overused tropes, it tied much of Bond’s past together into the ultimate espionage movie. The only question left: is this James Bond’s last mission?