Spectre 2015

Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times: A slick, beautifully photographed, action-packed, international thriller with a number of wonderfully, ludicrously entertaining set pieces, a sprinkling of dry wit, myriad gorgeous women and a classic psycho-villain. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: We've seen it all before. Despite a plot trajectory that changes so often they seem to be making it up as they go along, everyone on and off the screen seems to be doing it by the numbers. Read more

Joe Neumaier, TIME Magazine: Mendes, a cerebral director who balances action and erudition, lets us savor every conspiracy, chase and exotic locale. Read more

Guy Lodge, Variety: A wealth of iconography - both incidental and integral - from the series' founding chapters is revived here, making "Spectre" a particular treat for 007 nerds, and a businesslike blast for everyone else. Read more

Jake Coyle, Associated Press: Spectre is Craig's fourth Bond movie and his muscular tenure has been defined not just by his full embodiment of the character, but his overall stewardship. Read more

A.A. Dowd, AV Club: For those who have been waiting patiently for Bond to stop brooding so heavily, Spectre is about as close as the Craig version of the character is probably going to get to the quipping, unflappable 007 of yore. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Had it been the first Bond film with Craig in the title role, the reaction likely would be "wow!" This is some good stuff, way deeper than the silly Bonds. But with history behind us, it feels a little slight. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: "Spectre" is a movie that wants to have fun but simply doesn't know how. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: This James Bond outing begins with a stunning set piece in which the hero, played by Daniel Craig, takes down a terrorist cell amid Day of the Dead festivities in Mexico City. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: [Mendes is] smart about pacing and rhythm and an astute judge of when to go for the joke and how to let his actors run the show, as opposed to the show -- the explosions and murders and such -- flattening the actors. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: If one of the most successful and long-running franchises in movie history wants to keep pumping, it's once again time to change the formula. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: For the most part, it's efficient-enough Bond fare - overlong car chases, beautiful women in eternal danger, crazy stunts, suave cool under fire. Nice fitting suits. Read more

Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: Shaken? Stirred? The trouble with Spectre is that it's neither. All the expected ingredients are there...but they never distill into a whole greater than the sum of their predictable parts. Read more

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: Like all of Craig's turns in the tux, Spectre is a blast of bespoke escapism, full of globetrotting action and thousand-thread-count opulence. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: Spectre wants to operate as both a grim post-9/11 thriller and a throwback spy yarn, and it succeeds often enough. There's something audacious about positing a massive security and civil liberties threat right in the heart of central government. Read more

Stephen Dalton, Hollywood Reporter: In pure action adventure terms, Spectre delivers the goods, with plenty of revved-up supercar porn and several kinetic high-speed chase sequences on road, river and snowy mountain slope. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Craig's expression is so unchanging it might as well be chiseled out of stone, and his emotionally uninvolved performance is similarly lacking in nuance. Read more

Tony Hicks, San Jose Mercury News: Whether Craig has another Bond chapter in him, or producers are ready to move on with another actor, one thing is clear: The 007 franchise is in a much better place than when Craig first appeared as Bond in 2006. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Familiarity is not without its pleasures. But Spectre is so confused and inert that Craig can't even sell the signature "Bond. James Bond" and "Shaken, not stirred" lines. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: A Bond film that feels caught between its roots as a mindlessly enjoyable action-franchise and its new mandate to deliver the operatic emotions and sudsy plot lines of today's superhero properties. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: I regard it as a ravishing exercise in near-despair, with Bond beset by the suspicion that, were he to desist, both his character and his cause would be unmasked as a void. Killing is his living, and his proof of life. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: It's not the best Bond you've ever seen, but on a scale of 1 to 10, it's a solid 008. Read more

Chris Klimek, NPR: A gorgeous and dreamlike but ultimately frustrating Bond film. I blame Mendes. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: It remains a decently robust and entertaining mid-level Bond movie - just one that's haunted by the specter of its predecessor. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: It's business as usual, even if that business is pulled off with brilliant precision, ingeniously choreographed action, and an itinerary boasting some of the most photogenic spots on Earth. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: In the end, this solid Bond does justice to the character's long legacy while paying due diligence to what he has become under Daniel Craig's stewardship. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Daniel Craig's stated goal was to make Spectre "better than Skyfall." Not quite, but it's still party time for Bond fans. Read more

Soren Anderson, Seattle Times: In a number of key scenes, "Spectre" re-creates classic moments from past Bonds. Think of them as James Bond's Greatest Hits. Think of them also as signs Mendes and his writers have run out of fresh ideas. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: One of the great satisfactions of "Spectre" is that, in addition to all the stirring action, and all the timely references to a secret organization ... we get to believe in Bond as a person. Read more

Isaac Chotiner, Slate: By the time Spectre reaches its conclusion, the backstory has become so fraught, the motives so unclear, and the layers of scheming by the villains so convoluted that it's exhausting. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The excellent production values and lavish cinematography dress up the film like Bond's impeccable white tuxedo, but offer it nowhere to go. Read more

Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Spectre" isn't bad - just slightly disappointing. Read more

Christopher Orr, The Atlantic: Dazzles early and fizzles late...Bond is not Batman; he does not need an origin story. Read more

Kate Taylor, Globe and Mail: A Bond movie is all about delivering on expectations: to enjoy it you have to be pleased rather than frustrated by its predictability. In that regard, Spectre... can be deemed a solid success Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: What pulls together the story's many tentacles is the unflappable Craig, a less-is-more actor who has evolved his Bond from the "blunt instrument" of Casino Royale into the "good man" of Spectre. Read more

Wendy Ide, TheWrap: All about the set pieces. Character development and dialogue both come in at a distant joint second place. Read more

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: A rousing, spectacular, scattershot and somewhat overextended victory lap. Read more

Bruce Kirkland, Toronto Sun: An adrenaline rush of action, insight, drama, pathos, brutality, humility, humanity and even the occasional whisper of mischievous comedy. Read more

Brian Truitt, USA Today: Craig continues his fine take on the legendary icon of books and movies. His Bond lacks the polish of Roger Moore's and Pierce Brosnan's versions, and for the better. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice: In the end, Spectre is just too much of a good thing. Though each scene is carefully wrought, there's little grace, majesty, or romance in the way the pieces are connected. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: The result is fun, even if it's a mishmash, leaving you shaken, not stirred. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: We don't expect a James Bond film to be deep, but at least we should be dazzled by the seductive gloss of its surfaces. Aside from that stunning opening sequence, this installment feels overcompensating and dutiful. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: "Spectre" is full of not-good things, and some oppressively bad things that may come to feel like drill bits twirling in your skull. Read more