Movies: In "Spectre" Bond and Company Evolve, in intriguing Ways

Unless you're on a high wire across the Grand Canyon, a misstep need not be a disaster. Considering the flood of negative and even "iffy" press that greeted the newest Bond film, "Spectre" one might have thought the franchise was going down in flames, like mythical Icarus.

No such thing.

Under the capable and stylish hand of Sam Mendes, 'Spectre" shows the franchise as flourishing if not always firing on full cylinders, and still great to watch.

This time, the new M (Ralph Fiennes, really getting into it) finds himself battling a cocky new colleague Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott) who wishes to abolish the 00-programme in favour of a vast new multi-national computer-snooper programme. The code name of this awful new stuffed shirt is C – and Bond does not scruple to make crude innuendo on that score.

Also "getting into it" is Ben Whishaw, whose Q is miles removed from the mere gadget-handing human prop of past Bond films into a kind of film model for Edward Snowden. His repartee with Bond and his won quick asides almost make the film on their own. 

James Bond is cutting loose from duplicitous, bureaucratic authority - in the time-honoured fashion – and plans to track down a certain sinister Austrian kingpin at the heart of something called Spectre, played with gusto by Christoph Waltz. This is the evil organisation whose tentacular reach and extensive personnel may in fact have accounted for all Bond’s woes in Craig’s previous three movies.

Craig as Bond is as unrelenting as ever, both physically and mentally,  dismissing his superiors and taking advantage of his peers, as well as anyone else that can assist him, to make sure that he can get to his man and save the world. Is he getting the former to preserve his ego? Or saving the latter, because it’s the right thing to do? It’s murky, which makes Spectre that extra bit intriguing. 

He does all this while still teasing an emotional depth and fatigue that makes his incarnation glisten with a relatability that sets him apart from previous versions. It’s almost as if John Wayne and Don Draper have merged together, put on a suave suit, and decided to save the world.

If, as is heavily rumoured, he gives up the tux and martinis (and Aston Martin) after this go-round, he can be forgiven, and should still be praised for having modernized the franchise and given the icon a much-needed edge.

While not as satisfying allround as its predecessor, "SkyFall", this latest Bond shows that the character still has all his trademark elements intact - ladies' man, killer, survivor, wit and human being. Here's hoping Daniel Craig will stick around for at least one more.