Film Preview: Spectre (2015)

Page Revisions:

(March 29, 2015) Original
(April 11, 2015) Updated Trailer Link
(July 26, 2015) New Trailer (#2) / Page Redesign
(October 4, 2015) New Trailer (#3) / New Posters (#4-#5)
(November 1, 2015) New Poster (#6)

Release Date:

November 6, 2015

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.”

Poster Rating: C / D+ (2) / C / C+ / C-

SEE ALL POSTERS BELOW
Review: (#1) The teaser worked for what it was, but what’s quite disappointing is that the subsequent two posters (#2 & #3) just don’t have any emotional heft, design excellence or thrilling excitement. They are still basically teasers.

(#4 & #5) These designs use a similar background with some slight color tweaks in the second design. The second design also features a Bond woman, which gives the concept a bit more diversity, which can do nothing but help even if the two desires aren’t very inspirational.

(#6) While this design may speak volumes to fans of the franchise, it has little or muted impact on new audiences. It’s also an overly simple and rudimentary design that seems to evoke the prior designs unnecessarily.

Trailer Rating: B- / C / C+

SEE ALL TRAILERS BELOW
Review: (#1) After the wonderful franchise reboot Casino Royale, Bond got a needed infusion of grit. It also gave us the idea that subsequent films would be as good. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case. Quantum of Solace was a dim follow up and although many thought Skyfall was among the best, I found it frustrating and filled with missed opportunities and bland caricatures.

(#2) The attempt to create suspense in revealing our villain is welcomed, but the plodding pace, bland action and ultimate reveal are devastatingly simplistic. This is a franchise that’s brought decades worth of spy excitement to the big screen and can’t manage to create a level of suspense that feels fitting.

(#3) No more toying with the villain, now we have Christoph Waltz in all his one-note glory. The trailer doesn’t have much genuine excitement and while some of the Bond elements are there, anyone who’s been a fan of the franchise for awhile and doesn’t just eat up everything put out for it, this can’t be seen as much more than a mild disappointment.

Oscar Prospects:

Now that Skyfall has broken the Bond franchise’s Oscar logjam, will it finally start picking up Oscar nominations in multiple categories? I’m suspecting it won’t. It might still get some nods in Original Song and Sound Mixing and Sound Editing, but I don’t think it will replicate the prior film’s successes nearly as well, especially not in terms of winning.