Christ said “What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your soul?” It could be asked what does a Director benefit if he takes two hours and thirty minutes to present what could have been more entertaining in one hour and fifty five?

Don’t get me wrong there were some great scenes in Spectre: The first time we saw the custom Aston Martin built for this film and then watching Bond race it through the streets of Rome. The dramatic opening scene in Mexico City where Bond saves the locals from a terrible bombing and narrowly escapes with his life. The times he turns and firing on instinct alone saves the innocent damsel, then breathing heavily on her neck he then must bed for her satisfaction – is anybody still believing that? We enjoyed the great panoramas of London, Rome and other exotic parts of the world where Bond travels – even though he has been deactivated from MI-6 and presumably had his “Double O” credit line suspended. The classic scenes on the train ride that I thought was going to last forever – the boredom of which was broken by Bond and his latest “Bond Girl” dressing for dinner and undressing for? Action and adventure – of course. Like all the Bond films there were some very, very good action sequences. I would guess they consumed thirty of the 150 minutes this film ran.

On the other hand for there to be a hero there has to be a villain. Christopher Waltz plays the evil “Spectre” who almost brings civilization to its knees. Yet when I saw him on the screen and heard his wispy voice I thought to myself – if we come across this guy in the parking lot and he gives me one of his threatening lines I would beat his skinny ass to a pulp. The Producers probably had to look far and wide for some one to play the “bad guy” that made Daniel Craig look more like Bond than Mister Rogers.

Pardon me for droning on but some of the scenes and plot lines were simply not believable. Late in the film James is secured to a high tech operating chair and two rapidly spinning needles drill into each side of his brain – to reach the area where he will no longer be able to remember his friends says the evil and scary Spectre – yet James does not bleed and within seconds he escapes and once again saves the day. The plot line that the entire “Double O” program has been decommissioned with “M” sadly thanking them for their service – Who is going to buy that? How is their going to be a new Bond Film in 2017 if there is no “007?”

OK, so does this review make you feel like I did seeing the film. Some of it was very good but like me and this review it just went on too long.

Wait for home viewing and trust that some where out there Sean Connery had a son we were never told about and he had a son who will once again restore the Bond Legend to the heights it once enjoyed.

Larry