Spectre Movie
Bond 24, Spectre was directed by Sam Mendes and was released in 2015, with Daniel Craig starring as the iconic MI6 agent, James Bond for the fourth time.
The plot of Spectre revolves around Bond’s investigation into a sinister organization known as Spectre, led by the enigmatic and dangerous Ernst Stavro Blofeld played by Christoph Waltz. Along the way, Bond encounters new allies and old enemies, including the stunningly beautiful and resourceful Dr. Madeleine Swann, played by Léa Seydoux, and the infamous henchman, Mr. Hinx, played by Dave Bautista.
In this blog post, we’ll delve deeper into the Spectre movie and explore its various aspects, including Daniel Craig’s performance as Bond. We’ll also take a closer look at the Bond villains and the Bond girls and how they contribute to the plot.
We’ll also highlight the best scenes from Spectre, and examine how they showcase the action-packed and visually stunning nature of the film, and how they contribute to the overall success of the movie.
So sit back, relax, get your popcorn and get ready to dive into the world of Spectre, as we explore this exciting and captivating addition to the James Bond franchise.
Synopsis
At the Day of the Dead Celebrations in Mexico City, James Bond is searching for an Italian man named Marco Sciarra. Bond covertly eavesdrops on Sciarra and his accomplices in an apartment block, where they’re planning to carry out a terror attack.
Sciarra then mentions meeting with someone referred to as “The Pale King”. In response, Bond fires a shot, detonating a bomb in Sciarra’s briefcase and causing the building to collapse.
Sciarra flees the scene, pursued by Bond, and they eventually end up in downtown Zocalo where a helicopter is waiting to transport Sciarra. Bond makes it onto the helicopter and the two fight as the helicopter hovers over the thousands of partygoers below.
In the ensuing struggle, Bond manages to take a ring with an Octopus design from Sciarra, which features an octopus design. Bond ejects Sciarra and the pilot from the helicopter before flying off to examine the ring.
In London, news of Bond’s unauthorized mission in Mexico reaches the media. M, who’s in the midst of overseeing MI6’s merger with MI5 and grappling with the possible discontinuation of the 00 program, is infuriated by Bond’s actions.
In response, M removes Bond from duty. As Bond exits the building, he meets Max Denbigh, also known as C, the new Director-General of Joint Intelligence Service, which plans to launch its own spy program called “Nine Eyes” as part of a global surveillance network.
Later, Moneypenny delivers personal effects from Skyfall to Bond at his request. Bond asks her to research “The Pale King” while he prepares to travel to Rome for Sciarra’s funeral. He discovers his adoption certificate and a photograph of himself with his foster father and another boy, whose side of the photo has been burned.
At Q’s lab, Bond receives an injection of “Smart Blood,” a nanochip designed to track him as a precautionary measure following his actions in Mexico. Q also gives Bond a watch equipped with an explosive.
Bond pleads to Q to help him disappear, but Q refuses, explaining that the Smart Blood is experimental and will experience a signal loss for a twenty-four hour interval, two days after transmission.
In Rome, Bond attends Sciarra’s funeral and meets his widow, Lucia. Bond follows her home and kills two hit men sent to assassinate her. Despite his efforts to protect her, Lucia remains ungrateful and believes that more killers will come after her because she knows too much about her late husband’s criminal activities. In exchange for information, Bond sleeps with her before leaving.
Bond infiltrates a meeting of the global criminal syndicate SPECTRE, using Sciarra’s ring. The group discusses their criminal activities, including human and drug trafficking, and reveals that they developed the idea for the Nine Eyes program to counteract investigations against them.
C is a member of the group, and the recent terror attacks were orchestrated to gain support for the program. The group’s leader assigns a number to assassinate “The Pale King,” and Mr. Hinx, a strong and silent man, volunteers for the mission and eliminates his competition with ease.
During the meeting, the syndicate leader reveals that he knows Bond is present and even addresses him by the nickname “Cuckoo,” a reference to Bond’s childhood. Bond flees the scene, and Mr. Hinx pursues him through the streets of Rome.
Bond contacts Moneypenny, who has discovered that “The Pale King” is actually Mr. White/Quantum, an assassin Bond encountered on previous missions and who was last seen in Austria.
Moneypenny also uncovers the name Franz Oberhauser, who was believed to be dead. She investigates the name Oberhauser but only finds a twenty-year-old newspaper article about a father and son presumed dead in an avalanche.
C is in Tokyo pitching the Nine Eyes program to other countries, but the South African representatives are the only ones who refuse to vote in favor of it. As a unanimous vote is required, the program is denied.
Bond tracks down Mr. White, who is terminally ill from thallium poisoning, to a remote cabin fitted with cameras. White reveals that the leader of his organization poisoned him for deserting the syndicate, as he believed they had gone too far.
Bond realizes that White is protecting someone, his daughter. Bond offers to protect her in exchange for the mastermind’s location, and as a sign of his word, he offers up his Walther. PPK. White aims the gun at Bond and gives him a name, “L’Americain,” and his daughter’s location at the Hoffler Clinic before shooting himself.
Bond arrives at the Hoffler Clinic to meet with White’s daughter Dr. Madeleine Swann. While evaluating Bond, Swann reads through his form and notices that he left the occupation field blank.
Bond confesses that he’s an assassin, causing Swann to worry that he’s there to kill her. Bond denies this, along with killing her father, and tells Swann that he made a promise to him. When he mentions L’Americain, Swann throws him out of the clinic, but later he sees Swann being abducted by some SPECTRE goons.
Bond crashes the convoy and saves Swann, but she’s enraged as she believes Bond led the goons to her. However, he convinces her to follow him to where Q is. At the hotel, Q tells Bond that he’s discovered Franz Oberhauser is alive and is actually the leader of SPECTRE, and that all the villains from Bond’s past missions were members.
Swann knows about the organization because her father was a member. Q turns on the TV, which reveals a terror attack in Cape Town for South Africa refusing to vote in favor of the Nine Eyes program. Bond advises Q to return to London while he goes to Tangier, as Swann reveals that L’Americain is a hotel in Tangier.
Bond searches L’Americain, a hotel in Tangier where Mr. White spent his honeymoon and visited every year. He ransacks the place but finds nothing except a bottle of alcohol.
Swann tells Bond that she dissociated herself from her father and his criminal profession and goes to sleep. Later, Bond wakes up in the middle of the night and sees a mouse scurry into a hole in the wall.
He discovers a secret room behind it that contains an assortment of contraband, including a tracking console to locate Oberhauser‘s phone. A list of coordinates on the wall points to an empty desert in North Africa.
Meanwhile, in London, M rushes to Whitehall and learns that the South Africans have accepted the Nine Eyes program after the terror attack, and the program will launch in under 72 hours. C is elected as the head of the committee, and the 00-program is to be discontinued per the Home Secretary’s orders.
Bond and Madeline Swann take a train across the desert to the supposed location of Oberhauser. Back in London, Moneypenny and Q show M satellite photos of a lair in the African desert where Bond is going. M tells them that they cannot help Bond, as C will spot it, and orders Q to delete the Smart Blood data as a safety precaution, and Bond must go alone.
During the train journey, Hinx launches a surprise attack on Bond and Swann, and they fight their way to the cargo car. Hinx is about to throw Bond out of the door, but Swann shoots him in the arm with Bond’s gun. Bond then wraps a rope around Hinx’s neck and drags him out of the train with a canister.
Bond and Swann arrive at an abandoned station in the middle of the desert and are collected by a chauffeur driving a 1948 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith. They’re taken to Oberhauser’s base in a crater and are shown separate rooms.
In Bond’s room, he finds a framed photograph of him with his foster father Hannes and brother Franz, whom he recognized in Rome. In Swann’s room, there’s a framed photo of her as a child with her father.
They’re called to meet Oberhauser, who takes them to a large surveillance room and shows Bond live footage of M announcing his departure from MI6 and he reveals he’s actually Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
Blofeld then reveals that he orchestrated all of Bond’s past tragedies and shows footage from White’s cabin of Bond negotiating with White and White’s suicide.
Bond is knocked unconscious and taken to an operating room where Blofeld has him strapped in a mechanical chair, with drills ready to bore into strategic places in Bond’s skull.
Blofeld reveals that his father took Bond in after the loss of his parents and grew attached to him, but Franz felt resentful, feeling that Bond was invading his space, comparing him to a cuckoo bird.
Franz then reveals that he killed his father and faked his own death, taking the name Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the surname taken from his mother’s side.
Bond slips his watch loose and hands it to Swann, instructing her to arm the bomb and throw it across the room to Blofeld. An explosion frees Bond from captivity, and he and Swann manage to get out with Bond shooting most of the guards and destroying the lair.
In London, Bond summons M, Q, Moneypenny, and Tanner to a secret location to inform them of C’s SPECTRE association and the danger of Nine Eyes. On the way to C’s intelligence centre, Bond is driven off the road, and taken hostage while M escapes and hops into the rear car.
C enters the intelligence center and receives word that M has eluded capture. He activates his laptop but is locked out, and Q is attempting to shut down the Nine Eyes system. M intends to arrest C, but C take his gun and shoots at M, but M had already removed the bullets.
Bond manages to escape and navigates through the ruins of the old MI6 building, haunted by the memories of those he has lost throughout his career. He eventually finds Blofeld, who’s alive and has captured Swann. Blofeld sets the building to explode and leaves on a helicopter from a helipad at the back.
Bond races through the building and finds Dr. Swann, and they manage to get out. They escape on a jet boat just as the building crumbles around them. Meanwhile, Q deactivates Nine Eyes and M escorts C out of his office. Blofeld’s helicopter distracts C, causing him to fall to his death.
Bond and Swann chase Blofeld, and Bond shoots the helicopter’s engine, causing it to crash onto Westminster Bridge. Blofeld is injured, and on the road is trying to crawl away. Bond has the opportunity to shoot him, but chooses not to, instead M arrests Blofeld.
The following day, Bond visits Q one last time to take the Aston Martin DB5. He and Swann drive off into the distance, leaving behind the destruction of MI6 and the villains of his past.
Daniel Craig as James Bond in Spectre
Daniel Craig’s portrayal of Bond in Spectre movie is nothing short of magnificent. He brings a raw intensity to the character, making him a more human and vulnerable spy than we saw with Timothy Dalton’s- a Bond less focused on the gadgets and more on his physical prowess and intelligence to get the job done.
In Spectre, Craig embodies Bond with a level of grit and determination that perfectly suits the story. He’s a man who is not afraid to get his hands dirty, and his tough exterior only adds to the allure of the character.
Craig also delivers some memorable action sequences that are sure to leave audiences on the edge of their seats. I have to say whenever he’s in trouble, he always looks vulnerable, but always seems to come out of it with a few cuts and bruises as when the building collapses in Mexico City, and he just happens to land on a random sofa.
From that opening scene in Mexico City to the thrilling finale, Craig commands the screen with his tough guy persona. The train fight sequence in particular is a standout moment, and Craig’s physicality and athleticism are on full display, even if he’s outdone by a much more powerful foe akin to Jaws.
Overall, Daniel Craig’s performance in Spectre movie is high quality. He brings a new level of emotion character of James Bond, making him more relatable and human than ever before. Some people don’t like that and I get it, we all want to see him enjoying life a bit more, sleeping with more girls, and even enjoying his cigarettes, although I fear we’ll never see that again.
Bond Villains in Spectre
Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Ernst Stavro Blofeld, born Franz Oberhauser, was the son of an Austrian climbing and skiing instructor named Hannes Oberhauser. Hannes temporarily took custody of a 12-year-old orphan, James Bond, following the tragic death of his parents.
Over the next two years, Hannes taught the young Bond how to ski, climb, and hunt, but Franz grew increasingly envious of his father’s close bond with Bond, ultimately leading him to murder his father in a staged avalanche in Kitzbühel.
Presumed dead, Franz Oberhauser fled and took on his mother’s maiden name, rebranding himself as ‘Ernst Stavro Blofeld.’
Years later, Blofeld, played by Christoph Waltz in Spectre movie, he reappears as the leader of the secretive terrorist organization SPECTRE. He claims responsibility for the actions of notorious criminals such as Le Chiffre, Dominic Greene, and Raoul Silva, as well as the deaths of Vesper Lynd and former SIS head Olivia Mansfield, M.
By video, M posthumously dispatches James Bond to assassinate one of their operatives, Marco Sciarra to draw its members out of hiding. As predicted, Blofeld attends Sciarra’s funeral in Rome and later chaired a rare meeting.
Bond discreetly infiltrates the meeting, but Blofeld perceives his presence and sends men to detain him. During the chaos, Blofeld escapes to his Saharan Crater Facility.
Blofeld isn’t surprised when James Bond and Madeleine Swann discovers the location of his base. After giving them a tour of his Data-Collection Facility, Blofeld attempts to psychologically intimidate the pair, demonstrating his organization’s vast reach and taunting Bond with intimate knowledge of his past failures.
He straps Bond to a Neurosurgical Chair to be tortured, intending to damage his brain and eventually render him blind. However, Bond is saved by Swann, who throws an explosive wristwatch at Blofeld’s control console, causing a massive explosion.
Blofeld survives the blast but is left severely scarred and blind in one eye. Following the destruction of the Saharan Crater Facility, he follows Bond to London, intending to exact his revenge.
He separately abducts Swann and Bond, taking them to the ruins of the old SIS Building. Bond manages to free himself, and they narrowly escape the building before it explodes.
Blofeld tries to flee via helicopter but is pursued by Bond and Swann along the River Thames, and Bond shoots the helicopter down. The helicopter crashes and Blofeld is confronted by Bond, who chooses not to kill him. Instead, M detains Blofeld under the Special Measures Act of 2001.
Hinx
Hinx is a formidable henchman played by Dave Bautista. He first appears at the SPECTRE meeting held in Rome, when Guerra volunteers to undertake the mission to assassinate Mr. White, also known as the Pale King, Moreau inquires if anyone would challenge him for the position.
Hinx enters the conference room quietly and stands beside Guerra and swiftly slams Guerra’s head onto the table, gouges his eyes with his thumbs, and snaps his neck, killing him. After wiping his metal thumbnail with a handkerchief, Hinx discards Guerra’s lifeless body and occupies the now-empty seat.
During the meeting, Bond’s cover is exposed, prompting him to flee in his Aston Martin DB10. Hinx pursues Bond in his Jaguar C-X75 but is thwarted when Bond douses the hood of his Jaguar with flame and ejects from the Aston Martin just before it crashes into the River Tiber.
Hinx abducts Madeline Swann from Hoffler Klinik but is pursued by Bond in an aircraft. Hinx’s vehicle is eventually forced off course by Bond’s damaged plane and crashes into a nearby house, leaving Hinx seemingly dead, but he survives.
Hinx later ambushes James Bond and Madeleine Swann aboard a train traveling across North Africa. As the pair dine, Hinx attacks, knocking Swann unconscious with a backhanded blow before engaging Bond in a fierce fight.
Despite Bond’s attempts to subdue Hinx with various objects, the henchman’s immense strength proves too much for Bond. Hinx is about to throw Bond off the train when Swann intervenes, shooting him in the shoulder.
Hinx then begins to strangle Swann, but Bond comes to her rescue in the nick of time. Bond attaches Hinx to a series of heavy barrels using a long chain wrapped around his neck. One by one, the barrels fall off the train, and drag him out of the speeding train by the final barrel, breaking his neck and ending his life.
Bond Girls in Spectre
Madeleine Swann
Played by Léa Seydoux, Madeleine Swann is the daughter of Mr. White and his late wife. Madeleine pursues a career as a consultant in psychiatry, working with Médecins Sans Frontières for two years before hiding at the Hoffler clinic in the Austrian Alps.
When James Bond seeks out Mr. White, he’s instructed to find Madeleine, who will guide him to L’Américain and the people he is pursuing. Although Mr. Hinx captures Madeleine first, Bond rescues her, and they escape together.
They later meet with Q, who links Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the organization’s leader, to Bond’s previous missions. Madeleine reveals information about SPECTRE and L’Américain, in Tangier, Morrocco.
Bond uncovers a secret room that White constructed, filled with videotapes, charts, photographs, maps, and coordinates leading to their next destination. They journey to the closest train station, only to be attacked once more by Hinx.
As Bond battles Hinx, Swann fires several shots from Bond’s gun, one hitting him in the shoulder, and eventually he falls from the train. Afterwards, Madeline and Bond share some intimate moments.
In London, Madeleine decides not to participate in the operation against Blofeld and is subsequently kidnapped by his men. Bond rescues her from a rigged MI6 building, and together they shoot Blofeld down from his helicopter.
The following day, Bond gets his Aston Martin DB5 and drives off with Madeleine, starting a new chapter in their lives.
Lucia Sciarra
Played by Monica Bellucci, Lucia Sciarra is the widow of Marco Sciarra, whom Bond killed in Mexico. At her husband’s funeral, she is unaware that both Bond and her husband’s employer, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, are present. When they have a moment alone, Bond first offers his condolences before questioning her grief. As her two henchmen, Marco and Francesco, appear, Lucia departs, leaving Bond behind.
Later that night, Lucia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by her own henchmen, who are also in league with Oberhauser. Bond intervenes, killing both men and saving her life. Lucia, however, expresses her frustration, insisting that more killers will undoubtedly come for her.
Inside her home, tensions escalate when Lucia confronts Bond upon learning that he was responsible for her husband’s death. Both Lucia and Bond realize that they must work together to survive their precarious situation. It is then that Lucia reveals her knowledge of the organization her husband was involved in and that a rare meeting at the Palazzo Cardenza will take place to determine his successor.
After spending the night together, Bond assures Lucia that she’ll be looked after and taken to a secure location. Despite Lucia’s plea for Bond to leave with her, he remains resolute in his mission. As they part ways, Bond bids her farewell with the words, “buona fortuna, donna Lucia.”
Estrella
Played by Stephanie Sigman, Estrella is an agent of the Mexican Secret Service and she joins Bond during the Day of the Dead festivities in Mexico City while he pursues Marco Sciarra. When Bond spots Sciarra, he and Estrella enter a nearby hotel. Inside the hotel room, Estrella and Bond start kissing, and she lays on the bed anticipating that they’ll share an intimate moment.
However, Bond swiftly prepares to leave and assassinate Sciarra. Estrella asks him where he’s going, but he climbs out of the window and goes across the rooftops of Mexico apartment blocks, and Estrella never sees him again.
Best Scenes in Spectre
Opening Scene
The opening scene of Spectre unfolds during the lively yet eerie Day of the Dead festival in Mexico City. Amidst the fireworks and vibrant decorations, James Bond undertakes an unauthorized mission to prevent a terrorist group’s bombing scheme and pursue their leader, Marco Sciarra.
Dressed in Day of the Dead costumes, Bond and Estrella share a tender moment as they enter her hotel room, with Estrella seemingly poised to become 007’s latest Bond girl. However, their romantic interlude is cut short as Bond quickly leaves to carry out his mission.
“Where are you going?” she asks. He assures her he will return soon before climbing out the window and running across rooftops, taking down henchmen with his sniper rifle and getting Sciarra’s ring for his investigation.
Bond aims precisely through his scope, but his enemies spot him and retaliate. He quickly dispatches several foes, but a massive explosion wreaks havoc, causing the surrounding buildings, including Bond’s rooftop perch, to crumble.
Amid the chaos, Bond identifies Sciarra and chases him through Mexico City’s bustling streets. In the midst of the Day of the Dead celebrations, Sciarra summons his helicopter, which arrives in the crowded Zocalo to take him away.
As fireworks, skeletal figures, and vivid decorations fill the air, Bond fights his way through the throng and leaps aboard the helicopter with Sciarra and the pilot. The aircraft takes off, and Bond manages to get on this helicopter and has a fierce battle with Sciarra.
Watch the scene
Bond seizes Sciarra, and forcefully takes his ring before throwing him down to the terrified onlookers below. With Sciarra dead, 007 confronts the pilot, choking him as the helicopter descends towards the screaming crowd before suddenly veering upward in a startling maneuver.
As the helicopter ascends, Bond is flung to the back of the cabin, leaving him no time to prepare for the sudden engine failure. The aircraft flips and plummets towards the unsuspecting spectators below.
Bond eventually wrests control, unbuckles the pilot’s seatbelt, and ejects him from the helicopter. He grapples against gravity and the spiraling aircraft, striving to keep it airborne and away from the crowd. Just in time, he manages to lift the helicopter before it crashes into the mass of onlookers.
With his mission nearly complete, Bond takes control of the helicopter and soars off into the dusty sunset.
Spectre – Blofeld vs Bond
Spectre movie is a thrilling addition to the James Bond franchise, showcasing breathtaking action sequences, exotic locations, and plenty of twists and tales.
Bond 24 successfully weaves together threads from previous installments while introducing new characters and exploring the enigmatic organization, SPECTRE.
Though some critics argue the movie falls short of the expectations set by its predecessor, Skyfall (what doesn’t?), it undeniably delivers the excitement and intrigue that fans have come to expect from a Bond film.
With Daniel Craig’s powerful performance, a quality cast, and a gripping storyline, Spectre leaves a lasting impression and is certainly better than critics give it credit for.
