Spectre: Still Processing This One...

Okay, so I finally rewatched Spectre. I remember when it came out, I was…whelmed? It wasn't terrible, but coming after Skyfall, which I thought was AMAZING, it felt...flat, somehow. The opening sequence in Mexico City is SPECTACULAR, visually. But then it just kind of... meanders. Like, Christoph Waltz as Blofeld? Obvious casting, and honestly, a little underwhelming. He's a great actor, but it felt like he was phoning it in. And the whole 'Bond is secretly connected to Blofeld' thing? Yeah, no, didn't buy it. Felt too contrived for me. Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann was fine, I guess? I just didn't feel the chemistry with Daniel Craig like I did with, say, Eva Green in Casino Royale. Plus, her character felt a little underwritten, just kind of...there. And Mr. Hinx (Dave Bautista) was another typical henchman, strong and silent but ultimately forgettable. I did like the bit with Q tracking Bond, though. Ben Whishaw is such a perfect, quirky Q. The plot itself gets so convoluted with the whole 'Nine Eyes' and global surveillance thing. It started to feel less like a Bond movie and more like a generic action-thriller with Bond characters pasted in. Does anyone else think so? Maybe I'm being too harsh. I appreciate that they were trying to tie everything back, but did it actually work? I'm still not sure. Honestly, I think Spectre suffers from the 'middle child' syndrome. It's not offensively bad, but it's not great either. It just...is. It has some good moments, but overall, it feels like a step down from what came before. Maybe I'll watch it again next year and feel differently, but for now, my opinion remains the same: eh.