007 Countdown Part 10 - Spectre

Hello everyone and welcome to Some Like It Scott's latest Countdown miniseries: the 007 Countdown. This time, in honor of the upcoming release of the 25th film in the franchise, NO TIME TO DIE, Scott, Scott, and Jay will be revisiting an abridged selection of 007 films to see how James Bond has evolved across decades, storylines, directors, and actors. Starting with the legendary performances of Sean Connery in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE and GOLDFINGER and ending with the full retinue of Daniel Craig's performances across the last decade and a half, the countdown crew will give their thoughts on 10 different Bond films. Join us each week as we dissect a different Bond film!

 

On the penultimate tenth episode of the countdown, Scott, Scott, and Jay revisit Craig's 4th, Sam Mendes's 2nd behind the camera, and the most recent of the Bond movies in SPECTRE. SPECTRE opens with Bond on a "vacation" in Mexico City during the city's infamous Day of the Dead festival and parade. All too quickly it becomes clear that Bond is not really on vacation though, as he stalks a mysterious target, Marco Sciarra (Alessandro Cremona) to a rendezvous with other locals and attempts to assassinate him. Though he fails in his first attempt, the ensuing foot chase does ultimately end in success for 007, only for him to return to England and be placed on administrative leave by Ralph Fiennes's new M, under scrutiny from government oversight committees, specifically Max Denbigh or "C" (Andrew Scott), the head of MI5, who are trying to shut down the 00-program. Why did Bond risk so much in Mexico City you might ask? Because Judi Dench's belated M left him a message from beyond the grave: assassinate Sciarra and "don't miss the funeral". Of course, Bond does not follow M's instructions and instead heads to Rome for Sciarra's funeral, where the web of shady businessmen, spies, and terrorists that have dogged his past finally begins to unravel. As always, the countdown crew give their thoughts on all of it, including whether Sam Mendes is able to equal his first outing, whether Daniel Craig has overstayed his welcome as Bond, and whether the 007 franchise has simply run out of ideas.