Spectre is the latest film in the James Bond series. This story continues with elements of the plot of Skyfall. In the previous movie, M (Judi Dench) was killed, and was replaced by the new M (Ralph Fiennes), who has decided that James Bond (Daniel Craig) needs to be reassessed.

The film begins with James in Mexico City, where they are celebrating the Day of the Dead. He mingles with the crowd, tailing someone of importance. They break off of the main celebration, where Bond observes his mark negotiating a deal to set off a bomb in a local stadium during the festivities. He manages to dispatch several of the people involved, but his mark manages to escape back into the crowds. Bond chases him and sets off a thrilling chase and fight sequence.

Back at home, M is furious. The loss of the previous M has forced a merger between Mi-5 and the 00 program. Bond meets the leader of Mi-5 and dubs him ‘C’. Bond’s supposed to be on lockdown, and is told to stay in England, but this is the thing that usually forces 007 to step into action, and he goes for it. We find out that the previous M has made a final request. Some evidence from Mexico City leads him to a gathering in Rome, which gets him right in the midst of a worldwide conspiracy that he has to untangle and resolve. That conspiracy has some direct relevance to how Bond’s been handling himself in the recent past.

As with any Bond movie, there are exotic locales that lead him to the heart of the situation. It’s all connected, and there are more direct links between each of the destinations involved. While previous Bond movies have run by a sense of absurd situations and ludicrous stunts, the ones with Daniel Craig have been more down-to-Earth and plausible, if we ignore the action of the last film’s scenes involving the London Underground. Here, everything is thrilling, but also believable in a way not found in previous films. Just remember that this is a James Bond movie, and go with it. The writing is reasonably decent, and women are not the props they’ve been in the past, for the most part. For example, Moneypenny’s role is not restricted to fawning over James, and it’s a welcome change.

I recommend Spectre. It’s thrilling without insulting your intelligence. The climax has a certain finality to it, but not an absolute one. The runtime of the film itself is 148 minutes by itself, so be prepared for a long stay…