Spectre Teaser Trailer Review

The first trailer for the latest James Bond film has been released, and I am totally freaking out right now. I am a 007 superfan; this series and this character have meant so much to me over the years. I've absolutely loved Daniel Craig's interpretation of the legendary role. He gives Bond a dark edge and an air of mystery that has never been done to the same effect. I always say that Craig has completed the transformation of Bond that Timothy Dalton began back in the 80's. I think people don't give Dalton the credit he deserves for trying something different with the character.

But I digress. I'm here to talk about the teaser that hit the internet for Spectre, the next installment in the James Bond franchise. This film is directed by the same man behind 2012's Skyfall, Sam Mendes. I adored Skyfall, and I am very excited to have Mendes back for this one. So, here are my thoughts on the first trailer for the movie.

The trailer opens on the MI6 building, which is still in ruins from the explosion that occurred in Skyfall. Right there, we know that Britain is still not fully recovered from the events that transpired during the last film. Ralph Fiennes' character is the new M, which we learned in the closing scene of Skyfall, and Bond is getting back to work. But, there is still a dark cloud hanging over the organization and the nation.

The trailer does an amazing job of giving us this wonderfully dark and mysterious tone as we see Bond and Moneypenny discussing something that was found in the wreckage of Bond's old house at Skyfall, which of course was heavily damaged during the last fight with Silva. 007 has a secret. It is coming back to haunt him, and by the looks of it, he must travel to the darkest corners of his past to deal with it. To deal with the inevitable rise of S.P.E.C.T.R.E.

There are many people that prefer a Bond that is not humanized. Critics of Casino Royale and Skyfall cited the makers decision to try and make the character a flawed, real human being as a mistake. I couldn't disagree more with these people. The Bond that originated in Ian Fleming's novels was a cold, hard-edged assassin that was a lot more complex than just a badass superhero that spits out one-liners and performs death-defying stunts. That's not to say that I dislike iterations of the character that have the latter characteristics. A lot of the films thrived on that approach.

But, I must say, I appreciate it more when James Bond is someone I can actually relate to, or at least imagine existing in the real world. Based off of this trailer, Mendes and his team are delving even deeper into the exploration of the character of 007, which Daniel Craig's first and third outings did so well.

Everything about this trailer was pretty much perfect. The enigmatic way that it insinuated Bond's dark secret was intriguing and provocative. The muffled version of the classic Bond theme boiled underneath the indelible images like an ominous rain cloud, chilling me to the bone. The reveal of S.P.E.C.T.R.E.'s logo on the ring that Bond had and the penultimate shot of a darkened roundtable hearkened back to the old days of 007 films, while also made me eager to see what this new rendition of the evil organization has in store.

There wasn't any action in the trailer. Some may be bothered by this, but I thought it was a brilliant choice. A set piece thrown in just to appease action junkies would have felt forced and out of place in the midst of the bleak mood that is set. The trailer is a model of tension building, a crescendo of secrecy, intrigue, and a menacing sense of danger that lingers. There is sure to be a fair share of action sequences in the final product. It's Bond after all. However, for a teaser trailer, this set the tone perfectly.

And, of course, there's that last shot that I need to talk about. After we see 007 walk in on what is presumably a meeting between members of S.P.E.C.T.R.E., the camera slowly zooms in on an obscure view of Christoph Waltz, whose at the head of the aforementioned roundtable. This suggests that Waltz is indeed playing the classic Bond villain Blofeld, which was rumored but never confirmed. If this is true, I'm even more excited for this movie than I was before. Waltz is a terrific actor, fully capable of embodying the legendary bad guy.

Spectre was already my second most anticipated film of 2015 behind only The Force Awakens. Now, I'm looking forward to it with even more impatience. I can't wait to be sitting in that theater on November 6. I'm expecting to be blown away once again, just like I was on November 9, 2012. I absolutely loved this teaser trailer and am going to need to take a couple laps around my neighborhood or I won't be able to take my growing sense of anticipation.