Spectre follows on three years after Skyfall, the most successful 007 film ever at the box office. It is obvious that director Sam Mendes and his collaborators are desperate to push Bond to new heights. They are pushing for better stunts, more complex plot twists and greater emotional intensity than the Bond films have ever managed before.
Early on, they succeed brilliantly. An astonishing pre-credits overture sees Bond, on a rogue mission to Mexico, among the revellers in skull and skeleton costumes during The Day Of The Dead. There are echoes here of Orson Welles’ Touch Of Evil in a roving sequence which runs for minutes without cutting before culminating in explosive fashion.