10 Things You Need To Know About SPECTRE

They do not tolerate failure. Or you not remembering them.

By Tom Baker /

Going back to the well can be an invigorating thing. Struggling to make James Bond relevant in the 21st century - partly, in the words of Daniel Craig, €œbecause Mike Myers fucked us€ - EON Productions decided to start from scratch. They tossed out nearly a half century of 007 films, and all the expectations and tropes that went along with that, in favour of bringing a leaner, meaner agent more in line with the character from Ian Fleming's books. Choosing to adapt the first novel, Casino Royale, was a statement of intent: they were throwing out all that continuity (at least, the loose continuity that existed between the Bond films as it was), and beginning again. And for a while, it was good. Going back to the well can hamper things, though. When it came to follow up Casino Royale, they leant a little too heavily on the former film's nosedive into Bourne territory, and brought up the messy and hard-to-read (let alone pronounce) Quantum Of Solace. Again, Craig pointed out that Austin Powers had €œmade it impossible to do the gags€. All the more impressive that Skyfall brought that lightness of touch back, then, as well as serving as a celebration of the film series' 50th anniversary, and resurrecting a lot of other classic parts of old Bond that had seemingly been lost in the reboot. Q returned in the form of Ben Wishaw, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, the Aston Martin DB5, and Ralph Fiennes returned the status quo of a male head of MI6. One element was conspicuous in its absence, however. The dread presence that hung over the first seven Bond films - plus a cameo in For Your Eyes Only - that orchestrated every plot 007 foiled. Now, it looks like SPECTRE is due for a return. What with that being the name of 24th Bond film and all, due out in 2015. They've been away for a while, though, and perhaps you've forgotten who this international crime syndicate are and what they can do. For a refresher on what exactly this octopus-obsessed group of antagonists will be bringing against Daniel Craig, here are ten things you need to know about SPECTRE.