After the bare basics groundedness of Casino Royale, the self-absorbedness of Quantum Of Solace and the sombre classicism of Skyfall, it looked like Daniel Craig's Bond tenure would be defined by its seriousness. Totally disregarding the silliness of Brosnan, we were in a 21st Century world with the key influences Bourne and Nolan. But then up steps Spectre. Not just taking the evil organisation of the title from the Connery-era into the modern day, it also brings a general lightheartedness, giving the film a tone that feels even more traditional Bond than Skyfall. Action scenes are punctuated by humorous beats and the dialogue crackles with wit instead of being overbearingly sombre. At some points it goes a bit too far - the Fiat 500 product placement gag in the Rome car chase feels totally out of place - but for the most part it's a nice gear shift from what we've come to expect of the modern iteration of the franchise. There's also a bit where M implies the C-word (the really bad one). You can't hate something like that. It's not that there's the glimmer of joviality in Spectre that makes the levity such a strong element, however; it's what it signifies for James Bond. After the seriousness of the earlier Craig films, this is where we're finally getting to the traditional 007, tone and all.
