Bond 25 has a lot to live up to.
Skyfall had set the bar almost impossibly high and SPECTRE has had a troubled reception. After an ecstatic early reaction from the British press upon release, the movie reveiews began to drop as more measured responses came in from around teh world.
As time has passed, UK commentators have also started to acknowledge some issues with the movie.
One of the most contentious aspects was Christoph Waltz’s portrayal of Blofeld.
Many reviews, including Express Online, had trouble with the overly mannered, at times almost camp, performance. The ambiguous ending, as the villain was lead away by the police hinted at a future return and vitally denied any cathartic ending to SPECTRE. It felt like the movie was unfinished, with the Bond-Blofeld relationship still up in the air.
Waltz himself revealed he also has issues with his character.
He told The Times: “There are just certain things that I’m unhappy with. I wish I would have gotten the opportunity to iron out those glitches.”
Will that be resolved in Bond 25?
The movie will be Daniel Craig’s last outing as OO7 but he won’t be reunited with Waltz, who dramatically revealed last autumn that he would not be back, after all, as Blofeld.
His new comments deepen his unhappiness with a potentialy unresolved and unsatisfactory story arc for the iconic vilain.
He added: “It was an incredible experience to be part of this post-war cultural phenomenon. Yet I can’t say I was happy at every step of the process. I feel that there are some loose ends with my engagement.”
Unfortunately, it now seems certain he will never be able to resolve the issue.
Waltz concluded: “I’m not going to be in the next one. But let’s say, in terms of my feeling that I have sufficiently served a purpose, there are a few white blotches on that map for me personally.”
