Spectre: A Petrolhead's Review Of The Latest James Bond Movie

Warning: Potential spoilers within!

In the good old days, James Bond got by with some good old fashioned British charm. He could waltz into any situation using his suave and sophistication, but he could turn deadly at a moment’s notice. His car was an extension of this personality, typically being an exquisite British motor from Aston Martin (which has provided cars for half of all Bond films ever made), with a dashboard full of switches that can unleash pain on anyone unfortunate enough to get in the way.

Cinema has moved on, though, so these days Bond is grittier. He relies less on his charm and wit and more on his fists and persuasive personality. While watching Spectre, I couldn’t help but feel like Bond is in a strange state of flux, as he fights modern technologies while trying to cling to an ever less-justifiable double-0 agent program.

The film addresses this, and interestingly the two lead cars - the Aston Martin DB10 driven by Bond, and the Jaguar C-X75 driven by baddie Mr. Hinx - perfectly show these two attitudes vying for supremacy.

Bond’s Aston Martin may have been designed to showcase Gaydon’s future design language, but in its inner workings we definitely see a car desperately clinging to the past, just like its driver. Not only does it have a six-speed manual gearbox, which is quickly becoming obsolete in the performance car world, it packs a hefty 4.7-litre V8. In an age of downsizing and tight emissions controls, such an engine almost feels obscene - but then 007 has always had that side to his personality.

On the other hand we have Spectre, the evil organisation Bond is trying to disrupt. They use technology to spy on people, relying on CCTV surveillance and unmanned drones to do their dirty work. So it’s only fitting that Mr. Hinx, Spectre’s hitman who takes a great disliking to Mr. Bond, drives a performance hybrid with technologies so advanced, most haven’t even quite made it to production yet.

The Jaguar C-X75 packs a 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine, which is both turbocharged and supercharged, as well as a high-performance electric motor that combine to pump 850bhp to all four wheels.

These cars are both in the film all too briefly. Bond takes the keys to the DB10 and attends a Spectre meeting in Rome, at which his unwanted presence is noticed. 007 escapes in the Aston Martin, with Hinx in hot pursuit in his Jaguar. This is the main car chase in the film, and it’s beautifully shot.

The Aston, with its rear-wheel drive layout, slips and slides along the cobbled streets, while the AWD Jaguar is typically more sure-footed. A nice, subtle touch for petrolheads. The action is frenetic, however the scene where Bond is held up by an old man in a Fiat 500, who gets shunted out of the way in comedy fashion, breaks up the epic nature of the scene and just feels like another weird nod to the cheesy old James Bonds that should just be forgotten at this point.

The climax to the scene takes place on the banks of the Tiber River, as the cars pound the ancient banking. Here we get to see Bond deploy his gadgets to keep Hinx at bay, but ultimately it’s the Aston Martin that dies; Bond ejects from the car, sending his glorious DB10 to the bottom of the river, as he gracefully parachutes on to the streets above.

Considering the hype around the car in the build up to the film, it was a huge disappointment to see it wrecked relatively early in the film. Still, it’s a 007 trope that his cars come back in pieces, so I guess it’s to be expected. I just wanted it to play a bigger, longer role in the film. For me, the Jaguar C-X75 stole the limelight, looking gorgeously futuristic and ever so menacing.

Later in the film, we got our second and final car chase, in which Bond chases down some baddies in the Austrian Alps. Bond has tracked down a woman who’s important to the story, and while he’s busy trying to neck some alcohol, she’s kidnapped from right under his nose.

Like the Rome scene, this chase is shot to perfection, even if it is rather ludicrous. With Hinx and his henchmen at the wheel of a pair of tricked out Land Rover Defenders and a Range Rover Sport SVR, Bond commandeers a light aircraft and gives chase. The Defenders are seriously cool, so it’s a huge shame when James manages to destroy both.

The scene’s climax involves Bond careening his wingless aircraft along the snow, through a building, and taking out the bad guys. Complete with many explosions. It’s a suitably bonkers ending to a far-fetched scene, but it’s very Bond, and is actually more enjoyable than the big Rome scene in my opinion; the white snow juxtaposed with the black, burly Defenders looks incredible.

Overall, I found Spectre to be average at best. There was the turmoil between the good old days and the new world, which I felt the film never really resolved, and the few car scenes weren’t overly satisfying. The alpine chase was cool, but the fact Bond was chasing in a plane made it a bit silly, and the fact the lead car wiped out so early was frustrating.

I won’t ruin the final scene for you, but there’s a great cameo just before the credits roll. The movie might leave you a little disappointed, but at least the finale will bring a smile to your face!