007 is back and ready to stir up some trouble in Spectre. The newest Bond film, directed by Sam Mendes, made its debut this weekend with $70.3 million domestically, reaching short of its goal of $73 million. Daniel Craig once again brings charm and conflict to his character, James Bond, complete with the classy attire and fancy cars.

The first notable choice in the movie is the superb casting. While Daniel Craig is a fantastic Bond, it is also worth mentioning the performance of Andrew Scott. While his character is not much compared to his role in Sherlock, he still brings a touch of nefariousness to the movie. Scott’s evil pales in comparison to the crazy Blofeld, who is marvelously played by Christoph Walsh. Lea Seydoux plays Madeleine Swann, but this is no ordinary Bond girl. Though soft spoken and seemingly gentle, Swann turns out to be a tough fighter and quite clever.

The movie had quite a few commendable action scenes. This time, many fight scenes were from helicopters, planes, and cars. Midway into the film there is a spectacular chase scene between Hinx (Dave Bautista) and Bond that included sleek sports cars, which of course ended in the destruction of one of the beautiful automobiles. In contrast to the usual fluid fighting styles and stunt work seen in other recent movies, 007 tends to stick to the classic shootouts and hand to hand combat. The outdated fighting style is an interesting choice made by Mendes, but it aligns with the manner in which they fought in the older Bond movies.

The film score was well-composed, and nicely complimented the action sequences. The classic Bond title sequence features the usual dramatic mixture of women and guns, but Sam Smith’s “Writing’s on the Wall” nicely complimented the title sequence with the slow melody.

Although Skyfall was a much more successful movie, both in the box office and fan’s ratings, Spectre still upholds the high standards accustomed with Bond movies. It’s action maintains the history of 007, and the cast does an admirable job of portraying the characters.This movie was engaging and intense, and I highly recommend it for any movie-goer in need of a satisfying action movie.