Posted
April 6, 2015 by Timothy Monforton in
Features
Trailer Trashin’: Decoding the Spectre Teaser Trailer
Sorry it’s been so long since the last column, dear readers. I’ve been very busy these last couple weeks, doing things such as finishing up a book I’m writing, celebrating my birthday, and getting to see Heart and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts in concert. But I have returned to Trailer Trashin’, with our first look at the next James Bond movie, Spectre.
Premise: In the aftermath of the bombing of MI6, a cryptic message sets in motion events that will see James Bond (Daniel Craig) come face-to-face with a sinister organization known as SPECTRE. As Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), the newly-appointed M, continues fighting political pressures that threaten the future of MI6, Bond is drawn into a confrontation with an enemy who knows him better than he knows himself and holds a dangerous secret that will force Bond to question the value of everything he has fought to protect.
My take: As I’ve previously written in this column, back when I was covering the trailers for Skyfall, I love the James Bond films. But one element of the old films that I was hoping would be brought back is SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion), the global crime syndicate and terrorist organization led by evil genius and super-villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Bond’s greatest nemesis. Because of rather boring legal reasons, SPECTRE has been absent from the film series since Diamonds Are Forever (1971). But those rights issues were finally settled in late 2013, and the evil organization is being brought back for the upcoming twenty-fourth Bond film, simply titled Spectre. The first teaser trailer for the movie has arrived, and it looks pretty sweet.
The trailer opens with an exterior shot of the MI6 building, still visibly damaged from the bombing it suffered during Skyfall. Inside, Miss Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) pushes a black box across a table to Bond, explaining to him that it contains personal effects of his that MI6 forensics recovered from the Skyfall estate.
We then see Bond in his home, looking through the contents of the box. This is followed by close-ups of two of the items from the box, which gives us a lot to chew on. The first is a certificate labeled “Order of Temporary Guardianship.” It is signed under “Legal Guardian” by Charmain Bond, James’s aunt who took him in after his parents died while he was still a child, and under “Temporary Guardian” by one H. Oberhauser. In the Ian Fleming short story “Octopussy,” Hannes Oberhauser was a ski instructor who taught Bond and became something of a second father to him, so it seems safe to assume that this is meant to be the same character. The second object shown is a partially-burnt photograph, showing a man and two boys. We assume the boy on the left is young James and the man is Hannes Oberhauser, but we can’t see the face of the boy on the right. It is known that Christoph Waltz is playing Franz Oberhauser, who is described by “a childhood acquaintance of Bond and a senior figure within the SPECTRE hierarchy.” With that in mind, it follows that the boy on right is young Franz, that he’s the son of Hannes, and that he and James have a personal connection that no previous Bond villain has had. Over this, we hear Moneypenny’s voice say “You’ve got a secret. Something you can’t tell anyone. Because you don’t trust anyone.”
This is followed by a quick but very atmospheric shot of Bond on a small boat, in what looks like the Austrian Alps. The camera pushes in, heading toward a small cabin at the foot of the mountains. A male voice says “I always knew death would wear a familiar face, but not yours,” as we see Bond walking up to the cabin. Inside the cabin, some birds – either crows or ravens – caw loudly and fly out the open door. Bond, gun already drawn, looks back over his shoulder.
Next we see a gathering of people at a Catholic funeral service in what looks like Rome. We see Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci) dressed all in black and looking somber. Thanks to reports from the film’s location shoot in Mexico City, we know that Bond fights an Italian assassin named Marco Sciarra in the opening sequence, so it appears that Lucia is Marco’s widow. We hear Bond say “I was at a meeting recently and your name came up.” As he says this, we see a quick shot of Bond’s new car, the Aston Martin DB10, driving at night through the streets of Rome. The male voice from earlier replies “I’m flattered London is still talking about me.”
We then see Bond inside a darkened house, probably the cabin from earlier, along with the man Bond was talking to, a wild-haired man whose face we can’t see. Bond says “It wasn’t MI6” as he places a ring on a chessboard in front of the man. A close-up of the ring shows an emblem of an octopus, the symbol of SPECTRE. We then see that the man is none other than Mr. White (Jesper Christensen), the leader of the Quantum group from the first two Daniel Craig Bond films, Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008). He was last seen escaping MI6 custody, and it looks like the intervening years have been rough for him. He says “You’re a kite dancing in a hurricane, Mr. Bond.” A clear warning that things are going to get worse for Agent 007.
As a minimalist version of the classic Bond theme begins, we see James walking up to a group of people looking over a balcony down at a conference table. We hear the voice of Christoph Waltz as Franz Oberhauser saying “Welcome, James. It’s been a long time.” We then cut to a shot of Oberhauser, partly concealed by shadows, sitting at what’s presumably the head of the table. “And finally, here we are.” he concludes. This adds a lot of credence to the idea of Oberhauser being a former childhood friend of Bond’s who ended up going bad.
We then see the film’s logo, an image like a bullet hole in glass, with the cracks extending downward to form the tentacles of the SPECTRE emblem. The film’s title appears onscreen, followed the by 007 symbol, and the classic James Bond theme blares out.
All in all, this is a great teaser trailer. It’s very dark and moody, and really sets up the idea of Bond’s past coming back to haunt him, whether it’s having to face the widow of a man he killed or learning that a childhood friend has gone to the side of evil. Eon Productions really hit it out of the park with Skyfall, and this looks like a great follow-up. When early November rolls around, I’ll definitely be checking out Spectre opening weekend.
ANTICIPATION: It’s good to have you back, James.
Release Date: November 6th, 2015
Starring: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Monica Bellucci, Andrew Scott, Dave Bautista, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Alessandro Cremona, and Jesper Christensen Director: Sam Mendes Writers: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and John Logan, based on the character James Bond created by Ian Fleming
