Spectre

Director Alfred Hitchcock used to talk of a “MacGuffin,” a plot device that was mostly just an excuse to set the story rolling and get the characters into predicaments. The MacGuffin in Spectre, the newly released James Bond movie, really doesn’t matter (like most MacGuffins), but it sends Bond (Daniel Craig) to Mexico, Tangier, and half a dozen other exotic locales to thwart mayhem and preserve the safety of the crown. This time a supervillain (Christoph Waltz) brings together names from the past to threaten the existence of MI6 and people’s civil liberties everywhere.

ClearPlay In Action!

Very little language is cut in the ClearPlayed version of Spectre. Though there’s plenty of mayhem, most of the objectionable violence is of the creepy, torturous variety, which ClearPlay trims along with a couple of scenes of sensuality and implied “Bond”-ing. Solid action scenes should entertain most preteens and older as long as they don’t get lost in the meandering story.

Will Spectre leave me shaken or stirred?...

From what I’d heard, I anticipated a “Moonraker-esque” outing with Spectre, but found it to be consistent with the Daniel Craig oeuvre. Waltz is a perfectly serviceable bad guy, and director Sam Mendes keeps the pace rolling.

Marty Nabhan, ClearPlay License to Thrill

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images, sensuality and language; 148 mins; Directed by Sam Mendes