A solid fourth act for 007: Daniel Craig again anchors 'Spectre'

"Spectre," Daniel Craig’s fourth outing as James Bond and 007’s 24th official adventure overall, isn’t as good as "Casino Royale" or "Skyfall," but both represented high watermarks for the long-running series. It is still a rousing spy thriller that hews closer to the Bond formula than the previous Craig films.

Starting with 2006’s "Casino Royale," the Bond franchise turned away from camp and cheekiness to deliver a hard-edged Bond that was more in line with Ian Fleming’s original books. Many of the familiar tropes weren’t present but have slowly been added back into the mix.