Predictably the hype machine has been working overtime ahead of the release of Daniel Craig's fourth and probably last Bond outing and the second time behind the camera for Sam Mendes. Months of social media click bait articles about the car, the watch, the locations, the song, the girls, the villains, and the incremental revealing of information in yet another trailer and here, at last, is Spectre.Increasingly the Bond films have become extended advertorials for luxury brands and five-star globe- trotting vacations - and this is no exception to that trend.We begin with a sumptuously photographed sequence in Mexico City during the Day of the Dead celebrations, which quickly turns into a spectacular action set-piece involving a helicopter before Sam Smith's less than memorable title song brings up the obligatory stylised credits and lands us in London. There as usual Bond is in trouble with his boss (Ralph Fiennes) who is under pressure from a young upstart called C (Andrew Scott) who plans to do away with the dinosaurs of the double 0 section and replace them with drones.Acting on a tip-off provided by Judi Dench's M before she died, Bond goes rogue and comes up against SPECTRE, the original evil terrorist cartel set up by Ian Fleming in Dr No in 1960. On the heels of SPECTRE from Rome to Tangiers he'll have a dalliance with an Italian widow (Monica Belluci) and fall for a young scientist Madeline Swann (Léa Seydoux) before meeting the dastardly villain Blofeld (Christoph Walz) who attempts to do nasty things to 007's mind while keeping his fluffy white cat from interfering with the machinery.There is also a high-speed car chase through Rome, and a fight with a really big guy on a train amid the film' s dull two-and-a-half hours .There are half-hearted jokes, knowing winks to the history of the franchise and shallow references to current affairs thrown in but neither Craig's suits nor face get too bothered by anything.If you've seen all the trailers, read all the men's mag interviews or watched the car featurettes then you've pretty much seen the film. It's time for a new Bond who spends less time pretending to be some sort of Russian literature character and more time just being on Her Majesty's Secret Service.Bond facts24th instalment in the official 007 canon.Most expensive 007 movie to date, with a budget rumoured to be well north of $250-million.It's also the longest at 148 minutes.What others sayBritish intelligence's favourite weapon of mass seduction feels rusty in this uneven sequel to "Skyfall".Stephen Dalton, hollywoodreporter.comOwes much to Christopher Nolan's "Batman" movies, both have the same goals: making believable and human two heroes whose perceptions in the public mind have atrophied.Dan Duray, vice.comALSO OPENING:BEFORE WE GOThe chemistry between actors makes the movie's pleasures easy to surrender to, fleetingly.Ben Kenigsberg, nytimes.co.zaRETURN TO SENDERA queasy but strangely gutless exploitation pic.Guy Lodge, variety.comTESTAMENT OF YOUTHThere's a good movie in Vera Brittain's story, but you wouldn't know it from this lethargic bore.Keith Uhlich, avclub.comROCK THE KASBAHBill Murray does wonders for this comedy about a rock manager on the comeback trail.Peter Travers, rollingstone.com..