January 17, 2019 – In a separate article, I explained my problems with 2015’s Spectre. The main issue was: the writers decided to make Blofeld be James Bond’s long-lost, thought-to-be-dead, adoptive brother. I seriously doubt this would have met the approval of the late Ian Fleming. The plot device was weak and implausible, and hurt the film as a whole.
Having to explain this silly plot element no doubt added time to the film. But Spectre had other content problems, with the result that Spectre is the longest Bond film in history, with a running time of 148 minutes.
In frustration, as I’ve done for several other films (Blade Runner 2049, Rogue One), I made my own “fan edit” of Spectre. But I call it a “fan super edit” because I took off almost 35 minutes of the film. And in my opinion, it’s much better. What’s removed, mostly, is the Blofeld-as-brother part of the film.
A fan edit is not for monetary gain, but it does have restrictions. To download the fan edit, go here.
“I watched it and definitely preferred your edit over the original – having Blofeld as just a villain with no relationship with Bond. The whole stepbrother thing seemed forced and just silly. So, this will be my go-to move for Spectre. Thank you for the work you put into this.” — SP
“Thanks very much for your Spectre fan edit. I enjoyed it far more than the theatre release. In Casino Royale, Daniel Craig saved 007 from a painful lingering death as the cartoonish character he had become over the years. In Spectre, even Craig couldn’t rescue Bond from Hollywood’s ridiculously contrived plot. You’re the true hero in this version!” — LS
“Your edit of Spectre is brilliant, especially the scenes inside Blofeld’s compound.” — JW
I really liked the Bond themes for two of the Daniel Craig movies. “You Know My Name” (Casino Royale) was so-so. Then came the punchy “Another Way to Die” (Quantum of Solace) and the unforgettable “Skyfall” (Skyfall) sung by Adele.
But I didn’t like Spectre’s “Writing's On The Wall” so much, at least not for a Bond movie. So I used a different song, from 2016’s Star Trek Beyond, sung by Rihanna. Immediately when I heard it, I thought it sounded like a Bond theme. See what you think below. It’s substituted in for Spectre’s original theme song.