The funeral scene in Spectre was loosely inspired by the original film, but Simon altered many details for his version. However, one original character made a return for a unique twist.
Monica Bellucci.
In the original Spectre, the aging Bellucci's brief scenes with Bond felt awkward. But here, in her early thirties and in her prime, Bellucci's portrayal of a newly widowed Lucía strikes a more powerful chord.
James Bond, posing as an old friend of Lucía's husband, attends the funeral. Afterward, he approaches her, and their brief interaction quickly turns intimate.
After their encounter, Lucía pierces through Bond's disguise, pointing out that he could not possibly have been her husband's friend. She warns him to stay out of dangerous waters and get as far away as possible. From the failed infiltration on the yacht to M's conversation about government infiltration, and now Lucía's keen insight, Bond becomes increasingly aware of an ominous web around him.
Realizing her warning won't dissuade him, Lucía hands Bond a notebook her husband had kept, urging him to leave immediately.
Driving away in his iconic Aston Martin, Bond feels a growing sense of unease.
Suddenly, he understands.
From the moment they met, Lucía had exuded a sense of hopelessness—a resignation to her fate. Racing back to her estate, Bond finds her lifeless on the bed, dressed in red, her lips painted crimson, lying serenely as if asleep.
This detail diverged from the original Spectre.
In the previous version, Bond had assured Lucía a way out after obtaining her information, but this arrangement felt incongruent. In Simon's view, the idea of Bond giving a clear escape route in the face of a formidable organization like Spectre, known for its ruthlessness, was implausible.
The early Bond films were filled with scenes where Bond's romantic involvements met tragic ends, often in gruesome ways, underscoring the risks of being close to him. This dark realism was slowly erased as Hollywood's landscape changed, embracing political correctness and a more cautious creative approach that watered down the franchise.
Simon was not opposed to such shifts but found Bond's romantic gestures unrealistic and misplaced in this dangerous world.
In the original Spectre, Bond's final showdown with the supervillain, leader of a vast global crime network, felt almost laughably trivial. Instead of meeting Bond with an imposing force, the villain was cornered in a back alley, a scene that Simon believed should be grandiose and chaotic.
In his cinematic vision, Simon intended Spectre to only introduce a powerful adversary. Establishing such a character needed a more calculated approach, similar to the gradual buildup Marvel employed for Thanos, with hints over multiple movies. Simon's goal for the espionage cinematic universe was an eventual battle that could devastate an entire city, leading to an epic confrontation worthy of Bond's legacy.
Back in the IMAX theater, Bond, unable to mourn Lucía's death for long, hears police sirens approaching.
Arrested by Italian authorities on suspicion of murder, Bond's predicament aligns with M's earlier concerns of an all-encompassing conspiracy that has permeated both criminal and governmental realms.
Due to his unique status, Bond is eventually released, though he's grounded in London and temporarily suspended.
While under suspension, Bond senses he's being watched. During a social gathering, he meets a mysterious middle-aged man who urges him to avoid meddling in matters beyond his reach.
Bond's suspicion grows as he investigates Lucía's notebook, and with the help of Moneypenny and Q, he breaks free from MI6 surveillance, heading to Switzerland in search of Dr. Madeleine Swann.
Madeleine Swann is the "good Bond girl" in this film, and Simon cast Uma Thurman in the role. Thurman's striking height and her air of enigmatic beauty fit Simon's reimagining of Swann better than the original casting.
This segment includes an important Easter egg regarding Swann's background.
Swann, previously a member of Charlie's Angels, once worked for the legendary Charlie Detective Agency. She and Bond meet in a luxurious Swiss Alps clinic, exchanging guarded words that reveal neither entirely trusts the other. Soon, Spectre agents arrive, initiating a high-stakes chase down the mountain.
The action here diverges from the original's prolonged sequences. Simon's version opts for a swift, intense descent, ending in an encounter with the killer from the yacht—played by Victoria's Secret model Roberta Chirko.
Bond and Swann are outmatched by the assassin's combat prowess. Chirko's green-eyed, ruthless character taunts them, suggesting they could use an extra hand.
Then, just as if by divine intervention, a helicopter arrives, from which three masked, heavily armed women rappel down.
Swann signals for Bond to leave, explaining that these newcomers are her former colleagues. They provide just enough of a distraction to allow Bond and Swann to escape, flying off into the sunset while the three women engage in combat with the killer.
For anyone familiar with Hollywood news, this cameo is an unmistakable reference to Charlie's Angels, an upcoming MGM project that has been generating buzz. With this scene, Simon subtly hints at the creation of an interconnected spy cinematic universe.
The idea of a cinematic universe had taken Hollywood by storm, and here, Simon's inclusion of Charlie's Angels in a Bond film planted the seed for an espionage universe.
Returning to the movie, Bond and Swann find refuge in a Geneva safe house, where Swann finally begins to reveal her past.
She tells Bond that she had a normal life until her father, a businessman, got entangled in a smuggling ring when she was sixteen. Her parents were murdered, but she survived. Police dropped the case, and Swann began her own investigation, receiving specialized training and briefly working for a top detective agency.
Her unexpected allies from the Alps were her former colleagues.
While Swann refrains from explicitly naming the Charlie Detective Agency, even casual viewers grasp the reference.
Following her background story, Swann shows Bond her years of research.
The truth is daunting.
Through her investigation, Swann discovered an international crime syndicate involved in drug trafficking, arms smuggling, human trafficking, and other high-profit criminal activities. With tentacles reaching into numerous government agencies, the organization ruthlessly eliminates any threats to its secrecy.
The recent drug bust in the English Channel was just one of their operations. Lucía Sciarra's husband, the supposed owner of the yacht, was purged after the operation's failure, and even Lucía herself couldn't escape the organization's wrath.
Swann had pieced together the name of this shadowy organization.
Spectre.
Their symbol—a tentacled octopus—symbolizes the syndicate's far-reaching influence.
Swann notes bitterly that she could have continued her quiet investigation, but Bond's actions brought Spectre's attention to her, leaving her no choice but to take a more direct approach.
As Bond examines Swann's evidence, he notices a photo showing Swann's father alongside the same middle-aged man Bond met earlier.
With Swann's help, Bond identifies the man as none other than Mr. White.
The plot thus far has reached its climax, with the final act heading towards the Venetian lagoon.
On an island near Venice, Bond and Swann confront Mr. White, played by Sean Bean, confirming that he was responsible for her parents' deaths. Her father's betrayal of Spectre led to the family's downfall.
The showdown erupts into a violent battle within the island's villa, where Mr. White, realizing he's cornered, decides to go down in flames, attempting to take Bond and Swann with him. The two escape as the villa explodes.
Yet Mr. White's final words linger.
"This is just the beginning."
The film closes with Bond and Swann embracing amidst the ruins at sunset, with police sirens approaching from all directions. The camera zooms in on Bond's hand, toying with a silver ring engraved with Spectre's octopus symbol.
The music swells, and the screen fades to black.
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