Spectre: Latest James Bond movie garners positive reviews after first UK screening

The long-awaited latest instalment in the James Bond franchise was screened for the first time in the UK last night, and this morning eager fans awoke to a multitude of reviews of Spectre. Whilst some were not so easily pleased, Screen International called it "a slightly flat, old-fashioned 007" and The Hollywood Reporter claimed the problems lay in Daniel Craig's "lack of humour or warmth," the majority of opinions were overwhelmingly positive.

Terrifically exciting, spectacular, almost operatically delirious

The Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw gave the soon-to-be-released instalment five stars, labelling the movie: "It's pure action mayhem with a real sense of style," while also gushing that Spectre is "a terrifically exciting, spectacular, almost operatically delirious 007 adventure."

Similarly, The Telegraph's Robbie Collin also gave the movie top marks, describing it as a "swaggering show of confidence from returning director Sam Mendes and his brilliant cinematographer, Hoyte van Hoytema" and "an act of pure cinematic necromancy". He also praised villain of the piece, Christoph Waltz, noting: "Waltz occasionally dices with camp, but mostly underplays what's essentially a ridiculous role, deploying a blank serenity that's truly chilling in key scenes, including his first appearance in the Spectre boardroom, silhouetted against a column of golden light."

Achingly cool

Yet another five-star review came from The Times' Kate Muir, who wrote that the film was "achingly cool" and "as sleek and powerful as the silver Aston Martin DB10 that races through the movie". She went on to gush about the seemingly perfect relationship between lead actor and director, saying: "Mendes and Craig are now so comfortable with the late-007 action genre that a relaxed wit percolates almost every scene. Their recipe, like the car, now seems to be bulletproof."

David Edwards from The Daily Mirror was equally as impressed, and chose to focus on what Craig was bringing to the table, in his fourth time reprising the role as the iconic spy. "Craig, of course, is reliably superb," he writes. "Once again he portrays the superspy as a thug in a dinner jacket who is quite prepared to shoot first and ask questions later as he wraps up the loose ends that have been dangling since Casino Royale in 2006."

Bond is back with a bang

Knocking just one star off of the five he could give, The Daily Mail's Brian Viner confidently stated: "Bond is back with a bang − in a movie that warrants ALL the hype with 007 returning to his murderous, glamorous best."

Many reviewers seemed to concentrate on the film's opening scene, a high-octane action piece set in Mexico City during the Day Of The Dead festival − a scene that according to those who saw it, does far from disappoint. Edwards boldly admitted that he believe's Spectre's first sequence to be the "best Bond opener ever" and called it a "thoroughly gripping introductory scene," whilst Viner hailed the sequence as "exhilarating".

It seems the fans' excitement just become a little more intense... Spectre, which sees Craig reprise his role as Bond alongside a notable supporting cast consisting of Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Monica Belucci and Christoph Waltz, opens on Monday 26 October.