Spectre movie: Sam Smith premieres Writing's On The Wall music video after single lands number one

After landing the first UK chart number one for a James Bond theme song, Sam Smith has premiered the anticipated music video for ballad Writing's On The Wall. The British singer takes the lead in the visuals , which is interspersed with scenes from the latest 007 movie, Spectre.

Filmed around various locations in Rome, Italy, the four-minute video opens with Smith, 23, standing beside a fleet of coffins draped with the Union Jack flag. Short clips show Bond actor Daniel Craig and actress Monica Bellucci, who plays Lucia, the widow of an infamous criminal, embracing in passionate clinches.

Smith enlisted his longtime collaborator Luke Monaghan to direct the WOTW video following his work on the singer's visuals for the tracks I'm Not The Only One and Leave Your Lover. Praising the director, the Grammy-winning singer wrote on Instagram: "Very proud of this one x massive shout out to @lukemonaghan for directing this beaut. And my baby@laurensarmes for styling this and Madame @lotttiepop for le make up xx."

Fans appear to be pleased with the video, with one commenting: "God this is perfection. Then again anything Sam does is perfection." Another wrote: "They picked the right man for the job and he performed it well!" Yet another said: "How about we just let Adele and Sam sing the James Bond themes from now on."

Not everyone agreed as one critic said: "Arguably the worst Bond theme song ever made," while another remarked: "Completely agree. It's not a bad song... just awful for Bond."

The Stay With Me singer has plenty to celebrate with Writing's On The Wall becoming the first James Bond theme song to top the charts in the UK. Reacting to the news, Smith told his Instagram followers: "I feel like I'm In a dream. To have the honour to do Bond is one thing but to get the first ever NUMBER ONE for a bond song is another thing entirely!! Thank you to all who played and purchased Writing's On The Wall this week. I think it's safe to say now, you like it hahahaha."

Watch Sam Smith's Writing's On The Wall video:

Writing's On The Wall finished the first week of its release by shifting 70,000 copies, placing it 13,000 units ahead of its nearest competition, Justin Bieber's What Do You Mean?, according to the Official Charts Company. The musician is also the first British solo male artist since 1965 to record the Bond theme – Tom Jones recorded the theme for the Thunderball movie that year.

Spectre, which also stars Christoph Waltz and Ralph Fiennes, is set to hit cinemas in the UK on 26 October.