The greatness of the very best James Bond movies is not only measured by their storytelling but also by their abilities to pull off mind-blowing, awe-inspiring stunts. With only the Mission: Impossible franchise standing to challenge it, the Bond movies often push the limits of what action movies are capable of. The titular super spy is often put in life-threatening positions that he has to flip, jump, or detonate his way out of, often making for some of the most thrilling set pieces in their respective movies. Well with Spectre, 007’s 24th outing, the series set a new bar for itself. In the biggest stunt explosion ever put on film, the Bond franchise set an incredible world record that is still yet to be topped.

‘Spectre’ Is Plenty of James Bond, But No Thrills
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

To get the full picture, first, we have to set the stage for the stunt. Spectre already had the tall order of following up the most highly acclaimed Bond film yet, Skyfall. This movie had nowhere to go but bigger. That meant a larger story, more characters, doubling down on the twists, and the expectation for the best action in the series yet. Well, unfortunately, the end results only ended up delivering on half of that. By 2015 standards, Spectre just might have had the biggest James Bond tale yet. It also had a gargantuan ensemble of characters, some new and others reintroducing some of the franchise’s scariest Bond villains like Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz).

That being said, Sam Mendes ended up missing the mark almost entirely. This is easily the most drab movie in the history of the 007 franchise. Everything is gray, there’s a storyline that doubles too far down on Skyfall’s storyline of Bond’s troubled past, and way too many long, depressing conversations. Despite marketing itself as somewhat of a tonal return to the Roger Moore era, Spectre is the end result of Daniel Craig’s era taking itself far too seriously. (Yes, even with that couch gag at the beginning of the movie.) You can feel Mendes trying to counteract the darkness of Spectre with little jokes here and there, but the balance is far too uneven.

‘Spectre’ Has an Epic Explosion
Image via Columbia Pictures

Nothing appears to try and make up for this lack of action and thrills more than the behemoth explosion that takes place towards the end of the film. After being tortured by the evil mastermind that is Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Bond and Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) manage to escape his clutches and, in the process, blow up his entire base. We’re not just talking about a little explosion that shatters some windows and sends some debris flying, either. Blofeld has a ridiculously sized Dr. Evil-like base, so in order to blow that sucker up on screen and do it for real, Mendes would have to go big.

The stunt was achieved on June 28, 2015, when the team was filming in Erfoud, Morocco. To pull this one off, the team detonated 8,418 litres of kerosene with 33kg of powder explosives, leading to an explosion that lasted over 7.5 seconds. This led to the total yield equivalent of 68.47 tons of TNT. So even if you haven’t seen Spectre, it’s probably not hard to imagine the enormity of this explosion. It towers over Bond and Swann’s heads and engulfs the entire horizon in a blazing fire and thick, black cloud of smoke, but the two characters hardly seem phased. In a movie that’s about as lifeless as the Bond series can possibly get, this scene sticks out like a welcome sore thumb.

Daniel Craig’s ‘No Time to Die’ Also Sets a Record
Image via MGM

Spectre wasn’t the first movie in the franchise to have a gonzo stunt like this. The Bond movies are made of these! After a period of CGI-heavy Pierce Brosnan movies, the Craig era became filled with one practical stunt after another. The opening parkour chase in Casino Royale alone seems to try and make the point that these movies would be returning to more grounded action. We can’t throw too much shade at Brosnan, though. After all, the opening of Goldeneye does have the most impressive stunts in the entire series with the opening jump off of the dam. Apparently you can’t set a world record in one Bond movie and not try to again in the followup, because Spectre’s sequel, No Time to Die, went on to blow up the most high explosives ever in one single take. Let’s make setting world records a franchise tradition! Despite being one of the most boring movies in the long history of James Bond movies, Spectre also managed to deliver one of incredible explosions ever put on screen. There’s not much to remember about the franchise’s 24th outing, but no one can take its world record title away from it.

The Big Picture

Spectre attempted to follow up on the success of Skyfall with a bigger story and more characters, but fell short in terms of delivering thrilling action. The movie is criticized for its drab and serious tone, falling short of Daniel Craig’s other James Bond outings. Despite its shortcomings, Spectre set a world record for the biggest explosion in a film, showcasing an enormous explosion that lasts over 7.5 seconds and engulfs the entire horizon.